There are not a huge number of comedy comics being produced right now. Superheroes, fantasy and horror are the genres that seem to be far more popular; so when a solid comedy title turns up, it’s worthy of your curiosity. When it’s as good as Shirtless Bear Fighter, it demands your attention.
There isn’t really any need to explain the premise of this 6 issue mini-series; much like Snakes on a Plane, the title says it all. Shirtless is a feral wildman, raised in the forest by the bears, but now sworn to fight them, and this inaugural adventure sees him uncover a conspiracy that will lead the hero on a collision course with the grizzly demons of his past. The main character is a testosterone fuelled mash-up of Tarzan, John Rambo and Paul Bunyan, and the satirical script by Jody Leheup and Sebastian Girner pulls no punches as it mercilessly targets these archetypes.
The art by Nil Vendrell has to do quite a bit of heavy lifting, with many of the gags being visual, and also quite surreal. More impressive though is the fight choreography, as Vendrell’s depiction of bear fights include some absolutely bone-crunching wrestling moves (I spotted a german suplex and a hellacious spine-buster!). The result answers the question; what if Monty Python wrote an 80’s action movie, and got the Looney Tunes to animate it? If laughs is what you are looking for, pick up Shirtless Bear Fighter. You’re in for a big surprise.
