Bizarro #3 Review

Written by: Heath Corson
Art by: Gustavo Duarte and Pete Pantazis
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: August 22, 2015

Reach for the Sky

When the new round of books were announced, Eric and myself had a draft to decide who would get what and Bizarro was one of my first picks.  It didn't matter that I thought Eric would pass it by, I needed to make sure I got it.  I am a Bizarro fan and the promise of a light hearted take on the character had me sold in the beginning and the sneak peek showing him and Jimmy Olsen on a road trip to Canada (Bizarro America) showed me I had made a wise choice.  The first two issues were great fun and I really can't think of anything bad to say about it.  Last issue ended with our two heroes (three if you count Colin...which I do) meeting up with Chastity Hex in a real, honest to goodness ghost town that had me wondering what the hell was going to happen this month.  Well, what the hell happened and is it any good?  Let's find out...



This issue starts right after last week's cliffhanger and while I was really hoping we'd get Jonah Hex. I'll settle for Chastity...for now.  It seems she is hunting for one Jeremiah Blackhearse and it's lead her to the Ol' Gulch ghost Town that Jimmy and Bizarro ended up in as well.  Of course, this is a Bizarro book and nothing ever goes as planned.  While the Blackhearse bounty lingers in the background, the real story is how much trouble Bizarro can get himself into and how can Jimmy get them out of it.

I love the Old West and ghost towns in particular so Heath Corson didn't have to do too much to impress me this month, but he still did.  The crazy idea of the ghosts seeing Bizarro and Jimmy as ghosts themselves was so cool and lead to a bunch of gags including the drinks flying off the bar classic.  Then Corson dips into the Western playbook when a bad man comes into town, looking for tribute.  It's El Papagayo in all his (ghost) glory complete with his parrot, Pepito.  He has been sucking the town dry, but now he may have just run into his match...The Bizarro Kid!

Of course, there is a showdown and while El Papagayo empties his Colt revolver and Bizarro goes to town with his freeze vision, neither do damage to one another.  Remember, each appear as ghost to the other.  That's when Papagayo takes extreme measures and possesses Bizarro.

The best part of the entire issue is seeing Papagayo traverse Bizarro's crazy body.  He finally finds the key to taking over and immediately begins destroying everything in site.  That leads to a couple of things...me laughing and Jimmy blowing his bugle.  That is not a metaphor for anything dirty, get your heads out of the gutter!

The issue ends with the bugle call being answered by the exact hero you would suspect.  I won't spoil it, but do the math and you'll get there.  Everything is wrapped up in the end...Chastity, Jimmy and Bizarro got their man (Jeremiah Blackhearse, if you forgot) and are headed off to Branson, Mo to collect the bounty and possibly catch a Yakov Smirnoff show.  If you think of it, Yakov's "jokes" are Bizarro-esque...In Soviet Russia, car drives you!!!  All you youngsters, look it up.  It looks like they will also be running into a certain backwards magic heroine who is bound to combine with the bizarro talk to make every one's heads spin.  I can't wait.

This issue is really funny and has the added bonus of being pretty much stand alone and new user friendly.  That's right, if you haven't been reading Bizarro, grab this issue and enjoy.


Gustavo Duarte and Pete Pantazis continue giving this book the cartoony look that makes it so great.  It makes sense, this is essentially a Looney Tunes type cartoon come to life and the art adds to the overall feel of the story so well.  Also, the full page of Bizarro's insides by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba was awesome and the highlight of the issue.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue continues the Jimmy Olsen/Bizarro road trip and while I can't wait to see them get to Bizarro America (Canada), seeing them in a ghost town this month was awesome.  There were the usual cartoony cameos of familiar faces and watching Bizarro stumble through a Western will never get old.  The art and story were spot on and while they are off to Branson, MO, I actually wish they could stay for a while longer.  If you haven't read this Bizarro yet, this issue is stand alone enough to jump in and enjoy the madness while those already reading will definitely enjoy this month's issue.

8.8/10