The Last Kinmundian and his faithful steed, Sprinkles, have left the Leamhan kingdom and are on the way to confront the man who is responsible for turning him into the warrior he now is, and maybe held him as a slave for a while also. The adventure continues in part 2 of “War on Christmas” in Battlepug #2 from Image Comics!
BATTLEPUG #2
Writer: Mike Norton
Artist: Mike Norton
Colorist: Allen Passalaqua
Letterer: Crank!
Editor: Mike Norton
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: October 9th, 2019
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in BATTLEPUG: Having defeated Catwulf, the Last Kinmundian and his companions Moll, Colfax and Mingo arrive at the village of Ashkum where they find the people under the command of the puppet, literally, ruler Coufefe. After cutting the hand which was up Coufefe’s …sock… the puppet master Jofel, turned to a giant man-bear and attempted to eat the Kinmundian’s face! This lead to the sickle wielding conqueror to have his other hand cut off and then used as a chew toy by Sprinkles, the giant pug, before being tossed into the air, to land we know not where. After an admonishment for the use of violence by Moll, the group is contacted by the living flower constructed face of their young plant mage friend, Bryony. She tells them that she and her mother, Sasha, need help, and they must come to Leamhan immediately. When they arrive, they learn that the Kinmundian’s enslaver, the King of the Northland Elves is alive. The Kinmundian declares he is leaving immediately to kill him again, the others will follow once they can. But in the cold planes of the Northland, Jofel is found by a mysterious woman in red and white and her elf servants. They are seeking the Kinmundian as well.
BEWARE THE YELLOW SNOW!
The companions and friends of the Last Kinmundian are on the road. While their shirtless friend travels directly to the cold, northern waste to confront his onetime enslaver, who he thought was long dead, they take a different path. With Sasha and Bryony in the lead, Moll, the seer Ladora, Colfax and Mingo are on the way to locate an old companion who might have better knowledge of the situation in the Northlands. Upon their arrival in the village of Rensselaer, they find that things have changed. Scribbly, pardon me… Callistus has embarked on a mission to change the town’s dark and dirty reputation. With the help of his fellows, he has managed to make the place look almost respectable. Kicking Jerry out helped quite a bit. He has even managed to get a thriving business going in food service in the form of the Hamball! Using his secret recipe, he prepares to take the world by storm, one hamball at a time. Realizing this, Sasha reluctantly tells her of their need of a guide to the Northlands and receive a shock. Food service sucks, and Callistus cannot wait to get the hell out of Dodge!
In those very same Northlands to which our companions prepare to venture, we find the Last Kinmundian and Sprinkles striding forth to put an end to the enemy who should by all right already be dead. Little does he know Jofel and an attack squad of not so jolly elves who are determined to take the Kinmundian and his oversized pug down are watching his advance. They attack, and before you can say BubbleBubbleGumDrops the fight is on. But can even the Last Kinmundian and his companion triumph against an angry bear-man and his pint-sized persecutors? Well, let us just say I hope you didn’t bet your favorite chew toy on it.
While the Kinmundian fights for his life in the cold north, Moll and friends encroach upon a forest glade. Here, Callistus will find the acts of his recent past will come back to stampede him as he and the others confront malevolent tattooed horses of a different color.
FRIENDSHIP IS MADNESS!
Wow. I just have to say, Mike Norton (The Curse, Revival) has a mind that makes you wonder what the hell happened to him and I mean that in a good way! He has taken a concept that seems to be silly, a barbarian riding into battle astride a giant, slobbering pug, and made it into a high fantasy adventure in which anything can happen. Many are the creators who can take the outrageous and run with it, but it takes a rare breed to guide it to a coherent story with depth and life of its own. Norton is one of the latter. In this issue, we see not only the return of Jofel (now with special kung-fu-action-candy-cane grip!) and Callistus, but we also are treated to more of the mysterious Queen of the Northland Elves. She has a mad on for the Kinmundian and will stop at nothing to satisfy it!
Norton also is the artist for this title, with Allen Passalaqua (It Girl! and the Atomics, Batgirl and the Birds of Prey) providing the colors. Norton’s art is full of expression and action, and as the writer, he clearly knows what the sequences look like in his head. The difference is he can lay it out on the paper as well as in his mind’s eye. When you take his art and put Passalaqua’s vibrant, solid, living colors behind it, it is a winning combination. it is It has a style which is unlike anything on the shelves now, and
BOTTOM LINE: A WILD RIDE!
As one who discovered Battlepug when it was just an amazing online comic, seeing it in this format is a thrill. Norton is expanding on an already rich back-story and world, and this issue just contributes to more of the amazing world of Battlepug. We see some old friends, discover secrets from some new ones, and get a reason to hate the Queen of the Northern Elves more than you can imagine. This issue will have you panting for more!
BATTLEPUG #2 continues the gonzo story telling Norton is famous for and adds a heart wrenching cliff-hanger to the mix.
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Battlepug #2
If you have not adopted BATTLEPUG #2 to your pull list yet, this issue will convince you to.
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Back in February of 2008, Stacy Baugher wrote his first article for Major Spoilers and started a solid run of work that would last for over two years. He wrote the first series of Comic Casting Couch articles as well as multiple Golden Age Hero Histories, reviews and commentaries. After taking a hiatus from all things fandom he has returned to the Major Spoilers fold. He can currently be found on his blog, www.stacybaugher.com , were he post progress on his fiction work as well as his photography and life in general, and on Twitter under the handle @stacybaugher . If you're of a mind, he also takes on all comers with the under the Xbox Live Gamertag, Lost Hours. He currently lives in Clinton, Mississippi with his understanding wife, and two kids.