Beware Spoilers Ahead!

My reviews do contain spoilers about the main stories but I do attempt to keep them at a minimum. I will not reveal any major plot points or twists unless stated at the beginning of a review.

Thursday 19 November 2015

In The Local Pocket #4 - That Bulletproof Kid issue #1


That Bullet Proof Kid is written by Matt Kyme, art by Arthur Stickland, letters by Brendan Halyday and published by If? Commix. Bulletproof is one of the most well known local Australian comics with Matt Kyme being almost guaranteed to be at any local convention or event (go say hello, he's a cool guy). Bulletproof is a classic teenage superhero story done well but in a more Australian way making it far more relatable to local readers.

Bulletproof follows Anthony, a student beginning year eleven, as he is questioned by his friends on where he has been and why he missed so many social events over the holidays. Anthony recently becoming the sidekick known as Bulletproof to the hero Crusader, works on balancing his normal teenage life complete with normal teenage problems such as friends, girls and bullies with the added issues of being a masked superhero trying to save the world.
Way more interesting than my school holidays ever were
The way that characters are portrayed and act towards each other is fantastic and feels very genuine as though a group of  teenagers could be having the conversations on the page. A little scene that I really love is when the Anthony and his friends are lining up for their General Maths class they call it "vegie maths" which I find hilarious because I did a general maths class and we used to call it vegie maths too. The character of Anthony seems to be an average well rounded teenager dealing with issues that almost everybody will remember form high school such as friends, class, girls and bullies while also dealing with his new secret identity as Bulletproof. Anthony's character also seems to be having a minor struggle dealing with typical teenage vanity in the way of wanting his superhero identity to be in the limelight and tell his friends about his adventures while understanding that he can't show his talents for his own, and his friend's, safety. Anthony's friends seem like a very realistic group of teenagers who care about each other but still tease each other in a light-hearted way. The villain, Monochrome, although only in three panels has a pretty chilling presence, already making it clear that she will be a fantastic villain throughout the series.
The art of Bulletproof is on a whole different wave length than any other comics currently running with thick outlines and bold colours making it stand out on the shelf and grab your eye. All of the panels that involve superhero destruction and mayhem are rather interesting and bring to mind thoughts of classic superhero city destruction. The character designs are simple and the teenagers, unlike like many other comics, actually look and dress like teenagers. This may seem a strange thing to praise, having the characters actually look their age, but it is so common for young people in comics to be drawn as perfect specimens of human beings its rather refreshing to have teenagers actually look like teenagers with different body shapes.
We all knew somebody in high school with an awkward goatee

That Bullet Proof Kid is one of the most well known local comics and for a good reason it uses the classic formula of a teenage superhero trying to hide his secret identity and still have a mostly normal life and makes it relatable to a modern audience. The character's aren't full of excessive teenage angst nor are they played off like adults with everything under control and relatable characters are always a sign that a comic can be enjoyed by a wide audience.

I give That Bulletproof Kid 3.5 out of 5 explosions.

Find out more about That Bulletproof Kid here.