Sham Comics Presents: The Adventures of the Nerdly Boyz (A Parody of Adventures of the Dover Boys)

So what exactly do you call a parody of a parody?  Well, over a year and a half ago, I picked up and read a reprint of an old 1950s comic titled Adventures of the Dover Boys, which was a parody of sorts of the old Stratemeyer series, The Rover Boys.  The story was actually well done, considering when it was published, and I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.  Sadly, it was only a one-off comic, with no other issues of this title ever being published.  Thus, you can imagine my surprise when I'm thumbing through Previews a couple of months ago and saw a comic that sported the same exact cover as the Adventures of the Dover Boys!  Needless to say, it caught my attention, so I looked a bit further at the advertisement.  Published by Source Point Press, the comic was titled Sham Comics, and this second issue of the series presented a story titled "The Adventures of the Nerdly Boyz."

If the title of the comic itself was not enough to give away the fact that this was going to be pure parody, the cover dialogue more than confirms it!  Similar in nature to the MST3K comic series I recently read and reviewed, this series appears to take old comics (likely those in public domain) and while maintaining the original art, reworks all of the word balloons, thought bubbles, and text boxes to create an entirely different story!  And as the text on the cover proudly proclaims, "What is the idol's secret? You may never know because nothing like this actually happens in this issue!"  

The story of "The Nerdly Boyz and the Riches of the Wango Bango" provides readers with a hysterically new story involving Spud and Pud Nerdly, who are touted as identical twins (although Spud is ten months older than his brother and has a different mother).  They live with their father, Colonel Horatio Nerdly, and their doting housekeeper, Eudora Graybush.  Taking over the role of the villain is the colonel's former partner, Professor Basil Ratburn, and his son, Dickie.  The comic is represented exactly as the original, including advertisements at the end of some of the chapters (although these advertisements are not real and will certainly make you giggle, if not laugh out loud!).  And while the story is not overly vulgar, there are definitely some more adult moments (such as the 24-karat gold dildo in the shape of an ear of corn, the racist remarks of Mrs. Graybush, and the blunt use of the "f" bomb).

Tim Fuller is identified as the "rewriter and designer" for the comic, and while I'm not familiar with the name, I have to give him some high praise for his ability to create an entirely new story from an existing comic.  What was originally written to show two very smart, quick-thinking, and adventurous young men has been changed to show two inept, ridiculously incompetent, and unbelievably lucky nerds.  In fact, the re-write brought out some things that I never noticed when I read the original Dover Boys tale, such as the full-on lip-lock of Pud (Tim) and Mrs. Graybush (Aunt Martha) on panel three of page 10!  How in the world did I not catch that in the original comic?  Then there's the guy who shows up on page 29 of the story and immediately gets killed when he runs off with the treasure!  He appeared way back on page 7 for just a few panels and is not seen or heard from again until the end of the story - a fact that is quickly pointed out by Spud on page 30 (and which, again, I did not really catch when I read the original Dover Boys comic!). 

The rewritten story follows Spud and Pud as they go on a treasure hunt to steal the gold from the Wango Bango tribe of natives.  They are rescued by a doctor and his assistant ("Freebird!"), who join on the hunt.  Of course, they encounter the natives and have to rescue poor Freebird from being sacrificed as a virgin (although, as she so bluntly tells them, they are barking up the wrong bush!).  From smelly farts in the tunnels to an ancient butt plug as the last remaining momento of their treasure hunt, the Nerdly Boyz share an adventure that will undoubtedly make you laugh!

I'm all for a good parody, and this comic was a GREAT parody!  I'll be keeping on eye on this Sham Comics series to see what they'll be making fun of next!

RATING:  10 talking red Buddhas out of 10 for proving just how much fun a really great parody can be!