Written by Jim Zubkavich
Illustrated by Edwin Huang & Misty Coats“ONE THOUSAND OPAS AND A DEAD BODY,” Part Four
The Skullkickers are up to their necks in trouble and the key to their survival is the Necromancer who wants to see them both (un)dead!
Or, more eloquently explained in Haiku:death magic chaos
undead army rising fast
flee you crazy fools
Image has been having all sorts of great new series hit the presses, from Chew, to Morning Glories, and now this. For reasons unknown, I went an unfortunate while before reading Skullkickers, but I recently read the first three issues before checking out our advanced copy. Follow the cut to see what I think of this new fantasy series.
Remember when I reviewed IDW’s Dungeons & Dragons #1 a little bit more than a month ago? To paraphrase, I gave it a good amount of praise for being a fun little fantasy comic, but it wasn’t quite excellent. Skullkickers, on the other hand, has all the positive qualities of IDW’s Dungeons & Dragons only amped up to 11. I don’t know if I have read as flat-out fun as this one since… well, since ever. The action is perfectly plotted, and the humor has me laughing aloud by almost every other page. Like any good humorist, Zubkavich uses his gags in an intelligent manner, and that just makes the read so much more fun. Take, for example this issues’ mishap with Shorty’s leg. It was funny, to be sure, but Zubkavich was smart enough to not just use it as a throwaway gag. Instead, it became part of the plot. Subtle nuances like that are what makes comedy series such as The Venture Bros so popular, and why Skullkickers is going to become a huge hit. And let’s not the forget sound effects that make Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente green with envy.
There’s a particular reason I find this series so entertaining (hold onto your hats, things are about to get mad nerdy): back in the days where I played Dungeons & Dragons, I was usually the dungeon master, and I often had to deal with players who didn’t quite want to go the direction I wanted them to go. Hell, anyone who has DM’d has encountered players like that. Shorty and Baldy are those characters. The story presents all sorts of directions for the plot go that you would expect it to go in any normal fantasy story, but Shorty and Baldy always decide to take the plot in the opposite direction. You often hear of characters that write themselves, and I can’t imagine that Zubkavich has any problem writing the two characters. I can almost see him sitting at the table and thinking “Alright, here’s where your standard fantasy comic would go. Now, how would Shorty and Baldy ruin that standard?” And like the most talented DM to ever exist, Zubkavich knows exactly how to respond. If you didn’t already play D&D, you are now an additional 50% more nerdy than you were before you read this paragraph.
As much as I praise this series for the humor, it really is great besides that. Zubkavich has a solid story going, and Huang and Coats have given the book a great look. This issue in particular took an interesting turn in the plot, continuing the more pressing goings-ons of our fearless protagonists as well as giving as a bit of additional background plot development. It looks like our mystery assassin isn’t affiliated with the more obvious faction, but one that might be the least expected due to fantasy conventions (though I will point out that it’s more of a return to their traditional roots). The end of this issue in particular makes me really excited for to see how this arc ends, now that Baldy and Shorty have to face the consequences of their rash actions.
For whatever reason, most “fun” comics seem to be restricted to genre fiction. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but that means when most people are looking for something fun and nothing more than that, they retreat to superhero comics. Skullkickers is further proof that most of the things people flock to the big two for can be found in other comics, and it’s damn good too. Help diversify the industry: drop a cape comic and pick up Skullkickers.
Final Verdict: 8.2 – Buy it!
