Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Stan Lee: Grand Master - Part Two

      Danny Djeljosevic
      April 29, 2004
      Meth Addict
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • 2.5

      Review: Batman #65 and the Price of Borrowing From Better Tales

      Danny Djeljosevic
      February 20, 2019
      Big Two, Big Two Reviews, DC Comics, Reviews
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • For good clean fun and nostalgia, check out Dark Horse's Archie Archives

      Danny Djeljosevic
      February 17, 2016
      Dark Horse, Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 4.8

      Review: 'Burning Fields' #1 Ignites a Beautifully Colored and Suspenseful Story

      Danny Djeljosevic
      January 20, 2015
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • 2.3

      Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

      Daniel Gehen
      February 16, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Steven Grant: Hitting On Target with 2 Guns

      Danny Djeljosevic
      August 16, 2007
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Classic Interview: Angelo Torres - "There Was No One like William Gaines"

      Danny Djeljosevic
      April 29, 2016
      Classic Interviews
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Kickstarter Spotlight: The Heart of Time: Volume 1

      Danny Djeljosevic
      April 2, 2015
      Kickstarter Spotlight, News
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • "THE BEST OF WITZEND" is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Danny Djeljosevic
      September 15, 2018
      Books, Classic Comics, Fantagraphics, Reviews
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: Blue Beetle
  • Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia
  • Collecting Profile: Kraven the Hunter
  • Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good
  • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY
  • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN'S UNIVERSE
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Reviews

Hybrid Bastards!

Danny Djeljosevic
January 18, 2012
Reviews


Everything is more interesting than we’re told it is. Take Greek Mythology, for instance. In school, we were taught the superpowers of each Olympian and maybe a few choice stories about people springing fully formed from the head of Zeus. In reality, our Greek Gods spent most of their time fighting and fornicating and generally being major dicks to one another. Turns out that Zeus and Hera have more in common with The Situation and Snooki than with Batman and Superman. Suddenly, the Ancient Greeks don’t seem as intellectual as we thought.

Socrates was probably his era’s Perez Hilton.

And here come Tom Pinchuk and Kate Glasheen to snatch Greek mythology from the clutches of bowdlerization (sort of) with Hybrid Bastards! the kind of comic you can never explain to a pretty girl at a coffee shop without sounding like an idiot: to punish his infidelity, Hera and Hypnos put a curse upon Zeus that makes him have sex with inanimate objects for an entire night. Eighteen years later, the offspring of this night of mailbox fornicating have grown up and start causing trouble.

I actually met Tom Pinchuk on a bus late one night at this year’s Comic-Con, and I forget how he explained the plot to me. I’m positive he neglected to mention the fact that Zeus has sex with a car. Pinchuk’s script is fairly funny and wacky, but it could have been more subversive and anarchic–especially for a book in which the impetus for the story is Zeus having sex with inanimate objects.

The plot itself is somewhat slight, and it ends with a climactic courtroom scene, which you don’t see very much in comics outside of, like, Daredevil–and those are just there at the beginning of the story to remind you that Daredevil has a job. However, I like the characterization (particularly Corey, the depressed apple hybrid) and the antics in Hybrid Bastards! enough to take some of the disappointment in stride.

The art helps the book’s case a lot. Kate Glasheen’s work meshes well with the book’s general attitude–an indie book that does subversive things with stuff we learned in school. Glasheen’s art has the look of someone railing against both her fine arts background and traditional comics. Her page layouts are often wild as she avoids traditional panel structure in favor of images that overlap or cut out of panels.

Her DIY cartoony renditions are all about thin, imperfect lines accentuated by watercolors that give the glossy pages a handmade feel. She also has a flair for character designs. In particular, I’m a big fan of Walter, who is essentially a brick wall with pants. By contrast, the Greek Gods are rendered in a fairly normal fashion, which offsets the wild designs of the bastards.

Not to pigeonhole the comic as a humor book (whatever that means to you), but we could use more irreverent, subversive books like Hybrid Bastards! Most of the funny “funny books” I can think of are mired in naval-gazing indie cartooning, so it’s refreshing to read a more imaginative, high-concept dose of insanity.

Faint praise aside, Hybrid Bastards! is appreciated.

Archaia Studios PressDanny DjeljosevicKate GlasheenTom Pinchuk

Share On:
Tweet
Betty & Veronica Digest #207
Lone Ranger #24

About The Author

Danny Djeljosevic

Danny Djeljosevic is a comic book creator, award-winning filmmaker (assuming you have absolutely no follow-up questions), film/music critic for Spectrum Culture and Co-Managing Editor of Comics Bulletin. Follow him on Twitter at @djeljosevic or find him somewhere in San Diego, often wearing a hat. Read his comic with Mike Prezzato, "Sgt. Death and his Metachromatic Men," over at Champion City Comics and check out his other comics at his Tumblr, Sequential Fuckery. His webcomic The Ghost Engine, with artist Eric Zawadzki, updates twice a week.

Related Posts

  • Interview: Danny Djeljosevic, writer of ‘Big Fucking Hammer’

    Mark Stack
    March 23, 2015
  • Top 10 Least Appropriate Christmas Comic Covers

    Danny Djeljosevic
    December 24, 2014

Latest Reviews

  • 3.0

    Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

    Daniel Gehen
    February 22, 2021
  • 4.5

    Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

    Daniel Gehen
    February 19, 2021
  • 2.3

    Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

    Daniel Gehen
    February 16, 2021
  • 4.3

    Review: RADIANT BLACK #1 Shines Brightly

    Daniel Gehen
    February 12, 2021
  • 2.7

    Review: DEEP BEYOND #1 Can’t Commit to a Premise

    Daniel Gehen
    February 4, 2021
  • 2.0

    VINDICATION Falls Short of its Lofty Goals (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    February 1, 2021
  • 4.5

    DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    January 22, 2021
  • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

    Daniel Gehen
    December 14, 2020
  • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

    Daniel Gehen
    December 3, 2020
  • 4.5

    TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    October 29, 2020
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders