Owen Craig was just a regular kid with regular problems until he sneeks onto private property. Now he's dealing with robbers, avoiding bullies, being stalked by some woman, and his body can turn into mud.
The Good
I love the art in this book. Paul Grist's art is very stylized and is a lot like a contemporary Mike Allred (how has a more 60s pop-art style to his work). I don't think it's too fair to compare the two artists, since they may be similar, but their styles are very different. Grist's style is a bit more cartoony and unrealistic, and gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling, like when I used to watch Doug on Nickelodeon.
In addition to the awesome art, there are some awesome colors by Bill Crabtree. I'm a huge fan of flat colors with a cartoon pencil style, and I love Bill's colors on this. Aside from a lot of the book having flat colors, there is some great shade work, but the colors, overall, really pop off the page and fit with Paul's art perfectly.
This story is a lot of fun. Yes, it is another boy becoming a super-hero story, but I loved that it took place in England and not in the United States, like the vast majority of comic books. We get to see the English landscape and a feel for the people and the language. I love English slang, and there's a ton of it in this issue.
Mudman is a great and easy pick up. It's not a convoluted story that's over the heads of readers. It's down-to-Earth, relate-able, and it will put a smile on your face. It feels like reading my first comic again, when books didn't have 12 issue story arcs or big events every month. Mudman is like your mom's homecookin': comfortable and familiar.
The Bad
While I enjoyed the book, I didn't love it. While it did have that great familiar feel to it, Mudman also felt a tad redundant as I thought to myself "here we go again. Another super-hero book." I have a feeling this book will separate itself from the pack, much like Invincible did, but only time will tell.
The Verdict
A great first issue. I loved Paul Grist's art in this book because it was so stylized, and Bill Crabtree's colors (colours). I also really liked that it takes place somewhere other than America because a change of scenery can be very nice. It's a fun and familiar story you will enjoy; however, it may feel a bit redundant because we've all read so many super-hero stories before. I recommend this book though. You'll have a good time.