It is often said that children have very vivid imaginations. Their wild flights of fancy are sometimes discounted by adults as silly or juvenile. However, last year, the ideas of one young man became an internet sensation, when his older brother took those playtime ideas and turned them into the web comic “Axe Cop.” This week, Dark Horse Comics released the first issue of the 3-part mini-series “Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth.”
The young man who created these characters and this world is Malachai Nicolle, a six-year-old boy, who enjoys playing “Axe Cop” with his toys. His 30-year-old brother, Ethan Nicolle, already a comic artist and writer, was so inspired by his brother’s imagination that he started putting Malachai’s playtime actions into words and pictures.
“Bad Guy Earth” is the result of hours of Malachai and Ethan playing together, and simply letting the story flow from Malachai. According to Ethan, what makes this mini-series special is that it really happened. The brothers physically acted out all of the things that happen in the story, such as the car chase (in Ethan’s parked car, with toy guns of course) and the lunch scene. The original stories were created in this way, acted out during a family visit, but subsequent collaborations had to be done over the phone. Having the brothers together again made this special for both of them, and I think that shows in the story.
It is hard to describe “Axe Cop” because it is such a batch of wild ideas that are basically thrown together, but still manage to make sense in their own way. People say that comics are a form of escapism, and it is very true here, as it is simply pure fun and craziness. Most importantly, good guys win and bad guys get destroyed, and Axe Cop and his friends always come out on top.
In “Bad Guy Earth” Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier discover that a Bad Guy Planet has appeared in the sky, and they believe it is here to squish the Earth. They have to fight the “real” cops, and even the Army in order to try to find a way to save Earth. However, when Axe Cop has a dream about a T. Rex, he becomes convinced that they have to travel back in time to save the dinosaurs. This allows the evil men to put into action their plan to use Uni-Man’s Good Guy Machine to turn everyone on Earth into bad guys.
Zany and crazy, but definitely a fun read. It will be interesting to see what Axe Cop and his allies do in the past, and how they end up ultimately defeating the bad guys and saving Earth.
