JaMiE BaKeR: fallout

Nerve Bomb Comix #0
Review by Michael May

Written and drawn by James Baker

Nerve Bomb Comics

Comics can do and be a lot of things. One of the wonderful things about the medium is its diversity and its ability to tell stories in unique ways. Comics is an art form and deserve to be treated and studied as such. But sometimes comics are just meant to be fun. James Baker realizes this and has created appropriately. His comic is called Nerve Bomb Comix, but that doesn’t tell you anything about the contents. It’s not so much a spoof of superhero comics as a simple, light-hearted approach to the genre.

Rocket Rabbit is the star of the show. He’s a little robot shaped sorta like a rabbit, but with rocket thrusters for ears. He’s not too bright. His partner is the much smarter and much prettier Professor. I could go into detail about who these two are and what they do and what they fight, but that would be missing the point of this little comic. The point is to have fun reading it.

And it is fun. After turning down assignments to battle such oddball villains as Thundernerd and The Bludgeonator, Rocket Rabbit and the Professor decide to save the city of San Fiasco from aliens who are using a giant robot in the shape of an old granny to terrorize the citizenry. Along the way, we’re introduced to a plethora of humorous good guys and bad guys with names like Beef Jerky (a former pro wrestler), Dick Pump (this isn’t exactly an all-ages title, by the way), Smart Ass (a donkey who shares a body with his other personalities Wise Ass, Dumb Ass, Bad Ass and Kick Ass) and Omar Sheriff (a gun-slinging Arab).

Baker has a lot of imagination and a wonderful, cartoony art style that emphasizes the frantic fun of the script. The comic’s only flaw is that most of the hilarious characters it introduces are simply throwaway gags that are introduced in one panel and not seen again. It’s worth keeping in mind however that this is a zero-issue - an introduction. Hopefully some of these characters will reappear in future issues. And this issue is certainly funny enough to warrant buying future issues. It’s not knee-slapping, roll-around-on-the-floor funny, but it’s got a great sense of humor and is a refreshing alternative to the “please-take-us-seriously” comics that are out there.

There’s an odd back-up feature called “Los Troppo Drongos” about a midget who rides around on a dog and the cat that lives in the midget’s hat. It’s as weird as it sounds, but it’s not just weird for the sake of being weird. It’s weird for the sake of making you smile or laugh. And that makes it a perfect fit with the rest of Nerve Bomb Comix.

I recently attended a zine festival here in San Fransisco and picked up a copy of a book called SAME DIFFERENCE and other stories by Derek Kirk Kim. It is the best comic I have read in quite a while and I recommend that you check out his site, which is where all his strips have been published first.

Also on the subject of comics, see another addition to the links page the Isotope Lounge which is San Francisco’s Best Comics store.

While promoting my book I went around to all the stores that I could find in the Bay Area, one by one. So I feel qualified to call out the Isotope as hands-down the best store around. It is not only a great bookstore with a wide range of material, but it is also a fun place to hang out. And even if you arent local, they have a lively forum as part of their website so jump in there and geek out.