There are many great "versus" stories in the comic book world.Alien vs. Predator, Robocop vs. Terminator, Hulk vs. Wolverine, but now I have seen a new versus that will change the comic book world forever. Okay, so maybe I exaggerated a little, but this is actually a matchup you would have never thought of,Penguins Vs. Possums. Yes, you heard me, Penguins Vs. Possums. When Dustin told me about this I was intrigued on how this idea would work. With an open mind I decided to give this odd match up a try and see where this story might go. The story as you can tell from the title is about both Possums and Penguins. It takes place in a zoo, and these two animals have been in war for what seems to be years and now the war has spewed into each animal’s home habitat. The possums stage a full scale attack on the penguins but the penguins managed to defend their home of the San Diego Zoo from the attacking possums. The penguins manage to kill all the possums except for one of them named, Zolin. He manages to escape by using one of the famous possum moves, playing dead, but not before being bugged by the penguins. Beaten and wounded, Zolin returns to his home. Ever since his return everyone, including the possum elders, believe that he is the chosen possum to lead their clan into victory against the evil penguins. Zolin refuses to believe this because he has never seen himself as a fighter, only as lowly farmer doing his part to protect their clan. Is Zolin the prophesied leader of his clan?
Although the story of a regular guy becoming a hero has been done, I liked the idea of using animals instead of people to tell the story, especially two animals like these that are so opposite to each other. The only element that I was not a fan of was the human element, whenever a human appeared the possums would disappear, and the penguins acted like nothing happened. This was a bit cheesy and it took away from the rivalry that both animals had for each other. Aside from that part of the book, I had fun with the issue. The art on the book was good as well, I enjoyed the art of the penguins and how they looked like royalty and as the superior animal; the possum is more of a noble creature than the penguin.
If you’re in the mood for a very different comic in terms of idea, I would recommend giving this book a shot. The story is very familiar to a typical hero story, but the idea is rather refreshing and fun, I am very interested in seeing where the characters go after this first issue.
Score: 4/5
Creators: Sebastian Kadlecik, John Bring and Lindsay Calhoon Publisher: JBSK Comics Price: $2.99 Website: PenguinsVsPossums.com