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Airboy #2

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    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Airboy #2



    Airboy #2
    Released by: Image Comics
    Released on: July 1st, 2015.
    Written by: James Robinson
    Illustrated by: Greg Hinkle
    Purchase From Amazon

    Picking up where the last issue left off, we start off this second chapter with a scene in which James Robinson Greg Hinkle, after a booze and drug addled night of pure debauchery, flee as fast as they can down the street. An unsheathed dong sways to and fro and Hinkle loses a sock. Why the panic? Because the fictional character that they've spent the last two nights trying to get an angle on has just appeared to the both of them… saying the same thing… at the same time. There goes the drug induced hallucination theory.

    As it turns out, Airboy has made the jump into their world as a kinda-sorta imaginary but not really imaginary character, and he's understandably curious as to what's going on and where he is. At first he thinks that these comic book creators are bad guys, or bad guy stooges, and then the wonders is the Nazi's he was just fighting won the war but nope, he's just alive and living through the current day. After feeding him a pot brownie our heroes take their hero off to a bar where things quickly get out of hand and as Airboy starts coming to terms with his now public domain status, well, we won't spoil the ending here. That wouldn't be cool at all.

    This second issue is pretty much just as twisted as the premiere installment of this new series, and that's a very good thing indeed (and a hard benchmark to hit). Robinson's writing continues to be a perfect mix of over the top humor and deeply personal reflections on his work as a comic book writer. There's a great scene where, while Airboy is off in the bathroom at the bar, Robinson talks to Hinkle about quitting DC and why and it's here that we realize there's more to this issue than just blowjob jokes and drug fueled rampages. The story in this particular issue also builds to a great ending, one that (as good endings should) leaves us wanting to know where the story will go from here. Will Airboy, a symbol of all-American goodness, help our two degenerates see the error of their ways or will they drag him down to their level?

    About that bar scene though… It did stir up some controversy, which has since been addressed and addressed fairly - it was in bad taste, but then, this entire comic is (to a certain extent) an exercise in bad taste. We'll leave it up to others to debate but in the context of the story, where two characters (they being Robinson and Hinkle) are at rock bottom as depicted here, it doesn't seem so far out of line to think that a pair of assholes would act and talk like a pair of assholes. Much ado about nothing? Opinions will vary and those who took offence have every right to, but if nothing else the scene in question got people talking and that's never a bad thing.

    Hinkle once again illustrates all of this perfectly. It's interesting to note how he switches the color schemes around in his portrayal of the 'Robinson and Hinkle' characters compared to Airboy - things go from sickly to bright, bold and colorful quite nicely there. The contrasts are hard to miss but entirely appropriate to the story at hand. It'll be interesting to see how Hinkle's style works in issue there, as that last page indicates that things are going to change, at least in terms of where all of this is taking place, quite drastically.







    • Todd Jordan
      #1
      Todd Jordan
      Smut is good.
      Todd Jordan commented
      Editing a comment
      The bathroom scene was a riot. And I didn't know about the controversy until your review, and never even thought of it as making transfolk the rock bottom of society. I saw it as two guys with very little by way of sexual taboo having a good time in a sex bar. Robinson's character even says something the effect of his bathroom companion having a nice smile and being sweet and just going for it. I thought that was kind of cool of him actually, and not being nasty or condescending.And the reaction of Airboy I thought was totally appropriate. If my WWII veteran grandfather walked out of 1944 and into 2015 and had that happen to him I would expect his reaction to be the same if not worse. Not sure why people get so up in arms about shit like this. Not like he said transsexuals are the scum of the earth and deserve to die slow, festering deaths. He's hanging out and partying down with them like he would a room full of hetero men and women.Awesome issue, just like the last one. I;m not normally a fan of fourth-wall type stuff but Robinson's script is fascinating. And Hinkle's art is perfect for this. I really like his color design and how it paints a real grime over everything it needs to. This is a really good book. Really good.
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