Silver Bullet Review
Here is an excerpt from a recent review of Rocket Rabbit #1, written by Steve Saville of Silver Bullet comics:
James Baker [comic creator guy] has very kindly included the following comment with the edition of Rocket Rabbit he submitted for review:
“it’s not deep, it’s firmly in silly territory.”
If there is anything “silly” about Rocket Rabbit it is the somewhat unimaginative title, I mean it is hardly inspirational. Bit of a shame really because the contents are delightful. Thirty- nine very busy pages of delighfulness to be precise. Baker has created a very active and fast paced comic, full of movement. There is no wasted space here, each and every frame is a well constructed entity on its own and, at the same time, well integrated with those that surround it. What we have is two stand alone stories of a rabbit robot with twin outboard nukes for propulsion [in other words he uses rocket powered ears to fly] and his beautiful human ‘partner,’ the Professor doing battle with the villains laying siege to San Fiasco [yes the pun is in heavy use here].
The artistic style is reminiscent of the better animation that features in the Saturday morning cartoon slots on television with Baker showing a genuine ability in drawing the female form [the professor is really quite hot and as for newsreader Epiffany Binge…] Another strong artistic feature is Baker’s effective use of tone. As a result every page looks damn good and draws the reader in. This is a very accessible comic with very tight art.
If this comic looks good then it is matched by the large doses of witty dialogue and genuine humour present. Most of this is directed at the American fan culture. In the fair city of San Fiasco Rocket Rabbit is a big hero yet many of his fans would rather play video games featuring their hero than drag themselves over to the window to see him in real life, and when they do venture out their obsessive devotion borders on the disturbed. Unfortunately it is not too far from reality. Other aspects of American society are given a gentle working over as well. The mayor is a glove puppet, the grinning anchor man is the appropriately named Flip Remarque. The gender tension between the Professor and Rocket Rabbit is a wonderful sub plot. Never more so than when the Professor’s fascination with remodelling Rabbit comes out into the open. Rocket Rabbit feels used despite the Professor’s promise not to “touch his mind.” These witty conversations are a feature of this comic.
The other high point is the villains [and so often this proves to be the case]. A schizophrenic donkey features in the first tale and a bunch of geographically challenged apes maraud through the second tale, titled ‘Apes of Wrath’ [I warned you about the puns].
This is a nice package, funny yes, entertaining yes, well produced yes, silly no.
In a Word: Tight
Here is a quick sketch that took up a lot of time… 
It’s gratifying when at least the first review is a postive one, because it makes it easier to take the ensuing bad ones. After all, goofball silliness isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.
I’m done with a brief storyboarding assignment that had me working in the East Bay for a few months, and now I’m back downtown working at my studio, and you guessed it; the focus is comics.
