By: Malachai Nicolle (writer), Ethan Nicolle (art, letters), Dirk Erik Schulz (colors) & Shawna Gore (editor)
The Story: Very roughly… Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier have to stop a nefarious plot.
What’s Good: I wish we could have more comics like this. If you aren’t familiar with the Axe Cop webcomic, (a) you should check it out asap and (b) you are in for a TREAT. The hook with Axe Cop is that the writer, Malachai Nicolle, is 6 years old. If you’ve ever heard a young child tell a story, you know that they can come up with some zany things. Some of this is due to the fact that their story-telling is completely uninhibited and some is due to the fact that they lose track of the story as they unload on you with a stream of consciousness.
Of course, the other half of the magic is Malachai’s artist brother Ethan (30 years old). Ethan is a terrific artist and brings his little brother’s words to the page with great gusto. I think the reason it works is that Ethan is playing it 100% straight. Even on the opening page when Axe Cop takes a drink of water and is accused by a talking hammer of drinking his friend’s (the cup’s) brain, the art never has even an ounce of silliness. It is 100% hardcore serious stuff down to Axe Cop’s character design (pushbroom mustache + mirrored aviator sunglasses) to the anger lines emanating from the hammer as he yells at Axe Cop. It is such a smart art choice by Ethan for a couple of reasons. First, you can “sell” just about any outlandish idea as long as you treat it 100% seriously. Second, I’m sure when Malachai is telling his brother the story, it is 100% serious to Malachai. He doesn’t think it is amusing. To him it is a hardcore action story.
The story ends up being a bit of a non-issue because the plot darts and weaves from page-to-page. The brainless cup and hammer never show up again, but along the way we see Axe Cop get into trouble with the “real cops” (who he gets away from by throwing a bomb at them while yelling “You guys are so dumb!”), make a new friend called Handcuff Man, see Handcuff Man tragically die, and confront the big bad right at the end. I’m sure next issue will be just as insane.
What’s Not So Good: Nothing. This is just comic gold. The only people I could see not enjoying this are people who care about continuity too much because Axe Cop ends up not really making sense. I saw someone joke on Twitter the other day that someday they’ll have to bring in Geoff Johns to sort out the Axe Cop continuity. 🙂
Conclusion: Buy this comic and read the webcomic. If you don’t like this, you must have had your soul sucked out somewhere along the way and I feel very sorry for you. Enjoy this wonderful blend of zany story and great art before young Malachai gets old enough to be self-conscious.
Grade: A
-Dean Stell
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