I completely forgot that this was a weekly series, but upon remembering got really happy! This series speaks to me with its strange story and fantastic looking art. In some ways it reminds me of Scott Pilgrim with its video game infused style, but that could just be me. Perhaps there’s another influence I’m just not seeing. For the price and quality you can’t go wrong with this series so I won’t be offended if you skip the review and buy both issues. The story cleverly begins in the way the last issue ended. Sabertooth Swordsman pulls his head out of the water trough and yaks his brains out. He then stumbles into what was once his house only to find a crazy cat woman and shit ton of cats living inside. She thinks that he’s her favorite cat all grown up and playing dress up. Sabertooth decides to leave, but the crazy woman stops him and gives him his “special litter bag.” He thanks her and gets on his way to continue the search for his wife. He heads into a bar to see if he can find some info on the Mastodon Mathematician, when low and behold MM’s men spot him! A huge bar fight breaks out and Sabertooth kicks all ass and even though he didn’t start the fight and wasn’t in the wrong, everyone in the bar kicks him out including the Mastodon mathematician’s men. He attempts to ask them for directions, but they refuse him.
There’s more of the story for sure, but that’s a good spot to leave it. You’ll just have to read it for yourself if you want to find out what exactly is on the cover. I will say one thing about the covers; they actually tie into the issue. Hashtag, that’s how you make a comic.
The quirkiness of the story is one of the things that have my attention. The world has this strange blend of a bygone era mixed with just hints of modern culture. It’s a great blend. The strange characters that continue to pop up are fun and keep the story fresh and entertaining. The Mastodon Mathematician’s men in the bar are goofy looking and reminded me of terrible cartoon villains, but in a great way. I loved the fact that they kicked Sabertooth Swordsman out of the bar. Also, the name Mastodon Mathematician is a hilarious sounding name. The writing is really good and the art compliments it nicely.
Did I rave enough about the art style in the last issue? No, good because I’m about to again. While Conley’s style reminds me of James Stokoe’s style, but there is something bigger and better about Conley’s. Hear me out! The range of facial expressions and consequentially the range of character emotions are vast with Conley’s style. The characters say so much just with their face that no dialog need be spoken. The bar fight and all of the action sequences in general were easy to follow and flowed perfectly. It’s a fierce battle with plenty of violence and awesomeness.
If this is the quality that Dark Horse is going to publish with its digital only imprint then I’m all for it. I will definitely be buying this book in print, but until then I’ll enjoy every digital issue of the series. If you’re looking for something fun, different and entertaining then this is it. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Monkey Brain Comics releases, but with a more consistent release schedule.
Score: 5/5
Story: Damon Gentry and Aaron Conley
Writer/Gray Tones: Damon Gentry
Artist: Aaron Conley
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $.99
Release Date: 6/12/13