Faithful readers here might remember a fellow by the name of Weapon Brown from a previous review of DEEP FRIED. Now he’s got his own book, and it’s a hell of a rollercoaster, even more so than the last story he graced.
For those unfamiliar, Weapon Brown is actually Charlie Brown, if that round-headed kid had grown up in a post-apocalyptic world. With the aid of his robot arm and his sidekick, a snarling dog named . . . well, you know, he bounty-hunts his way across the nuke-scoured Mad Max-type landscape our world has become.
All right, to be fair, such a gimmick is really only good for one story, right? Writer/illustrator Jason Yungbluth has to know that, right? Where else could he possibly take Weapon Brown?
Over the course of BLOCKHEAD’S WAR, which was only supposed to be two issues, we have followed Weapon Brown's adventures as he does battle with the syndicate (which is run, incidentally, by the boss from Dilbert), who has sent quite a motley crew against him, chief among them Beetle Bailey and Sarge (and they are most definitely not your father’s version of these characters). Weapon Brown finds himself in a society dedicated to hiding out from the syndicate. Run by Anne (who is, you guessed it, of the little orphan variety) and peopled with many other world-ravaged versions of classic comic strip characters, they produce something magical called schmoo, a liquid that can be transformed into any food its beholder desires. (Actually, it’s the fecal matter of something called the Garf, a giant grub worm who more than a little resembles Garfield.) Naturally, the syndicate wants it, and they’ve sent their biggest weapon against them . . . CAL-v1N and his bloodthirsty tiger, Hobbes.
Remember how the syndicate created Weapon Brown from the remains of poor ol’ Chuck? CAL-v1N is created from scratch, and he’s a bad motherfucker, maybe even tougher than Weapon Brown. In the last issue, CAL-v1N wiped the walls with Weapon Brown in mere seconds, and Hobbes has torn its way through most of the secret society. Things are looking grim for our heroes.
This issue features the evacuation of their town . . . and Weapon Brown getting his ass kicked yet again by CAL-v1N. As his head reels from this new beating, Anne gets left behind during the evacuation, the Family Circus gets killed (all of them, and in a hilariously circular panel, too), Broom Hilda faces off against the Wizard of Id, and holy fuck! What else do you need to know about this book?!
Fine. Weapon Brown is a one-gag bit, but it really is the gag that keeps on giving. Yungbluth really has created a post-apocalyptic scavenger hunt. See if you can find all of the comic strip characters in their new, darker, edgier incarnations. No one is safe, not even Doug from Zits, or the forever-arguing Lockhorns. One of the villains is Duke from Doonesbury. In one scene, there are a bunch of strip cats, from Heathcliff to Bucky Katt from Get Fuzzy to even Bill the Cat from Bloom County (and Outland . . . and Opus; oh yeah, and Opus has a cameo, too, as well as other characters from that world). Of course Dagwood Bumstead and Blondie Boopadoop are in attendance. Look really close, and you’ll see Andy Capp and a very frazzled looking Jon Arbuckle. Marmaduke is hanging out by the cages, and even Huey and Riley from the Boondocks made the party (Grandad, too!).
But the best is Popeye, who is one of the higher-ups with Anne. He’s a giant sailor with a chin made of tumors from the radiation, forever chewing on his corncob pipe. He even has a “goyle” by the name of Olive. As they’re escaping the wrath of CAL-v1N, Olive Oil gets gunned down, and the scene is just so heartbreaking, it reminds one of the previous story, in which Chuck’s original red-haired girl was killed. It turns Popeye into a killing machine.
Speaking of red-haired girls, it would seem that Weapon Brown has a thing for them. In a previous issue, he managed to get into Anne’s pants just before shit went south. Now he must rescue her from CAL-v1N before it’s too late. How awesome is that?
Another great moment: the Snoopy dance. ‘Nuff said.
Not only does Yungbluth show off his love of these old strip characters by putting them into his hellish vision of the future, he also knows their gags pretty well, as you can see. Granted, there is a lot of sex and violence in the chronicles of Weapon Brown, but at the very base of this book, it appeals to the kid within.
Next issue should be the conclusion . . . in theory. Yungbluth thought this would be two books . . . then three . . . and so on, so who knows? One only has to wonder, after he’s gotten this far, where else can he go with Weapon Brown? Do yourself a favor and buy the entire series and see why this is one of the awesomest books lurking in Artists Alley!
WEAPON BROWN: BLOCKHEAD’S WAR #6
Written and illustrated by Jason Yungbluth
Published by Death Ray Graphics
Too many unnumbered pages to count
$6
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