Penguins of Madagascar #3, a solid all age comic with grins and laughs

Penguins of Madagascar #3 is what I wanted the mini-series to be.  Unlike the second issue which seemed to open up an ongoing story, the third issue is simply pure, happy penguin, Afro Circus fun that puts everything in a bow at the end of the issue.

Skipper and the guys are auditioning for a new act to pump up the circus on their European tour. The elephants and everyone else just aren’t performing the way they used to.  The penguins open up interviews and a whole cast of character come in like a kangaroo who is scared of heights, a lazy orangutan and a dog named Claude the clown.

Claude is a keeper, but also a prankster who might have ulterior motives.  One of the funnier moments in the comic for me was when Private said, “Hoover Dam! I didn’t see that coming!  You’re hired!”, when talking to Claude.

From there Cluade manages to anger the tiger, bear, elephant, basically all of the animals in the circus which causes a talent shortage.  Cluade hires a team of ferrets to do the same acts, which they do a fabulous job of except it was all a ruse for the ferrets to take over the circus.

In the end Private catches Cluade as he’s trying to escape, gets over his fear of clowns and saves the day using an exploding clown nose.  This is what I was expecting from a Penguins comic book.  It’s bright, fun to read and will appeal to fans who have seen them on the big screen.  This is also funnier than #2 in the series, but points out that I need to go back and re-read it just to confirm my thoughts on that issue.

Regardless Penguins of Madagascar #3 is a fun all age comic read for anyone that likes to grin or watch their heroes waddle around as they save the day.