Written by: Chip Zdarsky
Art by: Kagan McLeod
Publisher: Image
Full disclosure: Sometimes when I read comic books, I’m not sober, and as luck would have it, tonight is one of those nights. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), Issue 3 of Kaptara is really, really funny. Let us all make with the enjoyments!
So, our band of should-be heroes off to stop the dreaded Skullthor have been captured by a race of impish little trolls who are like Smurfs if they were also racist, sexist, and not a charming shade of blue. Said trolls are totally fine with murder (no one is surprised), and unless Keith and some Army General Guy go stop an evil wizard, they plan on murdering and eating everyone, which would be bad.
Okay, so we aren’t looking at top-shelf humor here, far from it in fact, but dang, the jokes are funny. I really like the little troll guys, and the gimmick of censoring them in a comic filled with curse words tickles my fancy. The evil wizard is also senile as all get out, which, while also being “bottom of the barrel” humor, made me laugh. He’s also a pretty good wizard, all things considered.
Twice, the comic jumps to the villains who are having their own problems, though they aren’t as funny. On the narrative front, the shift is needed, though tonally, it doesn’t quite match. Yeah, the evil lady does some slapping and general evil stuff, but it’s all too serious in comparison to what the heroes are going through.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the whole comic is that the Prince of Kaptara is actually given some character development. The first two issues, he’s seen as a self-entitled, momma’s boy idiot, but here, he’s got a bit more to him. I like that, and it turns him from the butt of jokes to…well, a sympathetic butt of jokes! That’s an upgrade.
Also an upgrade: Keith is shown to have a bit more compassion than I once thought.
On the art front, Kagan is still nailing it. The comic is colorful, surreal, and capable of executing any crazy idea that’s thought up. This is good, because this comic has cat-tanks. Those return, by the way. I like them.
So, if we were to do a TO LONG; DIDN’T READ, it would be: I’m glad I stuck Kaptara out, because it’s fun and Issue 3 is really fun and yeah, let’s all have some fun. Or something.
