I know, I know… where’s the comic?!? I would love to say “I’ve got one ready”, or “All I need to do it one more thing” but, I’m not quite sure how to answer that question. Right now I’m still working on stuff for school (Yes, I am a teacher, yes it is Summer vacation, but that doesn’t mean I stop working no matter what politicians and the media say about teachers). I hope to start getting back into the swing of things soon after I come back from a few conferences, get the bills paid, get the invasive honeysuckle out of the backyard, and the cat vomit cleaned up off the floor (Hemi’s fine, just hairball season). Enough with lame excuses today is Wednesday or as any comic book geek would know “New Comic Book Day!”
For the summer (forcing me to make sure I get to Comic Carnival each Wednesday) I have decided to review at least one comic in my stack for the week… I’d like to start off by talking about one all ages comic that was in my stack today- Mike Kunkel’s “Herobear and the Kid” Special #1. Originally published by Astonished Comics and now being published by Boom! the comic is a the story of Tyler (think of Chuck Jones’- Ralph Phillips“) and his toy bear that transforms into Herobear. I won’t give away any spoilers from the first arc “The Inheritance” but in my opinion it is a great all ages comic that almost any kid could really get into.
This issue starts off quickly with almost no recap of the first story arc after years of the comic being on hiatus (sound familiar?) It’s school picture day for Tyler and he has to (with the help of Herobear) stop the evil Von Klon from doing something nasty with ginormous rubber ducks… see almost no spoilers!
The one thing that I have always enjoyed about this comic is the artwork… It’s black and white with just a splash of red (Herobear’s cape), besides that the actual art is a “rough animation style” so it is extremely loose, but also helps budding artists to see some of the actual pencil work behind the finished artwork. Which is why I have used it as examples when I teach cartooning.
As many of us have experienced when a creator takes a break from a project for a long time sometimes the return effort doesn’t always meet with our expectations. Take George Lucas and episodes 1, 2 & 3, Robert Lynn Aspirin when he started back on the Myth Adventures series- while they weren’t all bad, as a fan I was expecting more and it seemed like the creators had lost some of the important pieces of the universe they had created. Mike Kunkel, after a first reading, seems to have not lost his connection with Tyler & Herobear’s world, which makes me very happy. I’m holding off on judging everything in Herobear and the Kid just because I really don’t want to dig out my old issues or break the seal on the hardcover trade I have. Upon first reading the story is solid, and similar to what I recall, the artwork is similar, although over the years, it seems that Kunkel’s style has shifted slightly and isn’t exactly as I remember. I’m one to talk looking at how my style has changed over the years.
It looks like Boom! will be reprinting the original story arc starting in August and my only hope is that Mike can keep up the regular pace of a monthly (or even bimonthly) comic- I’m getting old and waiting almost a year between issues makes me grumpy. That said- this Wednesday brought me a little joy and inspiration with Mike Kunkel’s Herobear & the Kid #1. If you have an Elementary school age kid or are a kid yourself I’d check it out at your local comic shop. “Remember your childhood and pass it on.”