Creators: Mike Baron and Jeff Butler
Story: Mike Baron
Artwork: Jim Fern
Colors: Paul Mounts
Review: Art Bee
At our LCBS we look at various comics,recently stacked on the shelves,
in hopes of one enticing us to pick it up and cough up some cash to
escort it home. Let that sink in for a minute...does that sound an
awful lot like prostitution? Last week I paid money to purchase Badger
#1, published by Devils Due/1First Comics. The cover looked great and
the artwork looked really good when I flipped through it.
The main character in this comic is named Norbert Sykes. As cliché as it sounds, he has multiple personality disorder and enlists as a dog handler in the army. Seriously, when I picked up this comic and read the brief introduction inside the front cover, my thoughts went straight to this being a funny comic. That thought was like me wanting to see palm trees in Quebec. They are just not there (unless they are plastic)! As I read this comic, many times I kept thinking about the missed comedic opportunities.
Rather than taking the comedic approach, Mike Baron took the serious angle as he warped us through the backstory of this colorful character. I truly mean that. Sykes is a great creation, but these guys essentially took a sports engine and dropped it into a Pinto.
The artwork is good. The cover, by Val Mayerik, is very striking. It caught my eye from several feet away, much like the aforementioned prostitutes standing on the sidewalk. Once I began reading and actually looking at the artwork, reality set in. Jim Fern does a good job with the lines and details, but it is not great work in my opinion. What makes the artwork so eye catching is the colors. Paul Mounts is stupendously awesome with his use of colors and shading. Many panels would look just drab and coloring book quality before Mounts gets ahold of it and makes it POP! If this guy was a tattoo artist, I would pay him for an entire back piece.
Many times we pass by various new titles as we walk the comic store. I hope you are all giving them a chance when you can. I do periodically, and it has about a 50% rate of discovering something good. Regardless, we need to support our artists and writers. My recommendation would be for this comic to be left on the shelf and the creators to review their approach with this character. Paul Mounts needs more work! I want to see his name more in comics.
Artwork: Jim Fern
Colors: Paul Mounts
Review: Art Bee
The main character in this comic is named Norbert Sykes. As cliché as it sounds, he has multiple personality disorder and enlists as a dog handler in the army. Seriously, when I picked up this comic and read the brief introduction inside the front cover, my thoughts went straight to this being a funny comic. That thought was like me wanting to see palm trees in Quebec. They are just not there (unless they are plastic)! As I read this comic, many times I kept thinking about the missed comedic opportunities.
Rather than taking the comedic approach, Mike Baron took the serious angle as he warped us through the backstory of this colorful character. I truly mean that. Sykes is a great creation, but these guys essentially took a sports engine and dropped it into a Pinto.
Horrible story + great character = bored reader
The artwork is good. The cover, by Val Mayerik, is very striking. It caught my eye from several feet away, much like the aforementioned prostitutes standing on the sidewalk. Once I began reading and actually looking at the artwork, reality set in. Jim Fern does a good job with the lines and details, but it is not great work in my opinion. What makes the artwork so eye catching is the colors. Paul Mounts is stupendously awesome with his use of colors and shading. Many panels would look just drab and coloring book quality before Mounts gets ahold of it and makes it POP! If this guy was a tattoo artist, I would pay him for an entire back piece.
Many times we pass by various new titles as we walk the comic store. I hope you are all giving them a chance when you can. I do periodically, and it has about a 50% rate of discovering something good. Regardless, we need to support our artists and writers. My recommendation would be for this comic to be left on the shelf and the creators to review their approach with this character. Paul Mounts needs more work! I want to see his name more in comics.
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