Uncanny Skullkickers #1
Uncanny Skullkickers #1
Story by Jim Zub
Pencils by Edwin Huang
Inks by Edwin Huang & Kevin Raganit
Colors by Misty Coats & Ross A. Campbell
Color Flatting by Ludwig Olimba
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Published by Image Comics
Thank god, they finally added adjectives. I don’t think I could have tolerated another issue without them.
With the fourth wall completely obliterated, all play and no work make Uncanny Skullkickers #1 a fun read. You may not find the secrets of the universe in the pages of this book, but you will be entertained. I suspect Zub might know them, the secrets of the universe, I mean (or at least the secrets of entertaining and engaging readers) but he is having too good of a time to bother us with them.
Jim Zub takes care of his reader; making sure we are aware of all that has happened, turning our attention to things that are happening, and making us anxious to know what will happen next. Few writers have the level of craft and mastery of word play that Zub demonstrates even in this near parody of a pulp genre. Do not be fooled its playfulness, this book is smart. It is satire that will entertain you, and make you reconsider every comic convention you have never questioned.
In this issue we find our heroes, Rex and Kusia marooned on a seemingly deserted island after a shipwreck. Both of them are shocked and pleased to be alive. They settle in and start making survival arrangements (a la Lost, Castaway, Robinson Crusoe, you know the drill) only to discover that the island is inhabited with several nasty species the likes of which natural history museums have never seen. Spoiler alert, the creatures were not produced by Wilson sporting equipment, nor are they made of black smoke.
Bright in-your-face art, extraordinary setting and creature design, and possibly the best action captions in the history of comic books will make you glad you spent time with the (now Uncanny) Skullkickers. This is thought-provoking, laugh-out-loud, action-packed (see I can unpack my adjectives too) comic book goodness at its finest.
