Back in November, writer/artist Jimmie Robinson started dropping teasers for his latest miniseries, each built around a character and a weapon. The teaser images were stylish, effective and definitely not an approach that you often see for a 5-issue miniseries. But it was worth all that hype, because in a word, “Five Weapons” is terrific.
Written & Illustrated by Jimmie Robinson
13-year-old Tyler finds himself in a specialized school where assassins send their kids for education and training in one of the five deadly weapons. Tyler doesn’t have a weapon or any fighting skills, but he still plans to graduate by beating every weapon master in the school because he has a powerful ability that nobody can match: his razor-sharp mind! JIMMIE ROBINSON twists the insanity of BOMB QUEEN in a fun new series that will keep you guessing to the end.
Tyler is dropped into a world that would be quite overwhelming for a less confident, less self-assured kid. An academy where boys and girls are taught the arts of a specific type of weapon in training to be the next generation of assassins. As a boy with a famous lineage, Tyler is courted by each of the five groups in the school which gives writer & artist Jimmie Robinson the opportunity to flex his creative muscles and show us as many different types of characters and personalities as he can. The school is incredibly well-defined and robust, that there’s something new for Tyler and the readers around literally every corner.
The story is being called “Harry Potter with handguns” and other convenient puns, but that does a disservice to how original this world is and what different aims this book has when you compare it to something like Harry Potter. While Harry Potter is about a young boy who grows into his expectations and eventually exceeds them, “Five Weapons” is about a boy who begins the story with unmatched self-confidence and the idea that he will subvert everyone’s expectations by never doing what they expect the son of a world-famous assassin to do. Watching Tyler go out of his way to be different from the other students gives another layer to the mischievous quality of a series about kids with weapons.
“Kids with weapons” sounds like something designed to give parents and certain interest groups nightmares. Aside from the basic understanding that kids and weapons is a huge taboo in and of itself, this book is really harmless in that way. There’s no over-the-top violence and while it’s definitely lighthearted, it doesn’t make the use of weapons particularly glamorous. The story doesn’t really ask questions about the ethics weapon-use, but through Tyler’s point of view and sense of honor, kids using weapons comes off looking very appropriately like a bad idea as each new student shows up at the nurses’ office. This view point serves his character and never feels preachy and doesn’t take sides. Jimmie Robinson makes sure that “Five Weapons” about being fun, above all else.
And how fun it is to watch Tyler get introduced to the instructors of each school, whose appearance and personality playfully match whatever weapons they have mastery of. The character designs for the staff and Tyler’s main “adversaries” are varied and memorable and even the most seemingly insignificant background character has some sort of voice or a defining trait. Jimmie Robinson never allows himself to cut corners. The art comes off as a little bit looser version of what he does on “Bomb Queen” – fitting, as he says that this is in the same “world” as “Bomb Queen” (though there aren’t any overt references that you would have to have read “Bomb Queen” to get). The art is what you would expect from Robinson. That is, delightfully playful designwork, lots of color, and dynamic action.
Jimmie Robinson’s “Five Weapons” is deserving of the highest of recommendations for anyone who loves the comic medium and it’s pretty age appropriate for younger readers too. Every aspect of “Five Weapons” adds to a unique comic experience, with a script that is as colorful and varied as the joyful cartooning that it’s paired with. There’s no end to the amount of fun, humor, light action, and mystery that is packed across every page.
Final Verdict: 9.6 – Buy.
