Princess Bubblegum in spaaaaace! After launching a rampaging Marceline into outer space, Princess Bubblegum follows after her in a self-built spaceship in order to bring her back home to the land of Ooo.

This issue of Marceline Gone Adrift delivers on the premise of the series: more Marceline, more Bubblegum, and a deeper exploration of Adventure Time‘s space-faring cultures. Marceline finds herself on a barren moon, the temporary home of the Tuffbone people. They don’t know what music is, due to the lack of air in space, but are an artistic people in their own right, leading to an instant bond with Marcie. Marceline’s story gives artist Carey Pietsch a chance to shine. The bright colors and artistic quality of the Glo the Tuffbones use is mesmerizing, and the Tuffbones themselves, depicted as tiny, dog-like woodland critters, are beyond adorable.

Meanwhile, Princess Bubblegum’s journeys bring her into contact with the Leaflans, the space-faring kingdom she’s been at odds with for months. Writer Meredith Gran’s dialogue made me instantly love these leaf-shaped people, from their excitable Bubblegum hater to their Prince, Chlorophyll, who really wants to be thought of as an adult, even going as far as to grow the dreaded peach fuzz (leaf fuzz?) mustache.

And, satisfying Sugarless Gum shippers everywhere, Gran and Pietsch play with the ideas behind Bubblegum and Marceline’s past relationship, exploring the bond they have and their ability to devastate one another emotionally or lift their spirits. Bubblegum and Marceline may not interact in the present day of this comic, but their separation provides a greater opportunity to explore how they feel (love and hate) about the other. Because apart, they can express how they really feel.

Five Shiny Bottles of Glo out of Five