Showing posts with label Ryan Browne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Browne. Show all posts

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Blast Furance: Recreational Thief Vol 1, Ryan Browne

"Ryan Browne's painfully sweet improv comic created a page a day, an hour per page, with no preplanning for six whole months. Booyah!"








If God Hates Astronauts was nuts, this is totally insane. It's brilliant, on a whole different level, but at times it can veer too far into scatological tangents, especially once the flashback within flashbacks kick in.

The difference between the two books is clear; this isn't plot driven, it's a series of events trunk together in order for characters to reach a page later in the book. There's no clarity of drive or motive, for long periods the focus shifts to side characters as we hear their stories, which detracts from the overall story, such as it is.

It's a mistake to think of this in the same way as a weekly comic though. It's not a sitcom, it's a sketch show. For every bit that misses, there are three that work. The jokes are great, and the humour is all over the place, but the way it's written, as a page a day black and white comic, comes through to create a totally different reading experience.

It was a free thank you for kickstarting God Hates Astronauts, and it is an excellent read. Will it ever be finished? Who knows, and even if it is, it's unlikely to make sense. But still, it's worth taking a look at just to see what a great writer can do with some free time and some bonkers ideas.

Also Try:
Ryan Browne, God Hates Astronauts http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/


God Hates Astronauts, Ryan Browne

"6 years in the making, the web-comic GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS is finally published in one big awesome 180 page hardcover graphic novel!"









Despite the fact that it can be read online in full, I made the fort to help get this book Kickstarted because it's freaking amazing. The story of an invincible superhero whose head get destroyed in a fight, and is subsequently abandoned by his team due to his hideous disfigurement, and their continued adventures and battles amongst themselves, it's about as far from mainstream superhero comics as you can get.

It is frequently hilarious, mostly thanks to Browne's love of puns (fights against Owl Qaeda feature namechecks for bosses Adolf Hootler and Owlsama Bin Laden) or bizarre sound effects - a full page of a head being punched repeatedly has the air of Invincible's art, with the added bonus of Hercules style lettering.

An insane mash up of genres, styles and influences, it's perfect for anyone who loves Axe Cop, or Battle Pope, or anyone who just wants a fun read featuring Men with gorilla arms, boxing bears, jet pack cat lawyer or cowboys haunted by ghostly cow heads.

Frankly there isn't anything like this out there. It's an absolute riot, and it's totally worth reading.

Also Try:
Ryan Browne, God Hates Astronauts http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/
Alan Moore, Top Ten
Robert Kirkman, Invincible
Malachai and Ethan Nicolle, Axe Cop http://axecop.com/