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BATTLE POPE VOL. 2: MAYHEM TP
Recommended (8/10)
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Funk-O-Tron Productions
Writer/Layouts: Robert Kirkman
Pencils: Matthew Roberts, Mark Kidwell
Artists: Tony Moore, Robert Kirkman, Brian Despain, Shane White
Price: $12.95 US/$19.95 CAN |
I know, as I'm reading Battle Pope and laughing as hard as I possibly can, that if there is a Hell, I'm certainly going there for enjoying Battle Pope so much. My best comfort is that Kirkman will be there before me, for thinking this crazy stuff up. Battle Pope is so far over-the-top that it actually
comes back around to the bottom again and goes over-the-top of that. It's a book
about a womanizing, drinking louse of a guy who is the Pope, kicking ass for the
Lord and palling around with his simpleton buddy Jesus, all while various
hapless demons hatch futile plans for revenge. It's a book that will either
leave the reader laughing out loud or so offended that they can barely speak...
I fall into the former category.
Any book that has God teasing Archangel Michael about his homophobia is okay in my book, and Battle Pope: Mayhem begins with that joke, which started
me off laughing. Honestly, I don't really remember stopping, although I do
remember some increased laughs when Battle Pope "rescues" a cat out of a tree,
buries a fondly (if barely) remembered girl with an epitaph that can't recall
her name but can recall her proficiency in the sack and sits down for a game of
"Missile Command" with Jesus. The basic idea here, if you're not getting it, is
politically incorrect humor with an eye towards fun at the cost of any
self-respecting characters.
Here's the secret of Battle Pope: The lead character is truly a schmuck. He's a sexist, classless, pompous ass with too many muscles and not even the whisper of a conscience. However, since his adversaries are of the clueless and stupid variety, it's hard not to root for him, and anyone who finds some of the more extreme aspects of organized religion a bit ridiculous will have no trouble accepting Battle Pope as those aspects taken to an
even greater extreme for humorous value. If I have to explain to you why God's
chosen Pope sitting around with his balls hanging out of his shorts is funny,
than this comic isn't for you.
Battle Pope is definitely low-brow. It makes no apologies for that, and in fact it revels in it. There will not be a panel in San Diego discussing the symbolism to be found in Battle Pope, or comparing themes with From Hell and Acme Novelty Library. However, I'll forgive a lot if a book can make me laugh, and this book makes me laugh almost as much as Barry Ween or Dork! The plots
are thin, your basic demons seeking revenge kind of thing, but they're enough to
keep the story moving forward, and though these were originally short stories,
they hold together as a connected story fairly well.
Another aspect of collected
short stories that can sometimes stand out is the changing art styles, and there
are several artists who worked on this book. However, all of them have a style
that sort of blends together, and all of them are very much in-tune with the
comical mayhem that is the tone of the book. The quieter moments are funny due
to the expressions on characters' faces or the uncouth manner in which they are
posed, but what really gets me are the action scenes, whether it's violent
gunfights or slapstick comedy.
There's no doubt that Battle Pope could have been an embarrassment, something
that spends most of its time trying to convince the reader how funny it is, or
coasting on the inherent gag in the name "Battle Pope." Kirkman and company
didn't settle for that, however, instead creating a book that is irreverent,
unapologetically vulgar and hysterically funny. Depending on your religious
views, it may or may not be blasphemous; but it's definitely hilarious.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
