Graphic Novel Review: Regular Show “A Clash of Consoles”

In this third Regular Show original graphic novel, chaos breaks out when three mega-corporations release their new video game consoles on the exact same day! (Basically it’s what would happen if “Black Friday” escalated into a literal dystopian warzone.) But, before Mordecai & Rigby can decide which gaming platform to buy, they’re drafted into opposing sides of an all-out gaming war chock full of laser beams, Maximum Gloves, and pixelated casualties, and the stakes have never been higher.

Some Spoilers Below

Having not watched a Regular Show episode in a long time, due to how polarizing Margaret was as a character to me and how nearly any episode she appeared in made her mere existence bring out the worst in people and caused “Felicity Smoak” levels of pointless drama for Mordecai with it’s “will they?/won’t they?” shipping dynamic which is what turned me away from the show to begin with. Thankfully that “drama” is either tossed aside or downplayed as Margaret is at least tolerable as a news reporter within the plot and serves as a “Framing Device” to the so-called “Console War” with the first person she interviews just happens to be Mordecai as he recounts the events that lead up to how this titular “Console War” went too far.

Progressively Margaret’s “Framing Device” within the plot serves to help us better understand the so-called “Console Wars” from different points of view. It also gets a bit comical & under-handed when you learn about the process of how game companies forcibly draft gamers or trick them into enlisting to their warring console “Factions” via a “Gaming Tips” hotline. Hilariously we don’t have those anymore thanks to the internet you could easily Google those tips & cheat codes. 😛

The art is colorful and spot-on to the show which was carefully done by Zé Burnay with unique uses of color accompanied by writers Robert Luckett & Rachel Connor, who at least know how to deliver some decent parodies here, i.e.”Game of Thrones” and “Full Metal Jacket”.  I even had moments where I could hear the characters respective voices in my head as I was reading their dialogue.

While this is a self-contained storyline there are some references and call-backs to actual episodes and whether it’s for better or worse, they often remind us how much Mordecai sucks as a significant other to the women in his life regardless of whom he’s with.

The drill sergeant plot-twist was fairly predictable and a bit bland yet everything finally made sense by the end of the story and ends with some typical “Benson is Pissed” humor and a profound message about breaking free from limiting yourself when it comes to picking a game system which in a way game companies and elitist obsessive fandoms are often guilty of.

“Clash of Consoles” was a fun short-story and it’s only recommend to fans who have feverishly followed the series. Both the show and the book heavily rely on the reader knowing who the characters are and what happened in-canon with the show since characters are often mentioned but never seen (C.J. for example). I wouldn’t be surprised if this got animated at some point in case the writers run out of ideas because it actually felt like a good Regular Show episode and that’s not an easy task to replicate.