Written by Malachai Nicolle
Illustrated by Ethan NicolleThe amazing and hilarious comic is making its debut as an all-new Dark Horse miniseries this spring! Comics fans and fancy news blogs aren’t the only ones to take notice of Axe Cop; now the so-called ‘real’ police know about him, too. And if there’s one thing police don’t like, it’s a guy with an axe who’s better than they are at catching and dispatching bad guys! Now Axe Cop and his partner Dinosaur Soldier are being treated like bad guys, not only by the police, but by the president and the army, too! But when a pair of nasty villains barge in from outer space and turn the army into actual bad guys, who gets the call to set things right? Axe Cop!
Normally, we try to write something that grabs your attention and makes you want to read more of each review before the cut. Instead, I give you this:
Well… what is there to say about Axe Cop that hasn’t been said already? For those of you who somehow haven’t heard of the comic that features Multiversity’s favorite action character, it’s the epitome of “Gee, I wish I had thought of that”: Ethan Nicolle takes the bizarre stories that his 6 year-old brother, Malachai, comes up with and adapts them for the comic medium. These stories involve: a cop who wields an axe, a reptilian soldier who used to be a human flautist, and lots of chopping of heads. If that sounds awesome to you, you’re right. It is.
With the announcement of Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth, I was simultaneously excited and apprehensive. On the one hand: a printed, full-length comic of Axe Cop! Awesome! On the other: is this really the right sort of scene for Axe Cop? Can the concept continue to be as funny as it has been? Have the Nicolle brothers *gasp* sold out?
Kind of, yes, and certainly not, respectively.
To me, the little “episodes” that are hyper-compressed to a degree that would make Stan Lee blush are an essential part of the Axe Cop charm. This issue certainly is compressed to the same ridiculous degree, but it’s somehow harder to notice – and thus, not quite as humorous – due to the issue’s longer format. That’s only the humor of the compression, though. The core humor of the concept – that is, the complete ridiculousness of it – is still replete throughout.
The problem I’m having, though, isn’t a problem with the content of the comic. It’s just that Axe Cop might as well be impossible to review. The comic is clever in that it isn’t necessarily anything clever about it, but it will still have you in stitches. Ethan’s art is great and really adds to the tone of this ridiculous escapade, and the addition of color has only made things better. As for the writing… keep doing what you’re doing, Malachai. The idea of adding “real” cops was a great little twist, and I can’t wait to see what comes out of his hilariously imaginative brain next.
The Nicolle brothers definitely deserve your pocket money for this – especially Malachai, who is more or less living the 6 year-old dream. Sure, it’s pretty much the same comic, only with added color and a price tag, but there are few things on the shelf that come even close to the levels of hilarity contained within this comic.
Final Verdict: 7.4 – Buy It!
