3 out of 5

Our second annual installment of Spongebob superheroics features a disappointing lack of Derek Drymon, but balances out the more straight kid stuff with some good ads and winky indie additions.

Kolchalka and Israel Sanchez are the perpetrators of the ‘meh’ entries this time around.  Kolchalka’s one-page gags are normally acceptable dumb, but it seems that when drawn in a less childish style (by the quite capable Jacob Chabot) and extended to feature length, that acceptability factor goes down.  Sanchez has a hullaballoo go down at the market, ‘Bob and Patrick trying to help but wreaking havoc.  Sanchez’s work is bright and stylized, it’s just pretty straight-forward on the antics factor.

Jay Lender Squidward hero fantasy earns points for its endless references to comic characters known and obscure, and Paul Karasik / R. Sikoryak’s plankton comeuppance really just had a visual verve that sells it.  But, as usual, it’s Drymon to the rescue with a seahorse / Barnacle Boy mindswap tale, drawn in a cheeky Archie-esque style by José Delbo; perfectly silly, but self-aware enough to keep it smart.

Leighton and Mark Martin do their usual ad thing, but they’re actually pretty funny this time out – much more dry humored – and used, wisely, to break up the stories.