Review: Brute - The Toughest Teddy Bear in the Galaxy
Brute - The Toughest "Teddy Bear" in the Galaxy by writer Preston Squire and artist Owen Keenan tells of of the adventures of Kodee, a member of the Bruin species of aliens, who resemble living teddy bears. Despite their diminutive stature, Bruins are very strong thanks to the high gravity of their home world. Kodee certainly uses this to his advantage when things get rough, hence his knickname.
His one human friend is young Rose Kahn, who was abandoned in a space station as a teenager. Trying to get back to Earth, she falls foul of unsavoury characters until she is rescued by Brute.
The story and art are both fun and lively and it seems to be aimed at kids... of all ages. It is certainly light-hearted and family friendly, with no mature content to upset Nanny, but there is plenty here for the grown-up readers too.
Issue 0 introduces us to the two protagonists as they return to Moohoovan, the station where Rose was ditched. No sooner do they set foot on board than they get into a scrap with some space thugs (including a very large gorilla)....
Issue 1 shows us Rose's backstory as she first arrives at the station and marvels at the exotic sights and sounds. She is the only human on board, with a broad mix of fascinating aliens: the bull (gnu?) - headed Bovinese, the three-legged Tripids, purple Porcupinians, beings resembling big green hermit crabs, centaurs, giant furry snakes and - my personal favourite - multicoloured blobs of protoplasm somewhat reminiscent of a psychedelic Babapapa (for those old enough to remember him...)
There is lots of novelty and creative energy here which appeals in a bold, bombastic way, which younger readers will enjoy.... but there is also some intellectual rigour to the narrative: we learn that the space station is in the Perseus Arm of the galaxy, the various species are depicted consistently, the multi-world building is deeply rich and detailed... all the boxes geeks love to tick.
We briefly meet Captain Jerrreecko of the starship Vanguard and his motley crew, a mysterious bunch headed for an encounter with Brute and Rose; a little touch of tantalising mystery.
Are these the good guys... or new sparring partners for the brawling bear?
* Cover art: Loc Nguyen - https://www.facebook.com/thinkloc
Zak Webber
Twitter - @sfcomicartist / Instagram - @sfcomicartist
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