Review: Adolescent Radioactive Samurai Playtypi #1

Adolescent Radioactive Samurai Platypi (henceforth referred to as ARSP) is a new series by writer/creator Kevin Given. This issue is a masterpiece of parody and sarcasm and I’ll be interested to see how the series proceeds in the future.

ARSP begins with five spongings (symbiotic entities who have a limited life span when not bonded with another creature) ordered to investigate and close a space anomaly threatening their home world.Â In what will prove to be one of many moments of parody and sarcasm, one of the spongings is fond of using the phrase “It’s walloping time!” as he prepares to enter battle.Â Their ship, suspiciously similar in appearance to a X-Wing fighter, is transported through space and crashes on Earth.Â Their physical forms destroyed by the crash, the spongeings seek out new bodies to inhabit.Â Having landed in a remote area of Australia, inhabitable life-forms are in short supply and they eventually settle on 5 platypuses in the area.Â As they inhabit these bodies they are anthropomorphically changed into the Samurai Playtypi a la The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.Â Even the name the team eventually chooses, The Samurai Platypi, is laced with sarcasm.Â One member of the team notes that the correct plural is platypuses and another responds with “Who cares it rhymes.”Â Â The platypi travel to a nearby town and break into a comic shop, picking their new names from names found on comic books; Eisner, Ditko, Severin, Toth and Kirby.Â There they meet another spongeing who has inhabited the body of a panda.Â I am loathe to give away too much of what happens in the book but I’ll summarize this way.Â The platypi establish themselves and train in the ways of the samurai.Â They then save a group of people after hearing those cries for help.Â That group, and the creature attacking them, are hilarious parodies of a famous group of superheroes.Â You’ll have to pick up the book to see what I’m talking about.

ARSP is an entertaining beginning to what I think will be a wonderful series.Â I am a huge fan of sarcasm and irreverent humor and this issue has a surplus of it.Â The concept for the book is original.Â while various elements of the book are parodies, the disparate elements have been brought together to form a delightful and distinctive whole.Â The dialogue can seem a little stale at times but I get the impression that much of it is deliberately written in what I like to refer to as “comic speak”.Â “Comic speak” is that style of writing common in comics and cartoons in the seventies where the hero would pose with his hands on his hips and declare “Don’t fear citizen.Â I, hero x, will venture forth and save you”.Â This further underscore the nature of the book.Â When I first opened the book I was not a fan of the art style.Â However, as I continued reading (and laughing along with the story) the art grew on me and by the end of the book I couldn’t imagine the book being drawn any other way.Â I encourage you to give this book a try and be prepared to laugh when you do so.

Writing 4.25 of 5 Stars
Art – 3.75 of 5 Stars
Color – 3.75 of 5 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Get Your CopyÂ HERE

Writing – Kevin Given
Art – Melissa Erwin
Color – Paula P. , Imhanlahimi Kelly
Publisher: KRG Publishing

Author Profile

Nemesis

Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.

He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.