Publisher: Image
Writer: Jody Leheup & Sebastian Girner
Artist: Nil Vendrell
Colourist: Mike Spicer
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $3.99
Gotta admit, they had me at the title: Shirtless Bear-Fighter #. I mean, come on, that is a title that can only have been dreamed up in a bar after way too many brewskies. The trick though, is not just to come up with the most ridiculous title for a comic book you can think of, it’s to make that concept work. And in Shirtless Bear-Fighter #1 it…well you need to read everything that follows.
For all you wannabe comic book writers out there, here’s how Jody Leheup & Sebastian Girner did it, though I should warn you, this approach is not for the faint-hearted and you should definitely not try this at home kids.
Let’s see, Shirtless Bear-Fighter #1, starts with Dave who works for Animal Control in Major City. Dave is a cool dude but when he’s asked to corral a bear the size of small building, he loses it, big time and who could blame him. Cut to Tom and Sheila who are out in the woods indulging in a bit of afternoon delight when they are accosted by a more normal sized bear. Things look grim for our al-fresco frolickers when they are saved by the Shirtless Bear-Fighter, a big, bearded naked man with pixelated genitals. Using a succession of his patented Bear Punches, the shirtless one subdues the bothersome bear and takes him back to his cabin in the woods accompanied by a chorus of birds and deer straight out of The House of Mouse.
And in Shirtless Bear-Fighter #1, that’s when things really get weird (told you it wasn’t for the faint-hearted) In no particular order we have: mysterious Government Agents, talking bears, a riff on the Tarzan legend, lots of below the navel jokes, sinister organisations, something even more wonderfully ludicrous than the Bat-plane and, better late than never, a pair of pants, as Shirtless Bear-Fighter is once more lured back to so-called civilisation for one last mission. All that’s missing are a few picnic baskets and a Park Ranger and every bear reference in the world is in here somewhere.
Shirtless Bear-Fighter #1 is madness on an epic scale and has become my new favourite comic book of all time. Impossible to categorise, it is a work of inspired genius and is therefore the perfect antidote for whatever ails you in the darkness of the 21st century.
Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker