This thread's been dead for over a month. I feel as though I owe it to the long-inactive thread by weighing in my thoughts on issues 79 & 81 respectively (Especially since the comic is being discontinued for a while after October). Yeah, I don't have 80, Barnes & Noble really likes screwing me over.
Anwyays, Issue 79 was a pretty good issue, not gonna lie. A Crosshatch of Despair had a pretty original concept, Plankton & Krabs slandering each other through editorials. It's pretty interesting seeing this scenario play out, I never would've expected seeing SpongeBob take on editorials. There are some pretty good jokes scattered throughout the comic (I loved the line "How did Plankton know that?" in response to the editorial involving Krabs using garbage to make his fries). I'd say this is a pretty entertaining comic, it's not too long, it runs its course and ends at the right time. It's really just a nice little feud between Krabs and Plankton, I found myself enjoying this comic.
The Flotsam Jetsam Ocean Facts was pretty decent. I kind of liked the unique subject of Eyespots, I honestly wasn't aware of their existence until reading this comic. The comedy in this isn't that bad, it's sadly better than the SpongeFunnies, but hey, everything's better than SpongeFunnies these days. I'd say this is a pretty good Flotsam Jetsam comic.
Next up we have SpongeBob's Facial Scare. See what they did there? Scare? Hair? The comic shadows Squidward's School for Grownups, at least conceptually. The actual storyline involves Patrick confused, thinking he's actually someone else (Kind of the dumb logic used in To SquarePants or Not To), so there is at least some kind of twist on the idea. I also like Squidward's interactions with "Leonard", I thought they were pretty amusing to read. Not too funny of a comic, there are some lame lines, especially from Norton the Mailman, but I'd say it's a relatively harmless comic, it strays far enough from "School for Grownups" to be a full-on rip-off. Plus, it doesn't have that cop-out plot twist, so there's a bonus.
This issue's poster, a drawing capturing an event known as the Great Manowar Migration in Bikini Bottom! is awesome. I love it, Cole Closser/R.F.O Outeault did an amazing job designing this poster, I love the realistic jellyfish, the shirt gags, and the hilarious return of
https://www.sbmania.net/pictures.php?img=jMRc%2BJAkV61u3yN6r19%2BveGWHc%2BM3N1yyjmc5gzzYNk%3D
(I can't believe we don't have an emote for this)
I'd say it's probably the highlight of the issue. The following comic if The Buddy System, again, another decent comic. The storyline is another "Squidward tricks SpongeBob into believing something false, then it actually happens." Though luckily the plot twist at the end was very funny and unexpected (Though David did foreshadow it cleverly at the start of the story in what appears at first glance, to be nothing but some filler dialogue). The comic plays out in typical SpongeBob fashion, it's essentially Squiditis without the Soap Opera gags, and more of SpongeBob being clingy (Like Squid Wood's opening). I do like Vince's artwork, it's a lot more expressive than usual in this comic, which I think was great seeing. The one thing that confuses me, however, is the long strand of paper surrounding Squidward's boat. Is it a giant receipt? I don't know, there's really no explanation as to why it's there. As for the humor, well, it's a fairly mediocre slew of predictable jokes. Not as bland or lifeless as the majority of Season 11's visuals, but still fairly mediocre humor. Pretty okay if you ask me.
Trash Day's a pretty good comic. I liked the dramatic irony played up by the old fish, and I thought the chaotic chain reaction was pretty entertaining. I liked the humor of this comic and found the story satisfying enough to read.
Of course, there's Squilliam's Art Opening, easily the worst comic in the issue. The setup centers around Squidward having an epiphany over Squilliam's eccentric art, to which Squilliam replies "It makes even dunces have enormous realizations." Then, the punchline is Patrick screaming "I'm having an epiphany!"
Scratch that, the SpongeFunnies were the worst. Don't even have to explain them, they just suck.
So...what? Where's the joke? Is it that Squilliam's right? Because it's an incredibly unfunny joke that has the utmost lame execution.It's like a bad newspaper comic, it has a lame setup with a predictable and unfunny payoff. Absolutely terrible. Sorry Carta Monir, not your best start in the series.
Overall, I'd say Issue 79's a pretty decent conclusion to the 70s.
Well, I've spent what felt like forever going through this collection issues, so what are my thoughts on the 70s as a whole? Well, the 70s has been consistently good, particularly in the latter half. Sure, there are some very sloppy entries throughout the span of the 70s (72, 74, 75), but I'd still consider this collection of comics a step in the right direction. Now of course we're not going to be treated to an entire batch of 80s comics, so I can't really focus too much on the overall direction the series is going to take, because well, that's to be determined by the remaining 6 issues after 79. I would say that Issues 76 & 77 were the pinnacle of the 70s. Jay Lender did a fantastic job producing arguably one of the most memorable storylines in recent SBComic history. I'm sorry, but he really was the shining star of this era. Sure, Derek Drymon (almost) always produces good material, but I just think Jay did such a wonderful job on this storyline, I honestly wouldn't have mind seeing this as the final wrap-up for the series in 84 & 85. But, I guess we'll just have to see where the staff takes us, whether this series will end on a whimper or go out with a bang. I assume whimper, since United Plankton will probably try to launch the title under a different company, but I think it's important to look at this as the end of an era and the start of a new one. I predict change is to come to the comics, some sort of change, maybe not that drastic, maybe a tonal shift in quality. If Nick picks it up, I'll be worrisome, because SBComics' independence from Viacom and their dirty fingerprints is what really made this series strive for a good while. i'd say the 70s was an improvement over the 60s and 50s. Of course it's not the 40s, the comic will never return to the glory days of the 40s, but it at least improved during this ten-month period. And that's really all I have to say about the 70s, heading into the 80s, I'll be treating them as the final 6 to the original run of SBComics. If they come back, great, I'd be happy to see more storylines thrown out. But this does bring an end to a continuous near-8 year long run. And half of that run featured some absolutely amazing issues! (38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 50, 51, Swimtacular's 2 & 3, etc.). When I get a hold of 85 (Which probably won't be until December, I'll provide a reflection on this series' run. Is it the end of these reviews? Probably, yes. I am far too busy in life to dedicate such time to review these issues. So, let's gear up for 81.
The main storyline, The Inner Journey features some outstanding artwork from Brian Smith. The sequences through Squidward's subconscious are marvelous, I absolutely love every detail. Following Squidward's journey is the highlight of this episode, I absolutely loved it. I also enjoyed the rather unique layout, pairing up Squidward's story, and the rest of the cast's story. Some of them were fairly lame, like the SpongeBob & Patrick one. But the Krabs, Old Man Jenkins, and even Reg ones were good. My only problem was the painful use of the word "Bro" in Reg's speech. -_-
I'd say otherwise, this is a solid opening to the issue, a great comic to kick things off. I don't really care for the final blow to Squidward at the end, I think it was a tad bit out of character for literally everyone (Including SpongeBob) to leave Squidward with the bill. But hey, it was chuckle-worthy, so it's not that big of a blow to the story.
I can't even try with the SpongeFunnies anymore. They're just dumb, there's nothing funny about any of the dialogue at all. It's modern Garfield-tier humor, we're talking. Actually scratch that, I think modern Garfield is funnier.
How Tweet It Is...well, it's really a comic with zero point. SpongeBob's antagonized by Pat over not being able to whistle (Yeah, Pat says he hopes he didn't hurt the Sponge's feelings, but that doesn't matter when you've just taken a 180 in your personality between panels). Then he asks Sandy for help. He tweets so loudly he cracks her helmet. The End.
It's a funny ending, yes, but I found it rather meaningless, really. If it was just going to be that short, why involve the ridiculous setup with Patrick. You could've just made it a one-page storyline, start with Sandy gardening and hearing SpongeBob whistle. It has a setup and a little gag to end the story. A perfect short story, there was really no need for the Patrick scenes.
Snoozing in the Sea took a fascinating look at animals sleeping. I know, it sounds incredible boring, but somehow this one really hooked my attention. Maybe I'm just really bored?
Secret identities was a good story. I liked the interesting setup, MM&BB never had secret identities to begin with, I think focusing on this concept of them having one was pretty interesting. Great comic (I'm getting lazier, I know).
And that was Issue 81. Was it a good issue, a promising issue to the final 6? I wouldn't call it promising, but it was good nonetheless. A fairly entertaining and amusing issue.