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zeroiq · 2 years ago

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Scud: The Disposable Assassin Review

I’m not going to lie and say that I the best endorsement about a comic book that I’ve ever heard was when I walked passed both Spawn and Saga at a convention and received a “Oh yeah, that’s a classic,” from the vendor. After reading this trade from, well, beginning, middle, and end I very much agree with the guy.

If you grew up watching Invader Zim and expected a similar vibe based on the cover and title alone like I did you may be somewhat disappointed. For starters, this is assuredly and action comic. The plot and setting alone aren’t so much meant to be the main focus as they are just the backdrops to provide context for the many sequences of violence that occurs. This leads into my first major point of discussion with the novel and that would be its tone.

As I mentioned before, the surface level seems to focus on its absurdist imagery and plot points. The main character is an assassin you buy from a vending machine because life is so cheap, the leader of a drug cartel is a miniature giraffe with a helmet that shoots lasers, and there’s Ben Franklin. The setting itself follows in this format as it includes locales such as a western town, the moon, and even heaven. The inclusion of these elements give off the impression that this story is meant to take on a more comedic tone but doesn’t actually commit to telling jokes or even having many moments of levity. This isn’t meant to be so much as a critique and more of warning in that these ridiculous situations and characters are, in my opinion, meant to support visuals of the comic by providing a swathe of varied character designs and locations. Unfortunately, this means that the story isn’t all that impressive. There are some fun relationships between characters and good emotional beats but nothing ground breaking. As a warning, the writing can come across as dated or even downright uncomfortable. Just know that many of these characters are scum and aren’t necessarily supposed to be rooted for.

Speaking of art, this is easily one of the most innovative pieces I’ve seen in a good while. Again, the characters and locations are highly varied, giving each individual issue and arc its own unique feel without feeling monotonous. However, the most impressive aspect of the comic is that it manages to feel so lively despite being completely black and white. This quality is attributed to Rob Shrab’s skills in giving his artwork a very unique angular quality to his characters. I mean goddamn:

In addition, his composition largely differs from other graphic novels as many of his pages break the conventions of the standard comic book format. There are a lot of scenes in Scud where there is a distinct lack of borders or gutters as well as a large variety of panel compositions. These elements truly helped to keep me engaged and interested in what the next page will look like even if the story somewhat fell short.

Overall, Scud was a welcome surprise. It may not be a triumph in story telling through sequential art but it is definitely an enjoyable romp through a talented artist’s portfolio of weird but great character designs as well as fun moments of violence. It doesn’t try to be anything more and it honestly doesn’t have to be.

8/10

(Sorry if this is a bit random but I might do more of these just for fun)

#Scud #comic #review #rant #graphic novel #sci-fi #Rob Shrab #comic books #graphic novels

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cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien · 1 year ago

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Solar Opposites: Ultra Opposites Voice Actors (for @avaveevo and @crazychanuwu77 )

Main Members

Terry/Solar Flare: Thomas Middleditch

Korvo/The Legendary Super Shlorpian: Dan Stevens

Yumyulack/Psylock: Sean Giambrone

Jesse/Electra: Mary Mack