JOIN THE FELLOWSHIP IN RUGRATS: THE LAST TOKEN FROM BOOM! STUDIOS
April 18, 2019
Discover One Token To Rule All the Babies in Their Very First Graphic Novel Adventure
One token to rule all babies!
Image: Chrystin Garland (Boom Studios)
BOOM! Studios today announced the first-ever Rugrats original graphic novel RUGRATS: THE LAST TOKEN, about the babies’ journey to save the arcade from certain doom with the treasured last token, from writer Pranas T. Naujokaitis (Adventure Time) and artist Maurizia Rubino (Steven Universe) in stores November 2019. Join the Rugrats as they set off on a magical quest to battle monsters, hordes, and the pernicious influence of greed in the most epic adventure of all time!
Stu and Drew have taken the babies to the local arcade for a relaxing day of pizza and games but one does not simply walk into the Wizard Rat Pizza Parlor Fun Time. When the arcade’s token stock goes down to one, a frenzy breaks loose and darkness descends upon the arcade floor. Every child seeks the precious golden coin for their own game with no thought to the needs of all the children of Fun Time. It is up to Tommy, son of Stu, and his noble fellowship of Rugrats to guard the one token across the treacherous game room floor to the fabled volcano arcade machine, told to yield a stream of tokens if you win, in order to save the day.
Naujokaitis is an Ignatz Award-nominated writer who has worked for Boom! Studios on Adventure Time: Ice King and Uncle Grandpa in Uncle Grandpaland.
“One thing I always loved about Rugrats is how spot on they get it when showing how kids pretend when playing. I wanted to do a story that honored those playtimes but through the eyes of Tommy and the gang,” said Naujokaitis. “I am honored to get to put my own small personal stamp and work with characters that I loved when I was young enough (and small enough) to still be allowed inside those plastic tubes of my youth.”
Rubino is an illustrator of children’s books and comic books based in Milan. She was an artist for Steven Universe: Fusion Frenzy #1 from BOOM! Studios.
“I’m very excited to work on RUGRATS: THE LAST TOKEN. The story is super fun and full of references to classic fantasy stories, so it’s been a really interesting book to illustrate,” said Rubino. “I’m very happy to be the artist who has accompanied the babies on this amazing adventure!”
RUGRATS: THE LAST TOKEN, featuring a cover by Chrystin Garland (Steven Universe), is the latest release from BOOM! Studios’ award-winning KaBOOM! imprint, home to comics for middle grade and younger readers, including licensed series such as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Regular Show, Ben 10, and Over The Garden Wall, along with original series like Just Beyond: The Scare School by R.L. Stine and Kelly & Nichole Matthews, Hex Vet by Sam Davies, RuinWorld by Derek Laufman, and Pandora’s Legacy by Kara Leopard, Kelly & Nichole Matthews.
“This uproarious Rugrats adventure is a tip of the hat to one of my favorite genres, fantasy,” said Matthew Levine, Editor, BOOM! Studios. “Pranas and Maurizia have crafted a tale that weaves humor and action as the babies dream up some big fantasy and challenge themselves in a quest to rid the arcade of unhealthy competition. This is an epic Rugrats story unlike any we’ve done before!”
Print copies of RUGRATS: THE LAST TOKEN will be available in November 2019 at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the one nearest you), or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers like comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and the BOOM! Studios app.
Also, from io9:
The Rugrats Are Getting Downright Fantastical in Their First Graphic Novel
The Fellowship of the pacifier is going on a big journey—right into their first graphic novel from Boom Studios.
io9 is delighted to exclusively reveal a first look at Tommy and friends’ newest comic adventure: Rugrats: The Last Token. Written by Adventure Time comic scribe Pranas T. Naujokaitis, and Steven Universe: Fusion Frenzy artist Maurizia Rubino, The Last Token sees the babies go on their most epic quest yet...to the local arcade.
Yes, Stu and Drew might just be taking Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Angelica, and Susie to Wizard Rat Pizza Parlor Fun Time, but when the arcade’s stock of game tokens runs down to just one last golden disc—one token to rule them all, if you will—all hell breaks loose, as no kid can decide which game to spend it on. It’s up to Tommy and the gang to reforge themselves with the power of imagination and become a true fellowship of fantastical heroes—guardians of the One Token as they take it on an epic journey across the arcade to the fabled Volcano machine, which offers the chance to win more tokens than any baby could know what to do with.
“One thing I always loved about Rugrats is how spot on they get it when showing how kids pretend when playing,” Naujokaitis said in a press release provided to io9. “I wanted to do a story that honored those playtimes but through the eyes of Tommy and the gang. I am honored to get to put my own small personal stamp and work with characters that I loved when I was young enough (and small enough) to still be allowed inside those plastic tubs of my youth.”
The fantastical element means that the whole gang is getting some pretty adorable fantasy outfits to go into The Last Token with, which you can see below. “I’m very excited to work on The Last Token,” Rubino added in the same press release, of re-imagining the babies as fantasy heroes. “The story is super fun and full of references to classic fantasy stories, so it’s been a really interesting book to illustrate. I’m very happy to be the artist who has accompanied the babies on this amazing adventure!”
io9 also got the chance to grill Naujokaitis and Rubino, as well as editor Matthew Levine, about The Last Token over email—check out their answers below, as well as a sneak peak at Rubino’s designs for the babies.
An exclusive look at Maurizia Rubino’s designs for Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil in The Last Token.
Image: Maurizia Rubino (Boom Studios)
io9: Tell us a little bit about your Rugrats history. What drew you to the series in the past—and what’s it been like getting to work on this graphic novel together with this cast of characters?
Matthew Levine: I grew up on the Rugrats and it wasn’t until editing the comics that I realized just how much they shaped who I am today. I think what appealed to me most as a kid was that it was a show that revolved around family, which instantly made it relatable. The babies were always getting into trouble, but it was always together. That’s the best part about working on the graphic novel too, you have this large, hilarious cast to play with.
Maurizia Rubino: I always watched the Rugrats with great fascination because of the very unique design, which for me was really fun and interesting. I never imagined I would one day draw them, so I’m really excited to be living this fun and magical adventure with the babies!
Pranas T. Naujokaitis: I grew up during the first “Golden Age” of Nicktoons, so stuff like Rocko’s Modern Life, Ren & Stimpy, Doug, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and of course Rugrats. But my family didn’t get cable until I was in my teens, so I had to rely on when I went to a friend’s house or when we were on vacation and staying in a hotel to get my fix. So the few times I got to watch these shows became precious, and I savored them when I got the rare chance.
And those shows, along with a lot of cartoons from that era, really helped build the base sensibility of what I do today when I’m writing or drawing. They were huge early influences on me. I think it’s wild that I get to put my own personal thumbprint on it and be a part of the history in a small way of this show I loved when I was a kid. If li’l seven-year old me knew what adult me gets to do for a living, I think he’d freak out a little bit.
io9: Imaginative play has always been a cornerstone for Rugrats storytelling. What drew you to fantasy as the inspiration for The Last Token?
Naujokaitis: So when Matthew first approached me to write this, part of what they were looking for was to put these characters into one of their imaginative play fantasies for a whole book, like so many episodes of the show. So I threw out a few ideas, different settings, different genres the babies could find themselves in.
I believe as a storyteller, even when working on licensed stuff and playing in someone else’s sandbox, you have to put a piece of yourself into it. So all the settings and genres I was throwing out were things from my own childhood, places I played in, genres I love, etc.
I think the fantasy of their imaginations and the fantasy genre really melded well together. Then I thought about the babies going on a quest in that high fantasy realm and it just seemed like the perfect fit. Choosing fantasy as the genre also helped inform the real world setting this takes place in. I wanted a reason for the babies to imagine a fantasy world, so the pizza parlor/arcade/playplace restaurant is medieval fantasy themed.
io9: From a design perspective, how did you decide which Rugrat would reflect which fantasy archetype the best? Who was the most fun to find a “class” for in the babies’ adventure?
Rubino: I think we get to see Angelica’s true identity in this story. She makes an excellent villain because she loves her costume and her power. And no doubt, Chuckie was really fun to illustrate as well. He’s pure of heart and curly-haired, just like some other small fantasy heroes.
Naujokaitis: As a writer it was mostly easy assigning each baby to a certain class, because the characters are already so well established. Tommy, the brave leader, would of course be a knight-type, using his trusty screwdriver as a sword. Susie, the wise older kid, would be a wizard. Angelica an evil witch, obviously. Phil and Lil would be the more gross, rough and tumble classes, but I wanted them to have a little conflict with what they each chose to be. So we’ve got Phil as a dwarf and Lil as an ogre, and they rib each other a little bit over that.
Chuckie was probably the hardest but most fun to assign a class for. I played around with a few ideas, thought about maybe even going against type, but when I thought of him in the context of some other tiny reluctant heroes—picturing the hair on his feet matching the hair on his head—I had to go with that.
From the sketches I’ve seen so far, Maurizia really knocked it out of the park. One thing I love about writing is when you get paired up with an amazing artist who can take your ideas and make them a thousand times better.
io9: Tommy and his friends all love Reptar, he’s such an iconic part of the Rugrats world. Any chance we can expect a bit of Dungeons & Dragons (& Dinosaurs) action in this new book?
Naujokaitis: I really wanted to focus on new monsters and challenges for the babies to face. This is their first time ever being in a themed restaurant like this, so I wanted to make everything they face feels new, more dangerous, [and] makes them feels really out of place and unsure about everything.
Rugrats: The Last Token is expected to release digitally and physically in November 2019.
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Update (5/6) - From Forbes:
Nickelodeon's 'Rugrats' Receiving First-Ever Original Graphic Novel From BOOM! Studios This November
A baby's gotta do what a baby's gotta do!
After the release of its special Rugrats: C Is for Chanukah one-shot last November, BOOM! Studios is continuing its toddler-centric line of comics with the classic Nicktoon's first-ever original graphic novel, Rugrats: The Last Token. Written by Pranas T. Naujokaitis (Adventure Time) and drawn by Maurizia Rubino (Steven Universe), the upcoming book centers on Tommy, Chucky, Phil, Lil, Angelica, and Susie heading out on an epic quest to save their local pizza parlor/arcade from certain doom. The use of the word "Token" in the title is certainly a nod to fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien and his influential Lord of the Rings novels.
"When writing, I try to get into the heads of the characters, really get to know them, since I believe good characters are the foundation of good storytelling," Naujokaitis exclusively tells me. "So in this case, that involved me watching a bunch of old episodes. Once I get a good feel for them, I like throwing different scenarios and dangers at them to see how they react. When you really get in their heads, the characters almost write themselves and will help tell you where the story goes next. My favorite character to work on with this was probably Chuckie since that was the kind of kid I was, scared and overly cautious. So, I had a lot of fun putting Chuckie in danger."
As I'm a major Rugrats fan from way back in the day, BOOM! Studios was kind enough to provide me with several first look interior extracts from the forthcoming publication, which doesn't arrive in stores until late fall. You can check all three out below:
"I loved the story written by Pranas from the first reading. The script is so funny and full of quotes from the fantasy world that I couldn't wait to start working on it," adds Rubino. "Babies will live an adventure starting from a pizza parlor full of arcade and colored lights and then they will cross many unexpected worlds. They will meet scary creatures and will have to strive to get to their destination. It was so much fun to design these backgrounds that constantly change around them and create designs for their costumes and for the many characters they will know. I really think this is a story for everyone, kids and adults."
Here is the official synopsis for the graphic novel:
Stu and Drew have taken the babies to the local arcade for a relaxing day of pizza and games but one does not simply walk into the Wizard Rat Pizza Parlor Fun Time. When the arcade’s token stock goes down to one, a frenzy breaks loose and darkness descends upon the arcade floor. Every child seeks the precious golden coin for their own game with no thought to the needs of all the children of Fun Time. It is up to Tommy, son of Stu, and his noble fellowship of Rugrats to guard the one token across the treacherous game room floor to the fabled volcano arcade machine, told to yield a stream of tokens if you win, in order to save the day.
“This uproarious Rugrats adventure is a tip of the hat to one of my favorite genres, fantasy,” said Matthew Levine, Editor, BOOM! Studios in an official press release. “Pranas and Maurizia have crafted a tale that weaves humor and action as the babies dream up some big fantasy and challenge themselves in a quest to rid the arcade of unhealthy competition. This is an epic Rugrats story unlike any we’ve done before!"
Take a peek at Rubino's character designs for Tommy, Chucky, and Phil and Lil [above.]
Rugrats: The Last Token goes on sale this November. The front cover (embedded at the top) was illustrated by Chrystin Garland (Steven Universe). The release is being handled by BOOM!'s kaBOOM! imprint, a banner that caters to younger readers.
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Originally published: Friday, April 19, 2019.
H/T: Multiversity Comics.
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