I have said it before and I will say it again. The Adventure Time comics are great. They have been consistently good at striking that delicate balance between being accessible for kids and entertaining for adults. This issue is no different, and might be my favorite one so far.

The comic is continuing the story of the band’s tour. In this issue, Marceline and the Scream Queens are getting ready for a gig at Sound City, which is located under the sound. The story in this issue doesn’t depend on the events of the last issue. There is some character development that is continued, but this is more like an episode of Buffy than of Lost. As a result, this would be an excellent issue to pick up even if you haven’t been following the series. There is some hilarity involving the problems that a band might have playing underwater, and some deftly handled emotional touches in a book that seems light and silly. Ultimately, the main story in this issue is about becoming a little bit more grown up.

Like the other Adventure Time comics, this one has some mini stories at the end. One of these is especially good. Titled The Bootlegger, this six-page story manages to be a hilarious and somewhat disturbing detective story. We follow Peppermint Butler (who is a butler, and also a peppermint) and his associate Cinnamon Bun (who is a cinnamon bun) as they try to uncover the source of counterfeit tickets to the Scream Queens’ concert. I was genuinely surprised by this story. Somehow, it manages to cram three acts into those six pages. This is exactly the sort of thing that I want in my comics. I love small, interesting stories that add to the world and entertain at the same time.

Four and a Half Candy-Based Employees out of Five.