Can a single father be a superhero? How about a single father who is partially paralyzed? The mighty Bed Bug can be both with his super powered suit. He is a force for good while balancing being a good father.
This comic has four stories in this one book. Two of the stories were one page stories. The comic opens with an eight page origin story. The other story is a twelve page action story.
Credits:
Bed Bug #1
BedBug Comics
Writer: Scott Rogers, Chad Jones, Erik Burnham
Artist: Sam Ellis, Scott Rogers
Cover A: Scott Rogers
Cover B: Mitch Ballard
Plot: (Major Plot Spoilers)
For this plot summary, I will focus on the twelve page story for this review.
Dealing with an eight year old girl is never easy. When you are a single father, it becomes even more difficult. But if you are trying to balance a life of crime fighting, dealing with a disability, and properly raising an eight year old daughter, then it is a new level of crazy. This is the reality for Buddy Sprang (aka Bed Bug).
Buddy’s daughter, Elvira, gets her first invitation to a sleep over. Buddy debates whether eight is an appropriate age for a little girl to sleep over at a friend’s home. In the end, he agrees to allow her to go to the big sleepover.
Bed Bug and Blue Tiger, another hero, discover a crime in progress. When they arrive, the villainous Grave Robber is holding up a convenience store. The Grave Robber is easily thwarted by the combination of Bed Bug and Blue Tiger. While searching Grave Robber, they found an invitation to “Crime Spree of the Century” by the Boogyman which will be the same day as Elvira’s sleepover.
After much thought and consideration, Buddy allows Elvira to go to the sleepover. He drops her off and then goes on patrol.
Bed Bug re-examines the invitation. He discovered a secret code with an address to meet. A major group of villains are waiting for him when he arrives. It was a trap. Bed Bug holds his own against this ragtag group but he is captured after a tough fight. Bed Bug had also invited the hero group, Super Battalion. They quickly mop up on the bad guys but the evil Boogyman escapes.
Review:
Art:
Each story in this comic has a different look and feel to the art. The art in the first story, eight page origin story, appears to be computer generated. It is very well done. There are a lot of details on the characters but not a lot of background details.
The second story, which is a one page story, has characters that look similar to Calvin and Hobbs parents. It has a lot of details in each panel.
The third story is the main story. It has a hand drawn feel to it. The characters look like classic cartoon characters with a slight anime feel to them. There is not a lot of details in most of the panels but specific ones have a lot of details.
The last story story is also a one page story. The art has a combination look of computer generated and the classic cartoon look. It has a decent amount of background details.
It is strange to have one comic book with this variety of art styles. All of the art was attractive in its own way. It was a bit strange jumping from style to style.
Story/Plot:
I found the stories to be well plotted and written. The writing was on a level for an eight year old to read the comic and understand the general plot. But the stories are done well enough that an adult can read this issue and enjoy it. I read part of it to my four year old son and he enjoyed the overall story as much as I did.
The shorter stories don’t have a lot of character development but you can only do so much with a single page. The two larger stories do spend a lot of time developing both Bed Bug as a hero and Buddy Sprang as a guy and father. They also develop Elvira’s character as a typical eight year old girl. We get a little bit of character building for the hero Blue Tiger.
My REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this book . It is an entertaining comic book. It reminds me of many of the comics I read as a kid in the late 70s. It tells a good story but remains appropriate for children.
It is wonderful to see a character with a disability as the main character in a comic. His drive to walk again caused him to develop a web browser and sell it for millions. This enable him and his brother to develop a super suit so Buddy can walk and become a super hero.
The character and costume of Bed Bug reminds me of the Ted Kord era Blue Beetle. He has a similar personality to Kord. The costume is very close to the same look. I always enjoyed Ted Kord as the Blue Beetle so this is a compliment.
Bed Bug is a fun character. This was a wonderful read. I would heartily suggest reading this comic especially if you enjoy family friendly comics.
Grade:B+
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