When I talked to writer Jon Westoff about this series he felt that my overwhelming enthusiasm for it would ultimately let me down when I read it. He was fucking wrong. This book delivered everything I wanted. Action, crazy violence, and a story that was familiar but filled with anthropomorphic animals. Was it a touching story about two partners taking on crime in the city? Fuck no, it was a hilarious story about a giant chicken that plays by his own rules and always has a one-liner cued up for his latest victim. The story, if you don’t recall from our exclusive preview, opens with BP (Bulletproof) kicking in the door to Harold’s Shack and shooting the place up. His partner Ed tells him that he’s going to get him killed, but BP promises him that he’ll die before he lets that happen. They take out the two lizards behind the counter and head to the back room. There they find BP’s wife tied up as a hostage; her left leg has been cut off and likely served in the restaurant. This enrages BP who then steps into another room and begins shooting up the place. Needless to say this night is going to change everything for our characters.

The story is great and reads very quickly. Aside from the humor the action and violence is awesome. Westoff’s humor is very reminiscent of Adult Swim and a variety of internet animations that are geared towards adults. The pacing is great for the humor and plot. The creative team is counting on you seeing where the story is going to go and rather than dance around it they just get you there. The point of the story is to enjoy the characters and the action not to guess about the consequences of that opening night. My one and only gripe is that I wanted more of BP, but the smaller doses of his character do serve to make him more enjoyable and impactful. Also I enjoyed the fact that the wife had no dialog, I don’t know if it was intentional but it amused me and was better than her having filler dialogue.

The art is awesome. I know that’s like the most amateurish way to describe it, but that’s the route I’m going. Anthropomorphic animals seem like an easy thing to illustrate, but anyone that’s tried and failed at drawing a Ninja Turtle or Usagi Yojimbo can tell you otherwise. Ornelas and Nixon do a great job with the story and violence. I don’t know who is matching whose style, but they actually do a really seamless job with the art. I think Halvorson’s coloring really brings everything together and sets the tone of the story as well. The art team as a whole really brings the story to life and keeps it humorous, by making the art serious.

I hate that this is a one-shot. I hope that the team tackles other action tropes in a similar and hilarious manor. I’m thinking Ducktales for the sequel to this issue, but other stories would be fine as well. This is a very funny and well-made one-shot. As a Kickstarter backer I was privy to some goodies and all of them were of great quality. For a book that is anything but serious, King Bone Press took it very seriously and delivered a great product. When the book becomes available on their site you should definite grab yourself a copy.

Score: 5/5

Writer: Jon Westoff Artists: Bob Ornelas and Mat Nixon Publisher: King Bone Press Price: $3.99 Website