Superhero parody is not uncommon, and so a successful and entertaining superhero parody becomes largely a matter of the creator's personal style. I'm a fan of Jeffrey Brown's work, which is definitely unique, but his work on Bighead actually doesn't come across quite as distinctly. Instead, Bighead reminds me very much of surreal superhero parody works like Street Angel, Flaming Carrot and another Top Shelf production, Less Than Heroes. Fortunately, while Bighead is reminiscent of this style, all of these works represent the cream of the crop in this subset of the genre, and Bighead is plenty of fun in that vein. Fans of Brown's previous work may find it a bit too different, but fans of offbeat humor comics with a superheroic tinge will probably get a big kick out of Bighead.
Upon close examination, Bighead does bear more than a small resemblance to Brown's other works. One of the characteristics of his previous works Clumsy and Unlikely was a sensitivity that bordered on being painful, and his characters, both hero and villain, share that sensitivity here. Witness the culmination of a fight between Bighead and his nemesis Heartbroke, which is resolved not by slugfest but by an open discussion of their feelings that rings true to anyone who has had such post break-up conversations with friends. It's actually the kind of thing that in a different genre might work as somewhat heartfelt, but when it's a discussion between two grown men in spandex with a backdrop of a doomsday voice, it's surreal and funny. This kind of thing recurs throughout the book, perhaps most notably with Bighead's friend (and secret crush) marrying a supervillain, as he stands by and does the supportive friend thing, which is a strange contrast with the usual superheroic method.
Of course, Brown is kind of poking fun at the whole notion of superheroes and the way they're published and marketed these days. His characters have the most bizarre kinds of powers, starting with his titular protagonist's enlarged cranium. The superheroic creations of Brown are only one or two ridiculous steps away from the most bizarre of Stan Lee or Jack Kirby creations (really, a giant sumo wrestler with water powers named Tsunami isn't too far away from an Australian with jumping powers named The Kangaroo), which actually makes them funnier. Probably the height of this humor for me is an exchange from the Free Comic Book Day comic reprinted in these pages, wherein Bighead comes up against the Puncher, and the two of them battle it out in a parody of kung-fu cliche with the most simplistic of names and techniques for their fighting styles. Although I'm also amused by how far Brown takes this parody of the genre itself, which includes a page of Bighead merchandise on the inside front cover with deadpan marketing lines like "Soft. cute. Will never leave you" for the Bighead plush doll.
Really, the style and humor of Bighead is just a variety of flavors of odd and strange. Superhero parody, a gentle parody of Brown's own style by applying it to this genre, and strange formatting gags like a short strip done entirely in Spanish, a couple of mock public service announcements and a couple of "samples" of Bighead done as a newspaper strip. It's as much funny peculiar as it is funny ha-ha, but it is undeniably funny.
Brown's art style is one that won't find favor with everyone. It is stylized work, and the style is that of simplicity. Not in the sense of minimalist creators like Andi Watson, but in a more exaggerated, almost childlike style that is not bound by the rules of anatomy or by the standard comic-book aesthetic. Put another way: Jeffrey Brown is not going to move from his indy work on to drawing X-Men. However, this simple style, which many would probably decry as "my kid could do that!" actually has plenty of sophistication, most notably in Brown's crack comic timing and a gleeful, dynamic style that conveys some nice energy in the superhero sequences. 7/10
