''Rick and Morty – Lil' Poopy Superstar'', known in languages other than

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as ''Rick and Morty – The Adventures of Mr. Poopybutthole'', is a

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

, written and illustrated by Sarah Graley, and colored by Mildred Louis, and published in five parts in 2016 by Oni Press, as a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

of the company's first ongoing comic series based on the self-titled franchise by

Justin Roiland Mark Justin Roiland (born February 21, 1980) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the co-creator of Adult Swim's ''Rick and Morty'' and its subsequent Rick and Morty (franchise), franchise. H ...

and

Dan Harmon Daniel James Harmon (born January 3, 1973) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast ''Harmontown ...

. Part One was released on July 13; Part Two was released on September 8; Part Three was released on September 21; Part Four was released on October 19; and Part Five was released on November 16 (all in 2016). Each issue of the series contains a backup story entitled ''Meanwhile…'' (illustrated by Marc Ellerby), exploring the actions of other members of the Smith family over the course of ''Lil' Poopy Superstar''. While intended to launch an ongoing series, subtitled "Volume 1" on publication of the collected volume, a second volume was ultimately cancelled, with "Part Five" marking the conclusion of the series. The series is notable for exploring the origin story of

Mr. Poopybutthole ''Rick and Morty'' is an American adult animated multimedia franchise originating with the Adult Swim television series of the same name created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, which premiered in 2013, which revolves around Rick Sanchez, an e ...

, a

recurring Recurring means occurring repeatedly and can refer to several different things: Mathematics and finance *Recurring expense, an ongoing (continual) expenditure *Repeating decimal, or recurring decimal, a real number in the decimal numeral syste ...

supporting character and "long-time family friend" of the Smith family introduced in the second season episode "

Total Rickall "Total Rickall" is the fourth episode of the second season of the Adult Swim animated television series ''Rick and Morty''. Written by Mike McMahan and directed by Juan Meza-León, the episode premiered on August 16, 2015. It shows the Smith famil ...

" of the ''Rick and Morty'' television series, and his post-recovery adventures with Summer Smith in-between the events of the episode and "

The Wedding Squanchers "The Wedding Squanchers" is the tenth and final episode of the second season of the American animated television sitcom ''Rick and Morty'', and the 21st overall episode of the series. Written by Tom Kauffman and directed by Wes Archer, the episod ...

", receiving a generally positive critical reception. In 2017, the series was nominated for the 2016 Licensed Comic of the Year and Best New Comic Book Series at the Diamond Gem Awards.

Overview

Sometime after the events of the ''

Rick and Morty {{Infobox television , image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png , alt = , caption = , genre = {{Plainlist, * Animated sitcom * Adult animation * Science fiction * Black comedy * ...

'' second season episode "

", after recovering from being shot by

Beth Smith Bethany "Beth" Smith (née Sanchez) is one of the main characters of the American animated television series ''Rick and Morty''. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Beth is a veterinarian who specializes in horse surgery, who is struck ...

(after she had mistaken him for a

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

recruits Beth's daughter

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

to assist him in reintegrating himself to the society of his home dimension, where-in he was the world's most-famous television and movie star, while also preparing Summer for her

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

's first prom. ''Meanwhile…'', the rest of the Smith family have a series of misadventures good and bad.

Premise

Part One

After recovering from being shot by

in "

is in trouble, and turns to the one person he can trust: Summer Smith! She's more than willing to help, but is he telling her the whole truth? Exploring his origin story, the two embark on their very own fantastic adventure across space, complete with jailbreaks, hijackings, and

prom. ''Meanwhile…'',

Rick Sanchez Rick Sanchez is one of the two eponymous characters from the Adult Swim animated television series ''Rick and Morty'' and resulting franchise. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon and voiced by the former, Sanchez is a misanthropic alcohol ...

helps

Morty Smith Mortimer Chauncey "Morty" Smith, Sr. is one of the eponymous characters from the American animated television series ''Rick and Morty''. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, and voiced by the former, Morty is a 14-year-old boy loosely ins ...

with a test.

Part Two

Mr. Poopybutthole (PB) lets

in on an industry secret: that being a huge television and movie star isn't what it's cracked up to be! He should know after all, seeing as he was this dimension's biggest "Lil' Poopy Superstar" until he mysteriously went missing, running away to Earth! Together Summer and Mr. Poopybutthole must work together to avoid the latter's savage fans, sneak into buildings undetected, and get back onto the big screen. ''Meanwhile…'',

and Jerry Smith go on a pleasant inter-dimensional road trip together!

Part Three

Things take a turn for the worse when

and

get split up and Summer ends up in space jail! What's even up with space jail? What would Mr. Poopybutthole do? All we know is that Summer must break out! Armed only with a portal gun on low battery and Mr. Poopybutthole's bowler hat, she must come up with a plan – and without a moment to spare! She can't miss the school prom on Friday, after all. ''Meanwhile…'',

rescues her husband

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

from a monster searching for

Rick Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

in a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

Part Four

Mr. Poopybutthole (PB) is up to his top hat in trouble! Kidnapped and tied to a chair, PB must negotiate with his crooked agent Cecelia! Otherwise he'll get forced into a contract of being a glamorous tv/movie star again, oOOo-wee, no thank you. It seems only

can save him now, but will she get to Mr. Poopybutthole in time before he is whisked away and put on a film set? ''Meanwhile…'' at home,

reveals

's tasty secret: making cupcakes with his family's faces decorated on them at his

night school A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The Scuola ...

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

Part Five

It's finally the most anticipated event of the year, Prom!

and

are all dressed up and ready to unwind after a stressful adventure, but when some uninvited guests crash the party, they make it a night Summer and Mr. Poopybutthole will never forget. ''Meanwhile…'' in an alternate ending, in Dimension S-223, will Rick finally be rewarded what is rightfully his – this year's Prom King crown and sash?

Development

In February 2017, Mildred Louis described her work on colouring Sarah Graley's art on ''Lil' Poopy Superstar'' as doing "a really great job of capturing a lot of the punch from the "''

''" cartoon while still maintaining a good amount of influence from their own work", while having "a really nice playful quality to it". Graley herself further revealed that she was initially approached by Oni Press editor Ari Yarwood (who described the series as "charming and fun"), to pitch a standalone issue of the first (2015–2020) ''Rick and Morty'' ongoing comic book series, which ultimately turned into an order for a five-issue

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

, with the potential to become an ongoing series itself. Describing ''

'' as having been one of her favourite cartoons, and working on the series as feeling like "writing/drawing

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...

but as my job". Asked on the process of "taking a one-off (and more or less undefined character) and turning him into the focal point of a story", Graley elaborated that it "gave era lot of creative freedom nd thatI started brainstorming ideas

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

I realized I could really dig into this and get creative", defining Summer Smith as "quick witted,

ne who NE, Ne or ne may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Neutral Evil, an alignment in the American role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' * New Edition, an American vocal group * Nicomachean Ethics, a collection of ten books by Greek philosopher Ar ...

takes control and doesn't take any BS" and

as "eccentric and maybe a loose cannon?", with both having "good intentions and strong moral compasses, which lead them on this adventure to right a wrong in Mr. Poopybutthole's mysterious past". On developing her own artistic style for the series, Graley stated that she wanted the comic to "still reflect the show artistically hile allowing herown style to be present", citing a love for picking up comics where "the style breaks the mould and reflects the particular artist's own personal touch", specifically citing issues of the mainline series by Zac Gorman and Kyle Starks. On writing

's dialogue and its "rhythm", Graley described it as "a little weird to start with, as there wasn't much dialogue as reference to work from! Mr. Poopybutthole has such unique vocabulary though, so what I had to work with was plenty in regards to getting the voice right in the comic. "Ooo-wees" totally snuck into my own vocabulary for a little while, though. I bet I was a total treat to hang out with because of that." Graley described the various backup stories as "little peeks into what the rest of the Smith family were up to while Summer and Mr. Poopybutthole were off adventuring ndsuper fun to play around with the other characters", in particular her "favorite character" Jerry Smith, before concluding the overall process to have been "a total blast". The series'

variant cover In comic books, a variant cover (sometimes variant edition) refers to an issue of a comic book printed with multiple covers, each with unique cover art. The first comic book marketed with a variant cover was the 1986 first issue of '' The Man of St ...

s were illustrated by Megan Levens, Cat Farris, Sara Richard, Katy Farina,

Alice Meichi Li Alice Meichi Li (李美姿) is a Chinese-American, New York City-based visual artist and illustrator for comic books, magazines, and album covers.

Molly Ostertag Molly Knox Ostertag (born October 28, 1991) is an American cartoonist and writer. Her work includes the animated series ''The Owl House'', webcomic '' Strong Female Protagonist'', the middle grade graphic novel series (''The Witch Boy'', ''The ...

, Emilee Denich, and Julieta Colás. In a separate interview in April 2017, responding to Katy Farina's statement of writing the series allowing "a lot of freedom to experiment with colors and light sources in all these alien worlds, so I get to mess around a bunch", Sarah Graley further described the writing of ''Lil' Poopy Superstar'' in allowing "playing around with other people's characters spretty amazing nd drawingartwork that would later be coloured by Mildred Louis sa really cool part of working on "''Lil' Poopy Superstar''," because she's always knocking it outta the park", concluding that it was "exciting working on a team, submitting all your parts separately and then later seeing everything finished, coming together to form each awesome issue".

Reception

David Brooke of ''AIPT Comics'' lauded Sarah Graley's writing and illustrations as "bringing a unique art style that’s reminiscent of Bryan Lee O'Malley nda lot of

he same He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

energy sher series ''Pizza Witch'', which a series like this needs", describing the series' antagonists as "some kind of amalgam of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' and Meatball from '' Aqua Teen Hunger Force''", before concluding to compliment the "special effects around he title character thatadd a bit of oomph to the character" and describe the series as "a must read for die hard ''Rick and Morty'' fans". Denis Varkov of ''Kanobu'' complimented ''Lil' Poopy Superstar'' as the first

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

in the franchise, as a "simple as possible

tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

worth paying attention to". while Paul Mirek of '' Broken Frontier'' simply summed up the series as "unsummarizable". ''Comic Bastards'' praised the "quirkiness" as strong, embracing the "crazy, sci-fi parody goodness" of the franchise, noting that "this comic eems to bemade for existing fans of the show, but it would be better if this comic was accessible to those who aren't already familiar with the source material ��satirical and even thought provoking at times, despite all its obvious, wacky craziness". ''The Bookish Kirra'' complimented Sarah Graley's illustrations as "pretty great with the same look of the show but with a rounder and quicker drawing style

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

a lot of effort put into the drawing ndepth and detailed background settings", and her writing as "very similar to the show

a good amount of tto keep the story flowing quickly", while Adam Frey of ''Pop Culture Uncovered'' praised Graley's "hyperbolic take on the characters", criticising her art as "neither replicating the show’s distinct style nor making its own unique take on the characters". In 2017, the series was nominated for the 2016 Licensed Comic of the Year and Best New Comic Book Series at the Diamond Gem Awards.

Collected editions

References

External links

''Rick and Morty – Lil' Poopy Superstar''
at Oni Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Rick and Morty - Lil' Poopy Superstar 2016 graphic novels Superstar, Lil' Poopy Oni Press titles Prequel comics Sequel comics