Note: we’re doing all our DC reviews in separate posts starting this week. To find the reviews of all the other issues from November 15 and previous weeks, check our index.
Bug! The Adventures of Forager #5 – Michael Allred, Lee Allred, Storytellers; Laura Allred, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 9/10
Corrina: A Blast
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: While Future Quest Presents this week had shades of Kirby bleeding into Hanna-Barbera, it’s Bug! (returning after a hiatus) that dives full-on into the world of Kirby and celebrates some of his most unique creations. Essentially a buddy-comedy adventure involving a New Genesis foot soldier, a pint-sized girl/cosmic entity, and a sinister talking teddy bear, this issue opens with them fighting off a villain and being sent headlong into a new world – the world of OMAC. This post-apocalyptic world makes its presence known by a robot machine sucking up all the water on planet Earth and threatening the few remaining humans with extinction. The heroes are rescued by a mysterious faceless man who lets them know OMAC’s been depowered and the evil Dr. Skuba has taken advantage of the chaos to hold the world hostage.
With OMAC trapped in the body of the harmless Buddy Blank, the issue turns into a high-stakes game of chicken between the heroes and Dr. Skuba, who is essentially your classic DC mad scientist. But the Allreds are like no one else when it comes to chaotic, confusing language. And this sinister but informative teddy bear reminds me a bit of the evil Tik Tok Cat from Shutter. I was also surprised by Brother Eye’s role in this comic – he’s almost always a big bad typed, but here he’s almost…heroic? Sort of? Kirby’s concepts have been getting a massive revival lately, and while this one is a lot less straightforward and more indie-accented than many of them, I think Kirby would be proud. And the Allreds are one of those all-time creative teams that can turn any concept into gold.
Corrina: I can’t pinpoint exactly where I thought this issue was genius. Perhaps the third time song lyrics or titles were quoted, all mixed in with Shakespeare. (Mama Mia! S.O.S! Waterloo” and “The winner takes it all.”) But certainly, by the time the story lifted the M.O. of Simon Bar Sinister from the Underdog cartoon, I was convinced. “All the water in the world….”
It’s a shot of pure fun even though it deals with serious material, such as the fate of humanity. I like that it ignored how evil Brother Eye has been portrayed in other comics and the continued use of the Kirby material with OMAC and others.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
