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MAGIC PICKLE #2
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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Oni Press
Writer/Artist: Scott Morse
Editor: James Lucas Jones
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
Mix Herobear and the Kid, Soulwind, a touch of the 1960s Batman show and let's say a 3-hour drinking binge and you've got Magic Pickle. Morse's creation is
hilariously unusual, what with it being about a super-powered dill pickle
created by the U.S. Government, but it also has grounding in familiar issues
such as a young girl and super-heroic tradition. This issue contains Jo Jo's
exploration of Pickle's secret lair as well as an all-out battle between Pickle
and the Brotherhood of Evil Produce. It's a bit of a quick read, but it's
undeniably fun, and Morse's artwork is as good as usual.
Take for example Morse's
vision of Jo Jo's personal world, as we see the attractive girl who is her
nemesis or her friends. There's a certain otherworldly quality to Morse's work,
and that reflects the strange viewpoint of a young girl or the unusual subject
matter of sentient vegetables with super-powers. I particularly enjoyed seeing
some of his artistic takes on super-hero standbys such as the secret lair full
of gadgets, robots, the "communication device" (most frequently seen in the form
of telepathic waves emitting from Aquaman's head, and just as goofy here) and of
course the battle vs. good and evil.
There are any number of quick
and funny gags here. Jo Jo's activation of "Lady Killer" and subsequent
deactivation is very funny and her method of dealing with one of the Brotherhood
members completely logical but also hilarious in context. Her sense of wonder
about the whole thing, as she sits inside the Processor and talks about "This
oughtta be good...", also comes through. Her friendship with the Pickle has
solidified this issue as she realizes just how cool he can be.
Though it's really only a
couple of pages, the big set-piece this issue is a battle between Pickle and the
Brotherhood of Evil Produce. It's a great bit, visually clear and exciting, with
Weapon Kosher serving up a couple of great lines of witty banter such as "Time
to bust out the croutons..." I'm reminded of every cheesy super-hero book I ever
read, in a good way, and Morse has really captured what can be fun about
super-hero comics aimed at a younger audience.
Really, Magic Pickle sounded like such a fun and odd concept
that I couldn't imagine a circumstance where I wouldn't enjoy it. However, I
have been surprised by just how much I'm enjoying it, and each chapter leaves me
wishing there were more pages left to read.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
