Bravest Warriors: Impossibear Special will probably be someone’s favorite comic this year. It distills a lot of things about one loveable character in one loveable franchise of media into his (its? I don’t know Impossibear gender roles, but he looks like he has a mustache) essential parts and makes five short stories out of it. The shorts in the Impossibear Special run the gamut from “not great” to “pretty hilarious”. I tend to be biased and think that any one where Catbug makes a long appearance is better than the alternative (there’s one where future-Catbug shows up with an eyepatch, a mustache, and a hook for a hand. Come on, son. You love it.)
The general takeaway for me as far as Bravest Warriorsgoes is that BWhas a very specific aesthetic that’s easy to ape, but difficult to nail. Sometimes, the issues that are looser in the drawing and writing get closer to the heart of what the show is, and the more polished stuff feels like an imitation. Regular Show and Adventure Time, other shows of Bravest Warriors’ ilk, have the same deal. It can be a horrendously drawn Regular Show comic, but if the characters are spot on, the jokes work? It’s Regular Show firing on all cylinders.
The other thing about these shorts is that while all of them tell stories with satisfying beginnings, middles, and ends, some of them are so tightly written they sing. I defy you to find someone who can find a fault with the first story (“Drop the Beat”, w – Kevin Church, a – Jess Fink). There’s an inciting incident (Impossibear has an album that is so tight it can only be listened to once before it and its jams fade away forever), a series of escalating complications and obstacles (everyone else in the house is being loud as balls), and an ending where Impossibear gets what he wanted from the beginning, but not in the way that he planned. (I’ll go ahead and say now, “Drop the Beat” was my favorite in the special, for what are probably obvious reasons at this point).
This comic is a lot of fun, and for the price, it’s worth it. You get plenty of story and art, you’re never bored. It’s a quick read, but you never feel cheated. I don’t read the main Bravest Warriors title, but I feel like, from this issue, I have enough backstory and a feel for enough of the characters, that I could jump in if I so chose. Also, each one of these stories is kid-friendly, so if you know a little rapscallion who needs to get into comic books and you want to be that quasi-bad influence, this is a solid call. Bright, shiny, well-told stories for everyone!
Score: 4/5
Writers: Kevin Church, Jeremy Sorese, Nikki Mannino, Kevin Panetta, Kat Leyh Artists: Jess Fink, Jeremy Sorese, Nikki Mannino, Paulina Ganucheau, Kat Leyh Publisher: Kaboom/Boom Studios Price: $4.99 Release Date: 6/11/14 Format: One-Shot, Print/Digital