In STUD AND THE BLOODBLADE #1, available from CEX Publishing on August 28th, 2021, Astro the astronaut crashes on a strange world inhabited by deadly aliens sent to capture him and his precious cargo. It’s up to super studly beefcake Stud to save Astro with his heaving pecs, glistening pecs, and girthy… axe.
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The Details
- Written By: Perry Crowe
- Art By: Jed Dougherty
- Colors By: Mark Dale, D. Forrest Fox
- Letters By: Anthony Rella
- Cover Art By: Jed Dougherty
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Release Date: August 25, 2021
Was It Good?
We’re having a bit of fun in the description above because that’s the kind of comic you’re in for when you pick this up. It’s a firmly tongue-in-cheek sendup of space barbarian films/books with a gay (or bi?) He-Man archetype as the lead character.
The story is rooted in taking the He-Man space adventure archetypes and reshaping the characters and situations into absurdly exaggerated versions for comedic effect. In other words, “good” depends on how funny (or not) the story turned out.
Well, it’s hit or miss on the funny factor. The character names are all based on some sort of pun that’s more corny than amusing. You get the feeling there are a few ancillary characters that are named and designed based on some sort of in-joke that I didn’t get. I don’t mind in-joke that I don’t get or are “not meant for me,” but when they start to stack up, it comes across as random strangeness.
As for the plot, it’s odd and sometimes hard to follow. I understand Witchtress’s motivation for hating Stud, but it doesn’t make sense that she would exact her revenge by creating an ultra-powerful, cursed blade that contains the soul/spirit of her dead son as a punishment. If Witchtress is powerful enough to wield such magic, why not simply kill Stud, especially when killing him is what she desires throughout the whole comic? This is a singular down point, and fortunately, it doesn’t detract away from Stud’s main quest.
“Wait,” you say. “This is a ‘gay’ He-Man. Is the representation handled well?” you ask.
Since this is a spoof of the classic archetypes, the representation aspects seem geared more toward poking fun or subverting the archetypes rather than representation in the strictest sense. Therefore, I wouldn’t look at this as creating an LGBT character as the lead hero for positive representation in the common sense of the term. It’s more accurate to conclude the lead male hero was constructed as an LGBT-postive role to poke fun of the idea that the classic archetype must always be straight. That may not have been the writer’s intent, but that’s the way it comes across.
A few words on the art. It’s not bad. The character designs are slightly exaggerated, leaning into the cartoonish territory. The cartoony feel adds to the comedic tone of the story.
The one down point on the art is the shading/coloring, particularly on the characters. The light sources for highlights and shadows are all over the place. Bright spots and contour shadows show in places that don’t make much sense, so you wind up with over-saturated brightness on several pages. External, daytime scenes look like they were drawn in a room filled with spotlights projected from every angle. It’s not terrible, but it flattens the artwork and reduces the power of the drama and machismo the story is definitely aiming for.
In short, it’s a decent first issue from a fledgling publisher. Admittedly, spoof comics are not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re open to some droll (sometimes corny) amusement, you may get a kick out of this comic.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Astro and his crew crash land on the planet of Ouroboros, and Astro is the only survivor. Before long, a motley crew of assorted aliens, each with unique abilities have been sent to capture Astro and what they believe is a “demon egg” aboard his crashed ship. Before they get too far, Stud shows up and dispatches the crew quickly to save Astro.
In little snippets of the fight and listening in on stud’s thoughts, we learn Stud’s weapon is called the Bloodblade and it has a literal thirst for blood. It’s unclear why the blade needs blood or what happens if it doesn’t get it.
Stud escorts Astro to the nearby town where the locals tell tales of Stud’s heroic exploits. Overcome with gratitude for being saved and hearing all the glowing tales of his exploits, Astro invites Stud to spend the night with him. Before dawn breaks, one of the surviving members of Witchtress’s crew, Roach Coach, who always speaks in sports metaphors, breaks into Astro’s room to kill Stud. During the fight, Roach Coach kills Astro with the Bloodblade, and Stud is left grief-stricken after he kills Roach Coach.
Suddenly, time is reset (a unique quirk of Ouroboros’ sun) and Stud has a chance to replay the last day over again to save Astro and set things right.
Final Thoughts
STUD AND THE BLOODBLADE #1 is a sometimes funny, sometimes corny, sometimes serious sendup of space barbarian properties ala He-Man. It’s a mixed bag of things that work and others that don’t, but big credit to the creators for trying something different.
Score: 7/10
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