#31 Disney Kingdoms: Figment 1 - Journey Into Imagination by Jim Zub
I will preface this by saying that Figment, the little purple dragon, has been an absolute favorite character of mine since my very first Disney trip in 1989, at the ripe old age of 6 1/2 years old. So, I was VERY excited to find that he has his very own comic books!
Blair Mercurial is an inventor who works for a school. Deciding that dream power is going to power the future, he creates a machine, powered by a helmet, the Mesmonic Converter. With it, he brings his childhood imaginary friend, Figment the dragon, to life. But the machine is unstable and Blair and Figment are sucked into a different dimension - into the world of Imagination, where they meet several new characters, some good (like Fye) and some evil (Nightmare). Together, they must battle their way back to Earth and Blair harnesses the power of his imagination, becoming the Dreamfinder in the process. But things back on Earth aren't so great - the chairman of the school has accidently unleashed an evil creature whose army is destroying London...
As a huge Disney/Figment fan, I adored this story. I grew up knowing Figment and Dreamfinder (who has unfortunately been ousted from the theme park ride and been replaced by Eric Idle as an Imagination Institute researcher - nothing against Eric Idle, he's awesome), and as I said, I was ecstatic to find they had their own comic. The story made sense for the characters and deepened both backstories in a very charming, creative way. I couldn't put it down!
#32 Disney Kingdoms: Figment 2 - Legacy of Imagination by Jim Zub
Dreamfinder and Figment are back! This time, after having saved London, they travel 100 years into the future - to our present time. There they crash land into the new school - moved now to Florida. The school looks EXACTLY like the Imagination Institute in EPCOT in Disney World. And there's a EXACT replica of the Spaceship Earth dome - pegged as a mysterious energy source no one at the school can figure out. Energy reserves at the school are waning, and Dreamfinder is asked to help. But doubts plague him and when he tries to usse his Mesmonic Converter, those fears become a sentient creature and turn into the Doubtfinder. Figment escapes and finds a new ally in the form of Capri - Dreamfinder's great-great-great-grand niece. She, like Dreamfinder, is full of dream power, and together this new sort of misfit team work to free the academy of the Doubtfinder.
Again, I thought the tale was spot on for the characters. I easily read Figment's lines in his voice from the ride - it totally maintained that childlike wonder and optimism he's known for. I loved the references to Disney World, and even Walt himself - Walt's saying "If you can dream it, you can do it" makes an appearance. My only regret is that there are no more comics!
