Goin’ Places! is the first ever Uglydoll comic book (If you don’t count the Free Comic Book Day offering). Husband and wife team David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim are joined by artists James Kochalka, Travis Nichols, Ian McGinty, Phillip Jacobson, and Mike LE Kelly (designer toy collectors know him as Le Merde).
The publication combines several different Uglydoll tales into an 80-page compilation of sorts. Throughout the comic, all of the artists lend their talents to both the artwork and the storytelling of individual stories. There’s cohesiveness, even with eight different minds working on characters that have had somewhat limited background stories.
Several of the short tales are way out there (read: stream-of-consciousness), and it’s interesting to see if you can figure out the single story drawn and told by David and Sun-Min. Hint: look at the title page for all of the story/art credits.
And with that, it almost reminds you of a tribute album. Each individual artist takes a popular song and puts his or her own spin on it. Goin’ Places is the art equivalent of the tribute album. We get to view these characters through the eyes and minds of artists other than their creators. Of course, David and Sun-Min chose these artists, and they wouldn’t leave their Ugly characters in the hands of just anyone.
If you’re a fan of the Uglydoll plush toys and/or like the artwork of David and Sun-Min, Goin’ Places is definitely a “comic book” that you’ll want to pick up. It’s great for any ages, as my three-year-old son can attest to, and it retails around $7.99…which ends up being around 10 cents per page.
Goin' Places is published by VIZ Media
