Now! It is time! It is time to discuss the Pros and Cons of wearing shirts while fighting bears!
It’s the SHIRT!
Nothing Less-Than-Spectacular!
Beartastic!
A cause worth Fighting For!
Created by Jody Leheup, Sebastian Girner and Nil Vendrell
Written by Jody Leheup and Sebastian Girner
Art by Nil Vendrell
Color by Mike Spicer
Letters by Dave Lanphear
I have friends who love the film Black Dynamite, despite it being ridiculous, dumb and has an all too perfect-can-do-anything main character that prevents any sort of suspense of disbelief or true conflict. I hate the movie for all the reasons most people love it.
Then came along something so f%^&ing ridiculous and stupid, it could be the dumbest idea ever for anything.
Something that is borderline insulting to the intelligent readers out there and to the dumbest.
Something that by all rights shouldn’t exist.
But it does . . . and if there is a GOD (or GODS) may he (she, them) help us ALL because
IS F%^&KING AWESOME!
(I just wrote that in a public forum. Yep)
When SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER first came out I ultimately passed on the first issue. The idea, concept and write-up for it screamed STAY AWAY! So I did.
All my buddies at my comic store (Drawn to Comics: www.drawntocomics.com), kept urging me to read it, telling me how good it was. Jason, Ashley, Ashley – I didn’t believe you. In fact I thought you might be crazy.
Issue #2 came out – skipped it. For about a week. The following Tuesday evening I was in store, broke down and bought issue 1 and 2. Then I read . . .
And I haven’t been the same since.
Issue 3, followed by Issue 4 last Wednesday, followed by this blog review with one issue left to go and I have to say: ISSUE FIVE NEEDS TO GET HERE NOW!!!
What is SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER about??? Let me see if I can answer that.
SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER is about SHIRTLESS, a man raised by, betrayed by and now fights, Bears. The US Government calls upon him for help when Bear attacks in cities increase alarming and SHIRTLESS find himself in conflict with the brother of the woman he once loved, Jaxson Logger, a man determined to tear down the forests and turn them all into – Fuzzy Wipes toilet paper.
No. You didn’t read that wrong. See what I mean? This idea is wrong on many levels, but the execution and final project is AWESOME on many more levels.
Almost everything in SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER is done extremely well. Bery well I fact. Three things make this title outstanding: The Art, The Writing, The Characters.
The Art is a perfect fit for the story. Nil Vendrell’s art is smooth, clean, defined and well laid out. It enhances and tells the story, never overwhelming. Mike Spicer’s colors only help Vendrell’s art.
Jody Leheup and Sebastian Girner’s writing is dead on. They take an overly ridiculous and stupid idea and turn it into a polished diamond. Their writing elevates this from a potential joke, ‘cute’ title into something akin to an art house type comic.
Then there are the characters – this is where the book really shines. The characterization is excellent across the board. No characters are stock characters, the main characters – even the dead pan Shirt-Less, feel like real people. If anything the villain might be an overzealous parody of villains – but still well-rounded.
There in is the true Gem of this title – the characters take everything in this book seriously. No matter how ridiculous the situation may seem or sound like – the characters affected treat it seriously and with the right amount of gravity, giving everything a sense of danger, immediacy and urgency. No one acts like they are ‘in’ on the joke.
My favorite part of this title is the lead agent, and maybe friend of Shirt Less. A man who mentions all the wars he has fought in – hinting that he has fought in Vietnam, Korea, World War II, World War I, the Civil War and perhaps the Revolutionary War. Yep.
If you haven’t figured it out by now I like SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER. Read it, Now. Then tell all your friends.
If you already read SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER and like it. Welcome, my friend.
If you don’t read SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER. Go. NOW. Read. I’ll wait . . .
If you have read SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER and don’t like it. Well . . . that’s between you and GOD . . . I mean SHIRTLESS.
The question is now, with only one issue left, what are we going to do in life without SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER??
Final Thoughts:
Seriously, read this title or I will personally send the biggest bears I can find to your house and tell them you have all the Honey. All of IT.
RATING: 8.5 – Required Reading!
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