Review - Hybrid Bastards

Have you ever read a comic that was just completely wacked out and insane, leaving you scratching your head and wondering "did I just read that?" Well the moment hit me recently after reading this comic called Hybrid Bastards. The hardcover by Tom Pinchuk and Kate Glasheen was released last week for $17.95 from Archaia, and the 104 pages are a doozy. Going into it I won’t sure what to expect out of it as all I knew was the premise of the comic, which is that Zeus got busy with things other than the ladies.

His wife Hera had a spell put on him that lead Zeus to get it on with all sorts of inanimate objects spawning hybrid bastards. Now these Bastards are grown up and want their dad to acknowledge them and if not they are aiming to make his life hell like their lives are. Before I get into the review I have to say this comic is a bit out there, but I love the premise of it all and the wacky artwork fit the story together perfectly. Let’s have the review then.

The hardcover comic is broken up into chapters, each of them crazier than the one that came before it. First chapter we get to see the backstory unfold, with Zeus getting caught in bed with a few young ladies by his wife Hera. She explains one night eighteen years ago Zeus was hypnotized and got it on with a few things that spawned some ugly bastard kids that need to be grabbed and taken care of. He has his goons chasing down the one giant apple named Corey so they can make sure he doesn’t roam the earth anymore, but Corey manages.

Finding himself with his other begotten brothers they form a plan to get back at their father; for their leader Panos this is his only goal in life. They are quite the dysfunctional group with the apple Corey, a giant pile of laundry named Cotton, the brick wall named Walter and the car looking guy named Carmine. Their first plan is pretty simple: they go trash Zeus’s condo and car in order to make Zeus acknowledge they exist. Reading this first chapter I didn’t know what to think. This has been some of the most original and just crazy ass comic I have ever read and kept me reading just to see where they are going to go with this.

Chapter two shows Zeus getting pretty ticked off about his condo and he sets a plan in motion with his legal counsel Athena. In this book it’s the modern time and Zeus has lost a lot of followers, making him not nearly the all-powerful god he once was. With only one easy way to get power he resorts to being a criminal boss that deals in drugs. The bastards have a three part plan going on aimed at hurting his money flow and royally pissing off Zeus even more.

Chapter three brings us the trial of the Bastards with Carmine finally getting Cotton to agree to defend them. A hilarious trial takes place with Cotton able to swing the tables onto Zeus, bringing his criminal dealings too light. Cotton does manage to get them acquitted of all the vandalism charges and even manages to win a settlement from Zeus, because of a paternity suit. Each gets money to spend as they see fit, but for Cotton he does the unthinkable as he has his brother committed to an insane asylum for counseling.

Hybrid Bastards was just so crazy at times I re-read some parts only, because I was like they didn’t really do that could they? It was an enjoyable and just a bizarre read, but worked great for the comic and the art just adds to the ridiculousness they are going for.