Die Schlümpfe #18

Papa Schlumpf lies bundled up in bed looking thoroughly under the weather, while a Smurf in a white doctor's coat checks him with a stethoscope and Smurfette approaches carrying a tray — the cover of Die Schlümpfe #18 sets a charmingly comedic medical scene straight away. Titled "Doktor Schlumpf" and crafted by writer Thierry Culliford, co-writers Luc Parthoens and Thomas Schöner, and artist/inker Alain Maury with colors by Nine Culliford, this 2013 Splitter Verlag album promises the kind of warm, playful humor that makes these Belgian blue characters so endlessly enjoyable. If bedside manner is anything to go by, the Smurfs' village clinic is in very entertaining hands.