You know what is awesome? This last week I was given the chance to review an awesome indy comic. And thanks to it, as I work here at Graphic Policy I have decided something. My review will be the indy review article every week. Why? For one thing, I love all comics. And secondly, this will give you guys a chance to check out comics that you wouldn’t have if no one ever told you. Comics is a hard business and I will dedicate my writing and reading of comics to those brave enough to bleed their souls to this wonderful art form. So without further due…. Here is the first Graphic Policy Indy Spotlight!

This week I am going to focus on the comic called Job Dun: Fat Assassin! Brought to us by the indy publisher Spray Comics. Now when I was given this comic by Brett in my inbox, I knew it was mine to read already ! I mean check out the cover! II mean it totally screams gritty comedic badassary with a hint of epic cult like strange

So there I was foaming at the mouth for some epic goodness. The creators of Job Dun know how to market their character without pulling punches. Great logo that easy to read and well placed and the cover also has a great tag line: “Size does Matter” (very tongue in cheek). But, for this character it works. They know how to set up the reader into this characters world and draw them to the book so they will look at what is going on inside this comics pages.

The first page is very Pulp Fiction-esque as the writer gives you the definition of Job Dun as they do it with a Google parody ribbing fake website called gurgle. Right away for comic fans this immediately tells the reader this isn’t going to be apologetic nor is it going to be very pc friendly to those who are going to be daring and read the story. And right away was I right. In the first few pages of the story our hero is fighting two thugs in a good old-fashioned street fight as he narrates in a very noir like tone like you would hear from old radio shows, but with a mafia like flair.

The writer set up the scene good and opens up this theater of the absurd in a pure way. That’s why I know, if this comic keeps going in publication it will soon to have a cult following. The idea is so unique and weird, as if saying, “Yeah we went there and were not afraid to push the envelope!” I mean in the back ground as the hero is fighting to thugs, people are walking around in bondage! Job Dun knows when it’s joking with its dark humor and knows when it needs the hero to be serious without being too serious in a way that might take away from its dark humor.

The down sides of this comic are (in my opinion), over used of stereotypes at times. Comedians often rib stereotypes in their acts for a laugh, Job Dun does that too in the art. However, sometimes the artist and the writer should have pulled back some. I mean, one character goes soooooooo far in its absurdity, that it takes away from the joke. In comedy art (like comedic jokes) there’s a rhythm to things. If you go too far your forcing the idea and if you hold back too much, you choke it. The obnoxiously breasted women was forcing it to the reader too much. And the fight scene with the nuns could’ve pulled back on the sexy bondage get up and possibly had a funnier impact if they were old lady nuns who happen to be secret deadly ninjas who kicks the crap out of the hero for a bit.

Action comedy is one of the hardest things to pull off in comics. Everything has to be right. Job Dun does a great job of setting things up but, has trouble on giving a good punch line or action pay off. I do enjoy seeing how the art from the first comic of Job Dun has greatly improved from the last issue of Job Dun though. These creators are growing and beginning to understand their character and the world that they want this hero to be set in. The first books coloring was so bad, it muddied up the image to where you couldn’t see the anatomy of the characters. However, the new book is such an improvement! So, without a doubt this book will become something very special in the near future if these creators keep pushing themselves to improve their talents. If done right, this book can be a huge cult hit. I defiantly will keep my eye on this group and will let you guys know when they have reached the potential of what this book has the power of being.

Until then, this book is a read. I wouldn’t buy these first two issues because the idea seems to be still lacking in some of its core areas. But, it does entertain the reader in the way its trying to do. It just doesn’t entertain as much as it possibly can. A little more fine tuning and this book is going to be awesome, I’m telling you.

Thanks for your time everyone and thank you for checking out this article on Graphic Policy. I hope to entertain you soon!

Story: Mark Hobby Art: Ben Michael Byrne
Art: 5 Story: 6 Overall: 6.7 Recommendation: Read

Spray Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review