I Love Ya But You're Strange - How Did It Take Until 1992 For Kid 'n' Play to Have Their Own Comic Book?

CBR

By Brian Cronin

Published Mar 11, 2013

Every week, I will spotlight strange but ultimately endearing comic stories (basically, we're talking lots and lots of Silver Age comic books). Here is the archive of all the installments of this feature. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have a suggestion for a future installment!

Today we look at the first issue of Kid 'n' Play's comic book from 1992 (written by Dwight Coye with art by Chuck Frazier and Ron Boyd).

Kid 'n' Play, in case you are unfamiliar with them, were hip hop recording artists and dancers who became film stars when they starred in the 1990 film House Party (which was quite a fun film. It was written and directed by future Black Panther writer Reginald Hudlin). They got their own cartoon series from 1990-91. Oddly enough, then, it was not until 1992 that Marvel actually put out a comic based on the cartoon series.

The weirdest thing about the book is....well, the weirdest thing about the book is that it is about Kid 'n' Play, but BESIDES that...okay, the second oddest thing is the whole "released when there was no longer a cartoon series to tie-in with" but BESIDES that, is the fact that the comic is actually a decent story with very nice artwork from Frazier and Boyd.

The issue opens with Kid 'n' Play and their friend (likely based on the character Bilal in the House Party movies, who was played by Martin Lawrence in the movies and I believe Lawrence even voiced this character in the cartoon) getting assaulted by some guys whose girlfriends they hit on...

This leads to the boys deciding to take a martial arts class...

Naturally, things get way out of hand (Since this is not the House Party continuity, that's not Pops from the movie, but it seems like it is intended to evoke Pops. Robin Harris as Pops was outstanding in the first House Party film)...