Thursday, April 12, 2012

Comic Review: Ratfist


Title: Ratfist 
Author: Doug Tennapel (Author, Artist), Katherine Garner (Author)
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Pages: 176 pages
Buy the Book: Amazon
Source: NetGalley

Summery

Earthworm Jim creator Doug Tennapel is publishing his Webcomic Ratfist, a vigilante-in-tights that satirizes comics, politics, philosophy, and even Tennapel himself Featuring a forward written by MST3K/RiffTraxx''s Michael J. Nelson, and pin-ups by Ryan Ottley, Scott Kurtz, Christopher Hastings, and Ethan Nicolle.



Review

I usually like superhero stories. I even like satires. Ratfist has both of those things so it should be a fun read, right?

Unfortunately, I was let down. I can't really say that Ratfist was bad because it really wasn't. It's just that I'm obviously not the target audience for it.

I don't read satire that often so going back to it in a comic format was an interesting experience. However, like I said before, I'm not the intended audience for Ratfist. People who read superhero comic books and those who have a little interest in politics will more than likely enjoy this comic. I personally have no interest in either of those things which I think the reason why I wasn't impressed by this comic.

I think the biggest flaw of Ratfist is that, in my opinion, it fails to grab different kinds of audiences. It has funny moments, but only those who are hard-core comic fans will really get it. I don't usually get bored reading comics, but unfortunately I bored with reading this comic. I thought the story dragged on for too long mostly because it had too much text which I don't take as a good thing in comics. I understand in some parts it was done on purpose and it was funny when I understood it.

I didn't understand what the story was satirizing which is why I felt that the story overall was a huge mess Yes I know in most superhero stories thing don't always make sense, but here I thought it was a little bit too much. I thought some parts of the story was too stupid, like the tail thing which was a little bit too silly. Again, I know it supposed to be, but it didn't quite work for me.

I didn't enter this expecting a compeling superhero story. I wanted something entertaining and at some parts I was entertained. The art is unique in its own way, but in the end nothing special.

In the end, I found this book an interesting read despite its flaws. I think it's a shame because Ratfist could have been so much better if it had the appeal for a wider audience. I'd say if you're a hardcore comic book fan, you should check this one out.

In fact, if you want, you can read it here right now.

Final Rating


2 comments:

  1. It's great that you've got a forum to express your ideas here but what, exactly, are you saying? You didn't like it but people should read it? You didn't get it but found it interesting? It would help to have a more well-thought-out structure to your ideas so the review has a shape and clearer objective. Keep working on your writing skills. Including "I think" and "in my opinion" in the same sentence is a bit redundant (and unnecessary in a REVIEW since it's all "what you think"), no? And note how many sentences you started with the word "I".

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    1. Thank you so much. Feedback is always appreciated. I will remember that next time.

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