Hey Poptropicans! ✨ The Mystery of the Forgotten Islands, the fan comic by RainbowBrush (Tough Spinner), is back to wrap up Act 1! Catch parts one and two here if you haven’t yet, and read the latest release below. Watch out—things get wild! 💥
Eek—what could the Red Baroness be up to, and how is Tough Spinner going to tough this one out?! Stay tuned to find out! You can also follow along on the adventure on Instagram and Reddit.
RainbowBrush adds, “Page 10 is one of my favorite pages because of the map. It was fun drawing that and adding the textures for it.”
Love Poptropica art as much as we do? Consider joining our Discord server, the Poptropica Help Chat (PHC), for frequent doses of fan art and lots more fun with the community. We’d love to have you! 💙
Red October is upon us! Board the Baron’s airship unless you want the Queen of Fairytale Island herself on your case — ahem, if you’d like to partake in some Halloween shopping. You know, casual.
That’s right. The infamous Red Queen, the very one mentioned time and again throughout this Fairytale Island extended story, has arrived at last, guarded by dark knights and cats. And she’s on a mission!
She woke up and chose violence.
Things aren’t looking too good for the green weasel in question. Rumpelstiltskin escaped the airship before the Queen arrived — possibly taking the Baron and her faithful monkey Ack with him, but neither of their whereabouts are known. No Baron’s Crusade this time!
There’s also an interesting bit of dialogue from the Queen that mentions Astro Knights. Could this beloved lost island be reentering the plot?
In response to our question, “Where are you returning from?”Who’s gonna tell her that we players and the King freed Rumpel 😬
With these new revelations, we’re left with more questions than before. What are the 7 systems the Red Queen speaks of conquering? How exactly does she plan to defeat Rumpel with that hammer (and do we want to know)? Where’s Rumpel hiding? Is the Queen planning to save her daughter the Baron, or is she after Rumpel for personal gain alone?
It also makes us wonder if Rumpel may not have been Fairytale’s true villain all along. With the introduction of the Red Queen, he’s no longer a menacing shapeshifter but a victim on the run. Will we as the player end up helping him? Whose side are we on?
On a lighter note, the Baron’s absence isn’t hindering her shop’s success: as announced, six new fan-made costumes (one designed by yours truly) are now available in-game for free! Personally, I’m pleased with how my “Jellyfish” was interpreted. The other five look fabulous as well!
You might find these pieces useful for your entry in the PHB’s Halloween costume contest, which is open till October 29. Besides the Red Queen and green fiend, don’t forget to pop in a bit of blue as well. Good luck!
Besides the costumes, you can also pick up two styles of jack-o-lanterns for 50 credits each, and a Rumpel-ized Baron Plushie for 200.
By the way, while Ack is nowhere to be seen, you can still earn credits by playing the Clear the Skies mini-game on the airship, which has been refreshed with a new skin to match the Red October mood!
Meanwhile, Amelia is no longer dangling under the clutches of Baronstiltskin, but back down on Home Island operating an autumnal sale of her own. She makes no mention of what she went through, but you can pop by Adventure Outfitters for hoodies and Halloween decor!
Whew! It’s certainly been an eventful day. There are many different directions the story of the royal family could take, all of them equally intriguing. I’d love to read your thoughts and theories — drop ’em in the comments below! Happy Red October, everyone. 🎃
The Queen’s Batman-like cats are watching…
~💜
Thanks to Dizzy Feather for contributing to this post.
Previously, players were concerned about the Baron’s well-being after she twitched with excitement for a Rumpelstiltskin-inspired collection then suddenly disappeared. Now, the Baron now bears a striking resemblance to Rumpel himself! I guess he couldn’t keep up the charade much longer. Baronstiltskin invites us little adventurers to climb aboard her his airship. Let’s see what awaits us this spooky season!
Baron? You look a little green.
While the ship has kept its shape, the surrounding sky is purple and sparkly, like the appearance of Rumpel’s magic. Baronstiltskin is unashamed of their new identity, and Ack has followed suit!
The Cabin of Curiosities is full of surprises this month. Let’s ease ourselves in by checking out the two free winning costumes: Candy Girl by Fast Leopard and Jester by Blue Bones! 🍭🤡
Moving to the right, we see Amelia dangling from the ceiling while Baronstiltskin is eating grapes served by Rumpel-fied Ack. The three are surrounded by a pumpkin couch, candy bags, a jack-o’-lantern lamp, a black cat clock, and a cemetery painting. Despite being an aviator-apprehending antagonist, Rumpel offers all of these Halloween furnishings for the low price of 10 credits each.
Rumpelstiltskin reveals that he possessed the Baron and gave Ack an illusionary makeover. As for why he’s doing this, he alludes to how he became trapped on Fairytale Island then says that he is inviting the Baron’s mother over for tea.
Rumpelstiltskin confirms that the Red Baron has ties to Fairytale Island’s royal family, as shown in new dialogue options presented after completing the Baron’s Crusade quest(Thanks to Dizzy Feather for the screenshots!). Accounts from Rumpel and Fairytale’s prince paint the Baron’s mother, the Red Queen, as a destructive woman obsessed with cats and conquering. Why did the queen trap Rumpelstiltskin in the first place, and how can we fix this mess?
It makes you wonder if all of this was in Fairytale’s original pitch for the Create Your Dream Island contest. The Creators mentioned that the pitch had a full storyline and intrigue, two things that felt missing when Fairytale Island first released. Since then, the sheer amount of quests, clues, and cameos relating to Fairytale Island, Rumpelstiltskin, Amelia, and the Baron seem like they’re leading up to something big.
Will we finally get some answers for last Thanksgiving’s teaser?
I predict that we’ll see a new quest that will tie all of these storylines together. It’s hard to believe that it took almost two years to wrap up Fairytale Island’s story, which is bizarre to say the least. What do you make of all of this? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Welp, we’re nearing the end of September, which means it’s almost time to wake up… for spooky season! Get ready for the PHB’s annual Halloween costume contest coming up in October! 🎃
And though Poptropica has spent the entire month ignoring their big milestone, we’ll go ahead and say it: happy 15th birthday, Poptropica. Wish we had something special to go with it in the game, but like our beloved Balloon Boy, it seems to be up in the air. 🎈
Along with the Baron’s Rumpel remarks comes a heavy hint for what’s brewing. On the official blog, the Pop Creators have promised that a members only adventure is about to be unlocked for all next week involving an “expedition across the islands.” Fairytale followers can probably figure out the quest in question: Rumpel’s Challenge! 😈
Rumpel takeover at the Baron’sRumpel’s Challenge
We’re super stoked and honored to have the Pop Creators shout out our Poppies event! 🏆✨ As they shared on the blog, we’re calling all players to nominate their faves in a variety of categories for our Poptropica fan awards. Comment on our Poppies postby Wednesday, July 13 and check back later for the voting round and deets for a can’t-miss party! 🥳
Illustration by MaryannTheConqueror
Speaking of fandom fanfare, this week also marks the launch of the next monthly costume contest, which is open until Friday, July 22 at 8pm PST.
Plus, guest writer Dizzy Feather is also continuing her fanfiction The Pink Knight (which debuted here on the PHB!) with a sequel called Poptropican Heroes over on the Creators’ Blog — the first part is up now!
Monthly Costume ContestPink KnightPurple Galaxy
Last but not least, this week has also brought some stellar fan art features to Pop’s Instagram stories, including an animation featuring the power of a Hamburger Hamburger, scenes from the Baron’s latest visit, and even a comic based on events from Spy Island. 🍔🕵️
Oh, and Poptropica’s keeping it real with their IG reels. Check out this carousel of iconic villains (if only they could really be starter characters!):
🏝️ Poptropica Help Blog 🗺️ 