Young, Skottie

AVERAGE REVIEWS SCORE:

4 out of 5

(1 book)

Rocket Raccoon: A Chasing Tale

(Art by Skottie Young and Jake Parker)

Rocket becomes a fugitive from justice when he's framed for a series of murders.  Perhaps most shocking to a creature who believes himself to be the last of his species; the crimes seem to have been perpetrated by another sentient raccoon.

'Comedy' stories in comics always fill me with a certain sense of dread, particularly ones set in mainstream comic book universe like Marvel or DC.  They're rarely as funny as they think they are and often I find myself just wishing I was reading a normal, serious story instead.  This tends to be even more true of comics illustrated in a cartoony way.

This, then, is the book that finally breaks that mould.  Because this book has silly cartoony art, is deliberately comedic and is genuinely entertaining.  I think what makes the difference is that, despite the cartoony art and the main character being a cute little animal, the humour here is actually aimed at adults.  Whilst never explicit, the jokes here tend to be about sex and violence.  For example, the funniest bit in the book (and apologies if I fail to do it justice) is where Rocket is on a call to Star-Lord and is outraged to be accused of murder saying "What?  That's crazy!", to which Star-Lord asks "Is it really?  Are you murdering someone right now?" whilst Rocket is in the process of drowning a security officer in sewage; "What?  Maybe.  That's not the point!".

My other problem with comedy stories is that the comedy is often used in place of an actual story but again that's not the case here.  There's some genuine mystery and emotional stakes to Rocket discovering that he may not be the last of his kind.  It adds pathos to an already enjoyable book.

4 out of 5

Collaborations & Anthologies:

Avengers vs X-Men: It's Coming (here)

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Marvel Comics (here)