Saved by the Bell (The Comic)

Saved by the Bell

Since I didn’t care at all about Saved by the Bell (the TV show), I only took a look at Saved by the Bell (the comic) because part of it was drawn by Chyna Clugston Flores, whose comic Blue Monday I adored. She alternates chapters with Tim Fish, and the book is written by Joelle Sellner.

Sadly, while Clugston’s figures were cute teens, the content of the stories read like sub-par Archie. Zack frames Slater into detention so he can hit on Kelly. Lisa wants to win a fashion contest. Screech creates a dating site. Kelly wants cheerleading taken seriously as a sport. This was all horribly boring, and nothing’s done to establish the characters for readers new to the concept — it’s almost entirely reliant on nostalgic readers who already know the personalities. Yet the setting is modern, with video blogs and without Zack’s brick of a mobile phone.

Saved by the Bell

Roar Comics is promoting itself as a line for all ages, particularly suitable for kids seeking digital comics (or their parents who want something perceived as safe), so I’m confused why their material so far consists of retreads of 80s favorites. (Their other major title is Punky Brewster.) Their target market likely never heard of these shows. However, it’s a subsidiary of Lion Forge, which is also depending on 80s licenses, including Miami Vice, Airwolf, and Knight Rider.

The content here was previously released as digital issues, which is probably why every page could be cut in half horizontally, into two “screens”. It makes the storytelling feel even clunkier than it is. I hate to be so negative — for all I know, fans of the show would love this book — but I found it forgettable and a waste of time.



One comment

  • James Schee

    I’m a huge fan of the show, as I was perfect age for it going from cartoons to live action but not ready for truly adult live actions shows of time. I only read first few issues which oddly were only available on Amazon’s Kindle ap at the time. Chynna drew the odd number issues if I recall correctly. (1, 3, etc.) It was ok but just missing the live performances of the actors to bring it to life and ot really anything new.

    I actually preferred the Saved By The Bell comic series published by Harvey Comics around the time the original show was winding down way back when.

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