Months ago, I had the pleasure to read and review a rather unique independent comic from the creative (and maybe demented) minds of writer/artist Joe Deagnon and writer Kirby Stasyna called Chicken Outfit. Though it was a bit unconventional, I found between the vast array of weirdness and wildness that a tale of life was being played out between the varying degrees of technology, supernatural(ness), and life lessons. It kind of reminded me of some surreal afterschool special watched while being in some form of drug induced psychosis. And I loved every single minute of it. In reading Deagnon and Stasyna’s funky opus, I discovered an elaborate and open world of possibilities where the standard rules do not apply. It is perfectly acceptable to wear a chicken outfit in your day to day activities. It is cool to run with a mutant looking friend who has bad green skin. And it is acceptable to read this comic and enjoy it thoroughly.
At the heart of this tale, we have Rusty, wearer of the aforementioned chicken outfit and a much maligned computer web designer and even much more disrespected human being. Rusty is still having lots of trouble in dealing with a break up of his relationship and he has been pecking away (pun intended) aimlessly trying to find some meaning so that he may continue living. There is Rusty’s (maybe) best friend Stan, a green guy who works for a porn company and has been in the process of designing a “hooker bot”, but is still working the kinks out of it as something went seriously (and demonically) wrong during the last issue. We have Head Cast, a rather eccentric and strange gentleman who seems to have some sort of mystical abilities (or is just insane, I am not really sure) and his caretaker/assistant Billy, a no nonsense down to earth guy trying to make sense of the senseless.
Now how these four are connected, we really had no such idea during the first issue. But here in Issue #2, some clarity is starting to be made. The near connecting event comes in the form of an incident with three demonic biker women who viciously attack and mercilessly destroy a local restaurant called Teddy’s Roadhole. It appears that these ladies are seeking one Stan Munson (the green guy) for some unknown reason. And as it just so happens, Headcast with Billy stumble upon the aftermath of the carnage. These four also find themselves in the same area toward the end as well. But how they will connect is still largely unknown.
Much like the first issue, Chicken Outfit #2 is chaos galore. There are a lot of intangibles. But through all the wildness, a simple and basic story lies about guys trying to make it in this terrifying world filled with all kinds of terrifying things. We are given several new tidbits with this issue like the fact that Head Cast might not be so insane after all which is a nice play by Joe Deagnon as the eccentricities are all there, but render more understanding.
There are also some seriously brutal moments throughout this comic, but Deagnon and Stasyna put in so many comedic elements that it allows the reader to laugh while being onslaught with the gore. This is dark comedy at its finest and Deagnon along with Kirby Stasyna milk every bloody bit of it with gusto. Deagnon’s art is likewise fluid and original, making those bizarre things that are everywhere seem natural and making this comic both bloody disgusting and bloody funny simultaneously.
Now that we are two issues in with a third just a Kickstarter away, I am beginning to see Chicken Outfit for what it is. What it is could very well be the essence of what independent comic making is about. It is in your face, cutting edge, “to hell with convention” attitude inspiring outrageous entertainment that I am looking forward to more seeing where this one goes from here.
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Chicken Outfit #2 Writers: Joe Deagnon and Kirby Stasyna Artist: Joe Deagnon Self-Published Price: $5.50 – Print, $2.99 – Digital
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