I was excited to get this graphic novel because I used to watch Gumby when I was younger but this kind of fell short. It was cool seeing these characters again but not as much as I thought. I was overwhelmed with how much writing there was and just didn't seem like they were the same as so long ago.

'Gumby Graphic Novel Vol. 1' by Jeff Whitman, Eric Esquivel and a whole pile of other people is a collection of 9 short stories featuring Gumby, Pokey and all their pals.

The first story in the book 'An Alien Abundance' pays homage to Gumby's first tv episode. There is also a fun episode where the Blockheads are conning Gumby's Grandmother into paying for what she thinks is an elaborate vacation. When Goo goes missing, Gumby ends up going to Frace to look for her.

I grew up on Gumby and I'm a big fan. Most of the stories work pretty well and feel like Gumby adventures. I liked the inside nods to certain characters or episodes. Some of the humor aims at the adults, but they keep it clean, so it's fun for kids.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Papercutz and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I used to absolutely love Gumby and Pokey, so I'm glad that they are being introduced to another wave of children. I always approach 'reinventions' with a bit of trepidation - so many end up as victims trying to appeal to modern children and lose the charm that made them so enjoyable in the first place. This Gumby Graphic Novel does a good job of remaining faithful to a major part of my childhood (and I'm very picky about this)!

Delightful! Not only will new young readers be introduced to Gumby and Pokey but nostalgia will kick in for all of us who were fans long ago.
In this graphic novel, Gumby is confronted by moon creatures and must figure out how to handle the situation. There are several more episodes where situations are to be reckoned with and Gumby and Pokey do so in an entertaining, yet, purposeful, way. It's sure to be a hit!

I have limited exposure to Gumby but his inherent strangeness has always appealed to me. From what I can recall, Whitman has the weirdness down. This book presumes a level of familiarity with characters and past events .There's no real development of characters.

OK, I will first admit that I love Gumby and Pokey! Takes me back to a good time. As for this graphic novel, I loved it! I thought it was well-written and presented. Good for kids and adults. Not hard to follow at all. I hope that they keep up this series. It was a fun read!

I remember watching Gumby when I was a kid and loving the adventures he got himself into along with Pokey and thinking how cool Claymation was – of course this was pre-CGI so kids today probably don’t understand the magic Gumby and pals created.

If you are like me and remember Gumby and his war with the Blockheads then you’re going to be in for some culture shock because this is not the Gumby of our childhoods. Gumby has been modernized for a whole new generation.

The artwork was a little hard to follow as there didn’t seem to be a lot of consistency between stories. Only the first story seemed to try and honor the original kind of world we knew as every other story has him going places and doing things our pre-modern tech could never capture.

I think if you’re coming to this for a sense of nostalgia you’ll be disappointed but if you’re looking for something that’s “safe” for young readers then you’ll be happy. It is the kind of story that kids can be given without worrying too much of what you’re exposing them to especially considering what they already see/her on the evening news or in their schools.

Love Jolyon Yates art! This is a fun retro comic suitable for all ages. Would love to see Whitman and Yates stretch further with their obvious talent into some graphic series with more depth, but this is a very fun piece that many students will enjoy.

I’m sorry, but I could not finish this. I used to watch Gumby as a child, and this just ruins my memories. Gumby is supposed to be jumping from story to story, but it is hard to keep track and riding weapons, and other stuff just bog it down too much. Not for me, sorry.

Not the Gumby that I remember, and a bit too obvious with the do the right thing messages.

Since this is a collection of separate short stories collected in one graphic novel, I'll review each story separately. At the very end I have thoughts on the whole collection.

An Alien Abundance
***
Gumby relates his horrible past adventure on the Moon and his fear of the moon creatures. The Blockheads hatch a plan, go to the Moon, and discover some things are quite the way Gumby thought.
Well, that turned out better than I thought it was going to. For the first story in 10 years this doesn’t introduce the characters at all.

Gumby and Pokey in the Land of Ice Cream
****
Gumby and Pokey are spending a day at the beach. They get good and hot and decide they need some ice cream. But when they enter the ice cream store they find out there’s a horrible disaster. There’s no ice cream! Upon some further exploration the two discover the root of the problem and save the day.
No ice cream! What a horrible nightmare! So glad Gumby and Pokey saved the day.

Gumby Model-y Crew
***
Pokey and Gumby try to help a model find a new outfit last minute.
Talk about fashion disaster! (Though the kitten part made me laugh.)

Gumby and the Treasure of Obellos
****
The Obellos sacred pigment orb has been stolen and Gumby and gang must help rescue them from a drab world.
Well that had a nice little message about admitting mistakes and working out misunderstandings.

Gumby in Goo’s Gone
****
Prickle hasn’t been able to contact Goo. They track down her phone and then decide she must have gone to Paris, so off to Paris they go. Will they ever find Goo?
Some clever little nods in this one to famous paintings and books and movies. (My favorite was the Madeline one.) Also a nice little tour of Paris.

Gumby and Pokey in All That Nin-jazz
***
Gumby and Pokey decide to be ninjas, but find it is a little more challenging than they thought.
I think I need to be 5 again to think this is funny. To me the best part of this one is Prickle being enthralled by his book on the Federal Reserve Banking System. Kids will likely think Gumby and Pokey’s misadventures hilarious.

Gumby’s Gran Adventure
***
Gran takes Gumby and her dog on a trip to Hawaii, but there’s something fishy about their trip.
Well, Gran is a sharper cookie and better sport than I thought. Again, I think kids will find this more entertaining than an adult.

Gumby in Green with Envy
**
Gumby decides he wants to be more like a rock star Tara admires, but it takes him down a bad path.
This one is pretty preachy. Not that the message about good character and being an influencer rather than being influenced and jealousy isn’t good. It’s good, but it comes across as a bit heavy handed in this. Maybe it needs to be for kids to get it? Hmm, not sure.

Gumby in The Sour Note
**
Gumby’s friend is having trouble with his instrument making a horrible noise. Gumby finds a sour note inside and then they try to figure out how to make it sound better.
My music background is going to come out here. (Who knew Music Theory 101-103 would come in handy for critiquing graphic novels?!) The music in this was solid until the very end. The sour note shown is a Major 7th combination, middle C and the B above middle C. However at the end the musical context shown wouldn’t be enough to make it sound good, especially held for four beats (it’s a whole note). It’d be just as sour as the rest of the story. You’d need to fill in the rest of the C major chord for it to sound better, or reduce the length it’s held and make the B a passing note. Of course the only kids who will know this are child prodigies and they probably won’t bother with Gumby anyway. So just ignore my rantings.

Overall, I have no idea how this collection of stories will resonate with kids. I’m wondering how many kids even know who Gumby is or what he’s made of? Of course, they can hunt down some Gumby videos on YouTube and get acquainted with him there. And it isn’t completely necessary to know the characters outside of this book. Based on the level of humor, I’d suggest trying this out on elementary kids. I think the middle schoolers I work with would roll their eyes at it, but I can see younger kids enjoying them. Each of the stories is really short too, so it would also work well for kids with short attention spans or kids who need a filler read when they get done with classwork early.

No content issues.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Short comics about Gumby and his pals, each with different authors/illustrators. Not every story was strong, but I loved seeing everyone back in action.

This seems to be a me problem. I didn't enjoy this graphic novel at all. It wasn't for me.

This is the best revival of Gumby and Pokey that I have seen in years. It is better than I would have expected due to the disappointment I have felt over previous titles by other authors through the years. This is fun, amusing and much more representative of what the Gumby and Pokey writers should aspire to. A definite must for true fans and lots of fun for new readers.

Not for me - Kyle Baker with his Se7en joke cannot even save this gaudy nonsense, about characters I have never in my life heard of.

*thank you to Papercutz and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.
If I was more of a fan of Gumby, I know I would have rated this higher. Its bright and colourful and very enjoyable. Fans will love it.