Cartoonist: Lane Lloyd
Publisher: Self-Published
WHAT IS IT?
Fantasy, sci-fi and irreverent humor meet in this wild series.
A god-level Smokin' Aces meets Ready Player One that would make one hell of a beat-'em-up video game.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
(Minor Spoilers)
Betrayed by gods who tore his arms from him, Tim Finnly found powerful talking gauntlets he uses to punch gods.
When Tim finds out about a vast treasure unlike anything in poem or story, offered to whomever can reach it, he decides to go after it. And, the hero who left it also wants to help Tim battle the gods.
Unfortunately, the god who killed Tim Finnly's benefactor also called the rest of the Pantheon to hunt him and kill him dead.
It looks like things are about to get very complicated for old Tim Finnly!
WHAT WORKS?
The concept of a guy with magic talking arms who punches gods, and powerful gods who want to kill him is just a highly compelling concept.
Not only is the concept ambitious, but there's so much energy and ardor in Lane's narrative style, it makes you focus less on any of the book's imperfections and more on its unique storytelling style.
Rather than play it safe, Lane Lloyd dives into the creative deep end, fully committing to world-building from the ground up.
The surreal, over-the-top illustration style, hand-drawn sound effects and wry humor make for a darkly comical, dangerously wild story.
Issue #2 gives a nice little catch-up summary and hints at the story to come
Each issue sees Lane's art develop more and more. While his style is surreal and irreverent, like an Adult Swim cartoon, you can tell that he consistently works hard to strengthen his skills.
The build-up of "tic toks" to the big reveal at the end of the issue carries so much tension, it creates a nice crescendo at the end of the second issue
WHAT DOESN’T WORK?
The comic is mostly black-and-white, which bothers some readers who prefer full-color. That being said, Lane's use of bold colors mixed with his textures and shading ensures you don't encounter any confusion from the lack of color.
The serifed font used in the first issue can be difficult to read, especially if you read on your phone. This is resolved in issue #2, though small font size and too much air in balloons can sometimes still be an issue.
There's a lack of polish to the comic, but it also works as part of its charm and dynamic style. There's this feeling like Lloyd can't contain the story, like it's bursting out of him, and he can't go back to fix the little issues. He can only move forward. Personally, once I got a sense of his storytelling style, I really didn't mind the half-erased pencil marks or the occasional imbalances and inconsistencies in his art and panel layouts.
WHY SHOULD I READ IT?
Wildly imaginative and highly stylized, God-Puncher feels like something you’d see on late night MTV back when that still meant unique, quality programming. It feels like a video game you want to play. Its world is rich and filled with unique characters, and there's adventure just waiting there. You can feel it calling, and you want more.
Suspend your disbelief, take a break from some of those heavier comics and check out God-Puncher. It's a lot of fun.
HOW DO I BUY IT?
Click one of these:
Or keep up with their Patreon for information about a printed version.
The image(s) used in this article are from a comic strip, webcomic or the cover or interior of a comic book. The copyright for this image(s) is likely owned by either the publisher of the comic, the writer(s) and/or artist(s) who produced the comic. It is believed that the use of this image(s) qualifies as fair use under the United States copyright law. The image is used in a limited fashion in an educational manner in order to illustrate the points of the author and not for the purpose of entertainment or substituting the original work. It is believed the use of this image has had no impact on the market value of the original work.
All Lane Lloyd characters and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof are trademarks of and copyright Lane Lloyd or their respective owners. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED