Airboy #1
Airboy... how fucking stupid does that character sound? Answer: pretty fucking stupid. It got even worse even I realized that this was a re-imagining of a public domain character from the 1940s. Fortunately for me and all of the comic book buying public, writer James Robinson and artist Greg Hinkle have something much more captivating in mind then an ordinary reboot. Airboy is actually an over-exaggerated take on Robinson and Hinkle’s struggle to create something interesting with this dull and forgotten hero.
After being given the task of resurrecting the World War II era hero Airboy, James Robinson does what any creator stricken with writers block would do: he enlists the help of the reluctant Hinkle and proceeds to go on a booze and cocaine fueled bender. All in the name of art… of course.
Robinson’s meta look at his creative process is refreshing. While he is clearly being outrageous for the sake of the story, part of me hopes that all of the hi-jinx in the first issue are true. I found it interesting that Robinson references his unhappiness at DC and his fear of being typecast as a “Golden Age hack.”
Greg Hinkle's cartoonish style is the perfect fit for this wild ride. The story itself is a caricature of the situation, so it only feels right to have caricature’s of Robinson and Hinkle running around in this world.
If nothing else, I can say that there isn’t another book on the shelves like Airboy. While I can’t guarantee everyone will like this book, I can guarantee everyone will get a chuckle from Greg Hinkle’s self portrait of his... pencil. All the other contenders for Panel of the Week didn’t stand a chance. –Soss
Panel of the Week: Is that Greg Hinkle or Peter North?
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