REVIEW: Ice Cream Man #37

Sometimes you read a story that cuts deep and really gets under your feelings. This is one of those stories. Intermixed between footage of cute little furry creatures waring against giant robots in Vietnam-esque fashion, this issue is a story of suicide and brotherly grief. It perfectly contrasts cuteness and the horrors of mental illness and acute emotional pain. With coloring that to me seems very reminiscent of Sergio Aragones’ comics and wonderful character design that borders on the perfect edge of cute and uncanny, the Figglybumps go to war.

This was deep for me. It was very close to making me cry, I’m not going to lie. The topic of suicide is often handled in very pedantic manners, whether it’s the church telling you that you’re going to hell if you do it, or your friends and family calling you selfish for even thinking about it; it’s a hard topic no matter how you breach it. Yet, this issue of Ice Cream Man handles it very well, it shows you two sides of basically the same coin. You get the perceived selfishness of a comic’s author that has unalived himself through an overdose of pills. Then you get the selfless Figglybumps who embark on an equal journey of no return as they prepare to go on a suicide mission against giant robots that will without a doubt destroy them, all in hopes of saving their village. I am a huge fan of the writing of this issue, it was amusing even when it’s such a sad and tender topic. The scenes with the Figglybumps play out as a comic story being read by the brother of the deceased while he and his sister are packing up boxes inside the art studio of the now departed. Interwoven between scenes of furry funny warfare we see a conversation play out between the sister and the brother that is very emotional. In it, they wonder about the nature of suicide and whether what their brother has done constitutes a selfish or a selfless act. It is a moral dilemma of immense proportions, and whilst no real side is picked it does a wonderful job at showing you both sides of a coin that regardless of the outcome will always result in sadness and pain.

It is hard to write this as I have not only struggled with suicidal thoughts throughout much of my life, but I have lost very close people to overdose. It’s hard because I want to remain objective and talk about the wonderful art, and writing but this issue just cuts so deep. That being said, I will still try my best and deliver to you a review with all our usual points of interest. As previously stated, the writing is very good. The use of pacing, scene changes, and humoristic writing during the Figglybumps bits (try saying that 10 times in a row) make for a smooth reading experience that still manages to become serious when it needs to be but not too serious that it’s hard to read. The art itself is just as good. While it is not 100% realistic the cartoony nature of the Figglybumps contrasts perfectly with the more realistic and technical drawings used to present the real world and the human characters. Speaking of the Figglybumps, those designs are so weirdly good. They aren’t cute per se, they’re actually kinda ugly, but intentionally ugly in a way that makes the Figglybumps sort of adorable but creepy adorable. Kinda like demon furbies, you know they’re supposed to be cute but at the same time, there’s an ominous nature to them that makes you feel that what you are going to read won’t just be candy and flowers.

I also really enjoy the coloring by Chris O’Halloran. During the Figglybump scenes, they have gone with a cutesy coloring style that relies heavily on flat desaturated colors, often opting for no shading at all. Meanwhile, in the real world, you get the same desaturated colors but more in the sepia spectrum, with a whole bunch of spot blacks that make for a heavy atmosphere. This heavy atmosphere not only serves to differentiate the cartoon world from the real world, but it gives a contextual bed to the conversation about suicide that is being had. This method of visual storytelling is at masterful levels, it is only heightened by the wonderful transitionary techniques used to go from one scene to another. Through the combined use of narration boxes and sketch illustrations, we are quickly transported from reality to fiction.

To close it all off, one must speak of the lettering. Whilst it is not extravagant in the sense of an action comic with tens of sound fxs and crazy balloon shapes. This comic handles lettering very well. It is straight to the point, and uses word balloons effectively, guiding the reader perfectly across the page, with the occasional narration box to set up the scene change and a couple of exaggerated typefaces and word balloons that enhance the bloody violence during the war scenes. One thing that caught my attention is how the Figglybump scenes all have a style very similar to the work of Sergio Aragones in Groo. Whether it’s the dead contour line art or the flat coloring style it gave me Aragones vibes and I am a huge fan of Sergio Aragones so this was right up my alley. All in all, even with the fact that I was almost brought to tears by the sad topics being discussed, this was a great read and one that made me reflect greatly on the nature of the suicide of my closest friend. Whether selfless or selfish, suicide is one of those things that impacts everyone in the lives of the victims.

Writing: 5 Stars
Art: 5 Stars
Colors: 5 Stars

Overall: 5 Stars

Written by: W.Maxwell Prince
Art by: Martín Morazzo
Coloring by: Chris O’Halloran
Lettering by: Good Old Neon
Cover art by: Morazzo & O’Halloran
Variant Covers by: Roger Langridge
Published by Image Comics

Reviewed by Antonio “Mabs”