Written by: Jody LeHeup & Sebastian Girner
Art by: Nil Vendrell
Colours by: Michael Spicer
Letters by: Dave Lanphear
Publisher: Image Comics
When Major City is plagued by wild eyed, seemingly possessed and supernaturally strong Bears, There seems no hope. This is set to change however when a force so masculine no top can contain it emerges from deep in the woods. Is it a case of “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem!” or is there more behind these attacks than any man or woodland creature could guess?
Marvel editors Le Heup and Girner take their leap into creator owned comics penning this action comedy about a manly, mountain man and the ursine creatures he fights. The book rides a razor sharp line between a love letter to 80’s action machismo and spoof (in which it’s obvious that both are intended). Once you buy into the absurd premise, you’ll find yourself noticing the smaller, nuanced and clever moments that help you buy into the series. As a first issue the setup is completed masterfully here and can’t say I’ve been dragged so quickly into something so high concept since maybe Eric Powell’s The Goon.
Nil Venrell’s art style is slightly stylised yet loses nothing in proportion or needed detail. He’s well suited for expressions whether they are of the Human or the Bear variety. On top of this when He is depicting the action He hits the nail on the head with the right levels of dynamic movement and over the top moments. If I were to compare his style, I’d say it reminds me of the design of Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros.
Michael Spicer colours add to this perfectly with his use of minimal shading and wash or gradient backgrounds where the action is forefront. Even Letterer Dave Lanphear gets in on the fun as many of the sound captions are more literal than Onomatopoeia like “LEAP”, “Trip” or “tweet”.
Would I say this book is fun? Does a Bear-Fighter poop in the forest?! If you’re a reader that likes their action big and not taking itself too seriously, you’ll love this! I’d bet my shirt on that.
Overall: 9/10
