Review: Bear Serum

Bear Serum TP a futurist Sci-fi thriller that explores the last groups of humanity on the run from the Martian threat that seems intent on killing them.
At the center of the story is Taran, a soldier who is willing to do anything for his species and that includes turning himself into a bear.
Bear Serum TP is written and drawn by K.Fleishhacker.

Let me be clear, that I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up Bear Serum.Â It has a 1950s Jackson Pollock feel to the cover and to the art, and a strange yet entertaining story. The thing is this whole story did not go how I thought it was going to go, leaving me in a ”˜What the Heck did I just read?“ state of mind“.

The scene is set on Earth-2, a floating piece of green rock that humans sought refuge on, after almost bring wiped out by Martians. There are four levels. The air on the surface is not usable: Level 2, the is for the refuse of humanity, and a makeshift black-market; Level 3 is where rich live; and level 4 is the sewer where monsters are rumored to live; The surface, Level one is also where the Jawtings (The indigenous species the rock live).Â Survival, defense against the Jawtings, the Martians, and the Monsters have become daily priority for humanity.

Ultimately there are some familiar themes: The ethics of Human Experimentation and genetic modification fir the purposes of weaponization. The ethics of the military and government conducting preemptive strikes and acquiring carte blanche to appropriate resources to combat an enemy that fails to materialize.

Bear Serum, share themes with Forbidden Planet (1956), Prometheus, and Contact, by conveying relatable concepts on the personal, societal, and strategic level.

Let me first say that the concepts and the art in Bear Serum are amazing.Â Even the thought process behind injecting QR codes that work into the story, are next level. There are some technical issues, such as panels that don“t necessarily match with the narrative, or parallel events happening that maybe were happening in the past? I am not sure.Â Also, dialogue bubbles that I could not attribute to anyone.Â Â K.Fleishhacker Â is a one man production crew soÂ I would normally give him some slack, but I actually think with some assistance Bear Serum could go far. Bear Serum would make for a great script to make it to the big screen, it just needs a little more polish.

SCORE: 3/5Â

(W) K.Fleishhacker

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