If you are not familiar with Cartoon Network’s animated comedy The Amazing World of Gumball, then you are missing out on a unique show. Centered on a preteen cat and his dysfunctional family, the show combines different forms of animation (claymation, puppetry, live action, etc.), comedic adventures, and numerous pop culture references to create a zany, offbeat comedy for children to enjoy. Even in comic form, you can still receive that same humor that fans have enjoyed for years. The Amazing World of Gumball: Scrimmage Scramble, written by Megan Brennan and illustrated by Kate Sherron, gives fans and comic readers an invitation to another one of Gumball’s crazy adventures.
When Anais wants to learn about sports in order to make friends, she goes to her brothers Gumball and Darwin for help. However, as much as they try, the boys do not know enough about sports to help their sister—unless you count scenes and quotes from various sports movies. They do invent a new sport called Coolball, which goes viral and draws the attention of Spacemore Academy, their school’s rival in the Sister School Sports Day Scrimmage. The alien school has decided that this year’s sport will be Coolball, leaving Gumball, Darwin, and Anais responsible for their school’s team victory, and preventing the boys from going to summer school.
What makes The Amazing World of Gumball stand out is the variety of characters within the show. Not only are there anthropomorphic animals, plants, and food who populate the city of Elmore, but also aliens, balloons, puppets, and other various objects. It is a diverse population with quirky characters, making it entertaining and unexpected. The same goes for this comic adaptation, which takes the same humor and cast from the show and creates a new adventure. Kate Sherron’s artwork is simple, and although she strays away from the various character-specific animation forms, her technique fits this story. She uses exaggerated expressions whenever a character expresses a specific emotion, bright colors, and extra panels for pages with a lot of sports action. As for the writing, Megan Brennan creates a story with humorous references and in-character dialogue. The story itself is fun to read and creates a lesson about teamwork and friendship. This new adventure will entertain readers and may introduce them to a new television show.
The Amazing World of Gumball: Scrimmage Scramble is a colorful and fun comic that will be enjoyed by fans of Gumball and graphic novel readers. Those who are not familiar with the original show will not be confused with this adaptation, but it may encourage them to find the animated show. This is a great addition to a children’s graphic novel collection for both public and school libraries, especially if the librarians are familiar enough with their 2nd-6th grade patrons to hand-sell this title.
The Amazing World of Gumball: Scrimmage Scramble
by Megan Brennan
Art by Kate Sherron
ISBN: 9781684152179
Kaboom, 2018
Publisher Age Rating: 8-12
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