The Good
This book is still funny. It hasn't worn out its welcome, which tends to happen sometimes to comedic comic books. What PUNKS does well is parody and satire within each issue. Here, it pokes fun at the world of manga, which it nails out of the park.
From my understanding on manga, which is very slim, writer Joshua Fialkov and artist Kody Chamberlain hit the nail on the head when it comes to manga, aside from the whole "reading backwards" thing that most Americans know about the art-form. There's giant robots, fighting animals trapped inside of pool balls, unnecessary flashbacks that add nothing to the story, and giant explosions.
The issue is silly and fun, like the rest of the series so far. It doesn't stick to conventional comic book storytelling and breaks the rules at every chance it gets, but at no point does PUNKS feel like it's trying to break the mold in any way. It feels much more like a couple of talented creators having a blast, month and after month, and that's really what drags me back to this book, month after month, the feeling of having just as much fun reading it as the creators had putting it together.
I want to see artist Kody Chamberlain's process to this book. The cut and paste technique of various pictures gives a zany and DIY feeling to the book. The sepia coloring also helps as well. It makes me think of old punk rock fliers for shows or fanzines. Essentially, PUNKS' look is crafted to look as though someone just "slopped" it together, at first look, but that is really not the case.
There's a reference to a Gloria Estafan song. It made me smile. Smiling is important.
The Bad
The second half of the book is in "manga" style, so you have to read the book like folks over in Japan would, which as much as I appreciate the effort to do this, I am not a fellow learned in the ways of manga, so for me, it was a bit confusing at times and became a rough read. However, to give Fialkov and Chamerlain some credit, not only do they do a good job at explaining how to read it, but that story uses a few splash pages and larger, horizontal panels to make it easier to read.
The Verdict
PUNKS is pretty rad. It makes me laugh and giggle and the controlled chaos feeling the book gives off is unlike anything else in comics right now. This issue is pretty ridiculous and spoofs on the world of manga, and does so extremely well. The only real problem I had with it was reading in the manga style, something I'm personally not well-versed in, but nonetheless, still a series I look forward to every single month.
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