Comics Grinder

Category Archives: Bullying

April 19, 2019 · 5:50 pm

Review: PLANET OF THE NERDS #1

PLANET OF THE NERDS #1

We all experience bullies in one form or another–you just can’t escape them. Collectively, many of us are dealing with being bullied by the President of the United States. It is a phenomena many of us (I would really like to say ALL of us) hope will never happen again. Donald Trump has been a bully for decades. He was the model for one of pop culture’s most infamous bullies, Biff Tannen, from the Back to the Future franchise. Well, Paul Constant channels Biff Tannen in his script for a very funny and refreshing new comic book, Planet of the Nerds, published by AHOY Comics.

AHOY Comics? you may ask. I know. It’s new and it’s made a lot of promises that it has attached to its name: A is for Abundance. H is for Humor. O is for Originality. And Y is for YES! AHOY founder Hart Seely is a former newspaper man and he’s serious about wanting to provide something substantial to the comic book market. So far, it does look good for AHOY as they have hit the ground running with a nice mix of titles: The Wrong Earth finds a superhero and supervillain trading places; High Heaven gives a chronic complainer his comeuppance; Captain Ginger is an all-out cats-in-outerspace adventure; and Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror is sort of a revisit to Tales of the Crypt. Part of the next wave of titles is Planet of the Nerds. All these titles share a really fun format that includes the feature story, a background story, plus a surprise grab bag that can include prose and even poetry.

Chad pummels Alvin Ad Infinitum

Getting back to Planet of the Nerds, this first issue packs a wallop thanks to the upbeat script by Constant as well as the impressive work by the rest of the creative team which includes artist Alan Robinson and colorist Felipe Sobreiro. The opener finds our bully, Chad, center stage as he pummels Alvin, a hapless fellow high school student. Chad is as stereotypical a bully as you’ll ever care to find. And Alvin is as stereotypical a misfit as you’ll ever see. And perhaps therein lies a wonderful opportunity to play with some well-worn tropes. Will Chad just keep whomping on Alvin? Will Alvin just keep being a doormat? It is a pure dichotomy, a Zen-like premise, a perfect paring of yin and yang. Constant breaks things up by having Chad’s two allies, Steve and Drew, act more human than henchmen. And the initial setting for the story is the late ’80s complete with all its excess and naivete. One of the best lines in this first issue is from Jenny, Steve’s girlfriend, who sweetly mocks his naturally meek demeanor: “If a man in a brown van tries to give you candy, just say, ‘No!'” Ah, nostalgic young love! The art by Robinson and the colors by Sobreiro conspire to provide just the right retro look reminiscent of the work of Ed Piskor.

Suffice it to say, everything is set for a rollicking good adventure. It will be no spoiler to say that this is something of a time travel story. AHOY says as much in their promo copy. And there is definitely a Back to the Future vibe going on here. The future in this case is our own era, a time that would leave any kid from the ’80s doing double takes. Chad, the ultimate nerd hater must come face to face with a world where, as we’ve heard so often, the nerds have won. But have they, really? I don’t know that this comic will fully answer that question but you just never know.

Review: THE BULLY’S BULLY

“The Bully’s Bully” is a unique webcomic, and book, on the subject of bullying. It tackles the issue with a lot of grit. I don’t recommend this for the youngest of readers simply because of it’s spirited, and intense, depiction of violence. We can discuss that. Overall, it’s a solid work in comics. But, be warned, this gets the equivalent of a PG-13 rating. Story and art by Courtney Huddleston and James Taylor, this is an impressive production. The look and feel would do proud any animation house or comics publisher. I would describe it as a clean and polished house style. And, as the title implies, this is a book about bullies. Or, more precisely, a girl with a lot of guts, who is out there to defend, and encourage, victims of bullies. She is going to do her best to set things straight.

You’ll find here a collection of stories that follow our heroine on her quest to stop bullying. The comics are wordless throughout. We don’t have a name for our main character other than Bully’s Bully, or B.B., for short. There are a wide spectrum of scenarios to be found here ranging from a hunting story to a story set in the inner city. The feature story finds B.B. locking horns with one of the most diabolical villains, under 18, you’re likely to find. He looks a bit like Pugsley from the Addams Family.

“The Bully’s Bully” is a webcomic and, when this B.B. vs. Pugsley story first ran, it caused quite a commotion regarding the violence. So, what exactly is the deal here? Well, this Pugsley boy has no qualms about punching B.B. right in the gut, starting at page 26, and repeatedly attempts to smack her around and worse. He also has no problem with slamming a puppy into a tree, which is shown in one panel. Is this too much? Yes, without a doubt. If it walks and talks like a duck, it’s a duck. So, emphatically, I tell you this is one very disturbed duck. If there’s another spin to it, I’d say that these disturbing scenes certainly do evoke the terror a bully can inflict. However, that could have been achieved differently. As it is, you lose the younger readers.

Well, that’s what can happen when you choose to turn up the volume to eleven. Unfortunately, everything is thrown out of balance with such an extreme shift in tone. Oh, I know, I know, you may wonder if I’m overreacting. But, no, I’m not. I think it’s better to speak to these issues than simply go along to get along. You can find plenty of reviews like that already. And I’m not against this book. I am concerned about the fact that younger readers will be attracted to it and could get sucker punched by the content. That said, in the real world, kids can and do get hurt. So, sure, it’s a tricky situation. With all this in mind, if you have a notion of getting this book for a young reader or pointing him or her to the website, try the book or webcomic out and see for yourself beforehand.

You can buy your copy of The Bully’s Bully 152-page trade paperback on Amazon right here.