Cyko KO #1 (Family Comic Friday)

They say to not judge a book by it’s cover. It’s a good thing I didn’t listen to whomever THEY are or I wouldn’t be sharing this week’s Family Comic Friday offering with you! This week’s selection is Cyko KO #1 from Alterna Comics. And I chose this book thanks to the awesome cover!

Cyko KO #1
Writer/Artist: Rob Feldman
Letters by Peter Simeti
Background by Toon360
Published by Alterna Comics

Let’s start with that crazy cover. It’s got our hero, Cyko KO, racing down a river of lava, while being attacked by a radio-controlled squid! First of all, it looks like it was drawn by those amazing Hanna-Barbera illustrators of such shows like Jonny Quest and Herculoids. Then it has elements of the silly 1960s Batman TV episode in which the Caped Crusader has a surf-off against the Joker. And third, it looks completely off-the-wall wacky!

I’m not sure what Cyko KO is. Is he a robot with faulty programming? Is he a complete loon with a cool looking mask? Regardless, he’s the newest fourth-wall breaking totally insane superhero in the vein of Freakazoid, The Tick, Madman, Harley Quinn, and Deadpool. But unlike the last three heroes, Cyko KO is appropriate for all-ages.

Cyko KO is the creation of animator and illustrator Rob Feldman. For the past few years, Feldman has been bringing Cyko KO and friends to life in a series of animated comic shorts based on classic cartoons from the 70s and 80s. Along with Jonny Quest, Cyko KO has a definite Scooby-Doo and Space Ghost vibe to it.

Feldman held a successful 2017 Kickstarter campaign to turn Cyko KO into a graphic novel coloring book. Due to the project’s amazing outcome, the folks at Alterna Comics got the KO-fever and became the publisher of the Cyko KO: A Comic Book Adventure You Can Color! Spurred on by sales, Alterna  commissioned Rob for a Cyko KO miniseries of which I am sharing the first issue with you!

The story of this issue finds Cyko KO and his sidekick/girlfriend Peaches on the way to the beach for the annual surf contest. The heroes are alerted to the mysterious presence of a giant squid and the disappearance of their friend, Dippy Dolphin. But before the duo can investigate the kraken, Cyko KO is challenged by his arch-enemy Cudo Cano to the ultimate surf-off ever- in the lava fields of a nearby island volcano!

I loved just about everything about this issue. The art was retro awesome! The backgrounds were so amazingly crafted. The story was very silly with some great one-liners and crazy twists and turns. Though I was not very impressed with the last couple of pages. They felt a little rushed in terms of art style. But the yucks were still great!

Cyko KO is a three-issue limited miniseries. Rated E for Everyone, it’s got a cover price everyone will love- just $1.50! Issue #1 debuted in stores on July 25th in print and is available now! One caveat- you’ll have to wait another 60 days until issue #2. The horrors! I don’t know if I can wait that long. I guess I’ll have to re-read issue #1 again… and again… and again...

Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.