Review - Freestyle #1

"Oh my God she's dead! Emily is dead!"

When someone dies in certain mediums, they return as zombies. That's a fact. It's also the first story in Freestyle #1, written and illustrated by Mark Purcell.

In this issue Stupid Cat forgets an anniversary. Cactus smashes a car through a wall. Stupid Cat is sent to the doghouse. Cops arrest Stupid Cat and Cactus on suspicion of nothing. Nothing because it's all a clever ruse by the evil Chloe to destroy them all. Oh, and there is zombies in it too. If it sounds pretty ridiculous, that's because it is.

Purcell's story is excessively frenetic and scattered. It fits within the context of the story as a whole, considering it relies on the ludicrousness to carry it from start to finish. There really isn't an overarching story that brings the entire book together; rather, it focuses on the same characters in equally crazy scenarios. The script doesn't really attempt to convey anything serious or dramatic. It wants to move so fast that you can't really keep up, which is what makes it work pretty well in the end.

Purcell handles the art as well, relying on thick, black outlines for the characters and settings. There's no emphasis on scenery or settings, with Purcell deciding to focus instead on the characters themselves. It's all black and white as well, again emphasizing the book's reliance on the frenzied pace of the story. It's nothing amazing, but it offers characters who are very cartoonish in nature.

Freestyle #1 is a book that isn't really meant to be taken seriously. It's littered with extremely coarse language, but in a way that plays on the somewhat angry interactions among all the characters. It's a pretty quick read that's interesting for what it is, but it doesn't really seem like it will offer much in the way of an ongoing book. Sure, the characters can be revisited down the line, but in the first issue, there are really just a few short stories about them establishing their interactions.

Freestyle #1 is available via Comixology now.