Slapstick #1

   Slapstick, the zany character from the 90s is back in his own series. The Marvel hero enjoyed a brief resurgence as a member of Deadpool's Mercs for Money in 2015. His small roles  in each issue were self-deprecating and very funny and that's about half of what this issue is. Plus, it's quite violent. Imagine Rodney Dangerfield as Daffy Duck teamed with Moe and Curly of the Three Stooges and you've got Marvel's Slapstick!

    Slapstick is a kind of tragic figure as he's a teenage boy trapped in the body of a living cartoon. Though he loves being a superhero, he's also quite depressed. He's unable to enjoy his basic carnal needs since cartoon characters are created without genitalia. Dinner is kinds of a moot point for him as real food doesn't process in a cartoon stomach very well. Plus, looking like a giant animated clown, nobody takes him very seriously. Did I mention that Slapstick is also mentally unstable. Very mentally unstable.

    In this issue, Slapstick is trying to do the mercenary gig on his own. Since Deadpool never paid him when in his employ, Slapstick stole the Merc With A Mouth's cell-phone and is encroaching on Deadpool's list of jobs. But, it's not quite working out for Slapstick as he gets quite kill-happy and ends up going too far with his beloved over-sized mallet.

     There's elements of Deadpool, the Punisher, and Harley Quinn here and I enjoy it immensely. But will the character of Slapstick be enough of a draw? The growing nostalgia for all things from the 90s will help somewhat. So will a great team-up with the Amazing Spider-Man (that guy seems to be popping up in a lot of reviews lately.) However, the cover of this issue mentions or features neither potential readership draws.

    I got this paper issue early December (it launched as a digital first comic in early October) and read it the same day I bought it. But things got in the way in my posting a review of this issue; work and stuff like that. (Plus, I forgot about...) Two further issues had been released since this one. But I'm not seeing a lot about this issue. What little I do see has been positive. But I think this book is just too under the radar. 

    As part of Marvel Infinite Comics digital imprint, that might help this series survive. But again, I seriously doubt it because the word of mouth has been minimum. Maybe my review will help. But I am afraid it might be too little too late. But if you love zany, madcap comics with a slant to the surreal and just the right amount of absurd, then Slapstick is the hero you have been waiting for to return from 1990s limbo.

 (Reader's Note: with some graphic violence, adult language, and some frank sexual conversations, Marvel slapped a Parental Advisory on this series and they mean it. Just because Slapstick looks like a refugee from the House of Mouse, he's not for kids!)

   Worth Consuming 

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.