THE MUPPETS NOIR #1 / Script, Art & Letters by ROGER LANGRIDGE / Colors by DEARBHLA KELLY / Published by DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

2026 seems to be the year of Muppet revivals. Of course we just saw the return of The Muppets in a well-received special. However, a different sort of return was just arranged through Dynamite Entertainment.

From 2009 to 2011, Roger Langridge produced a number of Muppet comics for Boom! Studios. They were well-received by both critics and Muppet fans. Unfortunately, the comics stopped after Boom! lost The Muppets license. However, 15 years have not slowed Langridge’s pencil or his razor wit, and The Muppets Noir #1 feels like a visit from an old friend.

The plot is simple but serviceable. Kermit the Frog suffers a head injury after a brick-juggler loses control of his act. Since Kermit was reading a detective novel at the time, he starts dreaming that he is a hard-boiled detective named Flip Minnow. Soon, he’s tacking a case, looking for a missing woman named Meringue.

There’s just one problem. Flip has issues with pies, for some reason. Any time he’s exposed to the baked good, he starts to hallucinate. Usually these hallucinations involve people singing. Despite this, Flip has a reputation as a great detective, though he finds himself depending on the goodwill of a colorful cast of characters to find the missing Meringue.

Langridge does a great job capturing the likeness of each Muppet and in adapting them to the world of a Noir detective story. The fact that this world has lots of pie fights instead of shoot outs does not detract from the the atmosphere. There’s not much mystery, true, but the whole affair is enjoyable and definitely feels like an extended Muppets’ skit. The color art by Dearbhla Kelly also deserves praise.

In a better world, The Muppets Noir would get the same level of hype as the recent Sabrina Carpenter special on Disney Plus. Alas, comics are not streaming specials and all the wishing in the world will not make them so. Still, if you are a fan of The Muppets, comics, and/or Film Noir, you will enjoy The Muppets Noir.