Super Why’s Comic Book Adventures (stylized as Super WHY's Comic Book Adventures) is a CGI 2D-animated spin-off cartoon of the 3D-animated original Super WHY! television series. The pilot was released on September 20th, 2023 and the series later premiered on the PBS KIDS Network on October 18th, 2023.
Development[]
The original Super Why series ended its run on May 12th, 2016 as the 3rd season finale. Since then, Out of the Blue Enterprises (the company that owns the Super Why TV series and characters) was bought by 9 Story Media Group to strengthen its presence in the US market. The IP would continue to lay dormant until early September of 2023 when SCETV (a local PBS affiliate station) wrote a press-release regarding upcoming PBS KIDS programming for the latter half of 2023. In it was the following:
"The new short-format series Super Why's Comic Book Adventures premieres in October. Together with the newest Super Reader, Power Paige, Super Why will save the day (and the story!) from Literacy Villains and other literacy anomalies in Reader Valley. Jumping into a 2D comic book world, this series of musical shorts will expand preschool and kindergarten literacy skills with catchy new songs that break down big skills for early readers."
Then, on September 20th, 9 Story and the LA Times launched a pair of articles properly announcing the show alongside the first episode being released prematurely on the PBS KIDS YouTube channel.
Characters[]
Heroes[]
Every Super Reader who debuted from the original series has received a new look.
- Whyatt Beanstalk/Super Why, the title character and the leader of the Super Readers as well as the first of the 2007 veterans.
- Red/Wonder Red, the co-leader of the Super Readers as well as the second of the 2007 veterans.
- Power Paige, the newest addition to the Super Readers.
- Princess Pea/Princess Presto, the third-in-command 2007 veteran, notable for having a role in almost every episode of the original series. She is the only Super Reader in the spin-off to keep her voice actress from the main show.
- Alpha Pig/Littlest Pig and Woofster are the only 2007 veterans of the Super Readers who are notably absent from this comic show. However, Alpha Pig appears as Power Paige's plushie in Episode 14: "Outta Compound Words!" and even Woofster appears in Whyatt’s painting of a dog in Episode 8: “Power Paige’s Art Smarts”.
Villains/Anti-heroes[]
A new aspect of Comic Book Adventures is the Literacy Villains (who are mostly Anti-heroes). They include:
- The Eraser, one of two 2007 veterans. He has received a new, lankier design styled after a pink eraser and erases words.
- More Man, returning from Season 3 of the main original series as the second 2007 evil veteran. He adds an 'S' to the end of things to multiply them.
- Outta Space, an orange alien who rides around in a flying saucer and removes spaces from phrases, or entire words from sentences!
- The Shuffler, a humanoid robot that shuffles things up.
Episodes[]
- Episode 1: Word Storm! (released September 20, 2023 as a pilot; Learning Concept: Reading words with two or three letters)
- Episode 2: More More Man! (released October 18, 2023 as the series premiere; Learning Concept: Plural words)
- Episode 3: AEIOU, Trouble at the Zoo! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: Short Vowels)
- Episode 4: More Man’s More Plan! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: The punctuation mark, period)
- Episode 5: Power Paige vs. Outta Space! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: Putting spaces between words in sentences)
- Episode 6: Power Paige and the Fireworks! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: Spelling Words)
- Episode 7: Elephant in Exclamation Park! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: Counting Syllables in a word)
- Episode 8: Power Paige’s Art Smarts (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: Beginning Sounds)
- Episode 9: Power Plug! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: Letter Recognition)
- Episode 10: Super S! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: The letter S and words that begin with S)
- Episode 11: Save the Signs! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: Long Vowels)
- Episode 12: And More! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: The Conjunction ‘and’)
- Episode 13: Power Paige’s Tree Troubles! (released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: The word family, ‘all’)
- Episode 14: Outta Compound Words! (released October 18, 2023) Learning Concept: Compound Words
- Episode 15: The Missing Bug (Released October 18, 2023; Learning Concept: The word family, ‘ug’)
- Episode 16: Gotta Get the Letter G! (released November 17, 2023; Learning Concept: Letter Recognition)
- Episode 17: Outta Space is Outta Control (released November 17, 2023; Learning Concept: Words with different Letter order)
- Episode 18: Cats at Bat (released November 17, 2023; Learning Concept: The word family, 'at')
- Episode 19: Troubling Tongue Twisters (released November 17, 2023; Learning Concept: Tongue Twisters)
- Episode 20: Reader Valley Freeze (released November 17, 2023; Outta Space uses Hot and Cold Ray)
Voice Cast[]
- Super Why - Jayd Deroche
- Power Paige - Delia Chambers
- Wonder Red - Willa Scace
- Princess Presto - Tajja Isen
- More Man - Don Chameroy
- The Eraser - Andrew Sabinston
- Outta Space - Taylor Abrahamse
- The Shuffler - Alicia Richardson
Episodes/Gallery (episodes only available in the US)[]
Trivia[]
- The concept of the friendship of heroes and villains is similar to the one in the Dragon Ball Z franchise, where most of the villains (such as Vegeta, Android 18 and 17, Piccolo), become friends with the hero as the journey continues.
- There is a song in every episode.