Link to original article /Click on the following link :  CX Pulp.com Stu Bear Review

Stu the Bear hibernates for 12,400 years – a personal best.

Written by: Jeff Bushell
Art by: Beware of the Art Studio
Publisher: Viper Comics

Stu – well, he’s a lazy bear. Bears seem like a lazy sort anyway, but among bears, he is the laziest. So lazy that one summer, he makes a deal with his brother – in exchange for finding some honey, Stu would not be woken up the next year. He would hibernate longer than any bear ever. Unfortunately, while hibernating, an avalanche traps him in ice, where he stays frozen for 12,400 years. When he wakes up, he finds himself in a world where humans have devolved, bears and other animals have become dominant, and the surface of the earth is extremely hostile, thanks to giant bees, radiation, and feral men.

There is a great deal of detail in this story, which really makes it a pleasure to read. Bushell could have just stuck with the silly, and it probably would have worked, but the extra detail made things a lot more enjoyable. It still has the feel of something that could work as a movie (Bushell previously was a screenwriter for Beverly Hills Chihuahua), but the graphic novel format works well in this case.

Laziness and productivity are recurring themes in this story. While Stu is the ultimate lazy bear, his brother Al thinks differently. Al envisions a world where bears don’t have to hibernate, and after losing his brother in an avalanche makes that idea a reality. The result is a paradigm shift – Al becomes a religious figure that is still worshiped thousands of years in the future for revolutionizing bear society, and lighting the spark that lead to their evolution. Unfortunately, history didn’t treat Stu nearly as well. Stu’s seen as the anti-bear – the very thing Al was pushing bear-kind away from – to the point where his name is a curse word in the future world Stu finds himself in. Mankind went in the opposite direction, for similar reasons. Our advanced technology made us more and more lazy, and as a result, humans devolved into caveman-like creatures who could only utter the word ‘Dude.’

This book is definitely “all-ages,” but unlike a few other similar projects from Viper (Battle Smash, for example), this one can not only be read and enjoyed by adults, but there is actually a little something in there for them too. It’s got the great “moral lesson” thing in there (don’t be lazy!) but it is presented in a way that can be enjoyed even if you don’t have any kids. In other words, truly all-ages, instead of just being for kids. And if you do have kids, hopefully they are smart enough to ask why its only the 25th Century if 12,400 years have passed… any excuse to watch Buck Rogers is a good one!

The art style is a little unusual. It is kind of a bled of some of the kids books I have seen, and the style you sometimes see on an Adult Swim show. It isn’t raunchy or anything, but it does have that same distinct flavor – like it was drawn by someone with no real art talent, but deliberately so by someone with a great deal of skill. I have no idea if that makes any sense or not, but there it is. The style fit the book’s tone and humor perfectly though, so you really don’t have to worry about anything there.

Stu the bear was a ton of fun, and certainly delivers a lot of content for the price. I have to recommend this one.

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Original article link here

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Viper Comics for Kids: Review

Viper Comics has been publishing comics since 2003. To date, they have put out over 100 comic books and 30 graphic novels. Four of their graphic novel titles have even been recommended by the American Library Association.With Little Man’s new-found love of comics, he was more than excited to receive three new stories to read. Battle Smash Vs. the Saucermen from Venus was apparently such a hit in our house, that he has hidden away in his room, to read when he wakes up in the morning. The comic follows the five superheroes who make up Team Battle Smash as they save London from the attacking Saucermen. The story is easy for him to read and follow. With it’s upbeat pace, he was captivated with the storyline from the first page to last.

Stu Bear in the 25st Century is the story of a lazy bear, trapped for hundreds of years when an avalanche buries him during hibernation. When Stu is discovered, centuries in the future, he finds that nothing is the same. Humans are being kept in zoos, high-tech cities are floating above the Earth, and an incurable plague is threatening all life.Written by the Beverly Hills Chihuahua movie screen writer, Jeff Bushell, Stu Bear is an imaginative glimpse into animal-run future. My 6 year old enjoyed the idea of animals running the world and was excited to see if Stu would be able to save the day.

Odd Rods is based upon the trading cards of the 1960s. Mac Short is having nothing short of a bad day, he’s lost his job, his wife left him, and he’s next to broke. When he sees a car for sale for only $500, he thinks his luck has started to change. Then he accidentally pulls a lever in his car and learns that doing so turns the car into an Odd Rod.Since Little Man is only 6, I skimmed through the first few pages with him, figuring their was no reason to ruin the thrill of the book with negatives, like losing a job and having a spouse leave. He really enjoyed the illustrations throughout the book and loved when the cars and drivers transformed into Odd Rods.

Battle Smash Vs. the Saucermen from Venus can be purchased for $3.25. Stu Bear can be pre-ordered for $7.95 and Odd Rod for $5.95.

Format: book / full color / 80 Pages / $7.95

ISBN: 978-098271172-9

By: (W) Jeff Bushell (A) Beware Of The Art Studio

DIAMOND ORDER CODE: JUL101159

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY HERE: http://tinyurl.com/2alh7yw

GRAPHIC NOVEL TRAILER

ADVANCE BOOK REVIEWS:

“If there was a bear genre then Stu Bear probably throws out all of the conventions of that genre with its  crazy, futuristic Planet of the Apes-esque setting”- Troy Mayes, Blog Critics

“It’s good for kids and adults will enjoy it too.”  - Brett Sc henker, GraphicPolicy.com

“Pure animal sci-fi fun. These bears really rule!” – Broken Frontier

“Wake up and smell the honey, dude … Stu Bear has arrived!” -- Chris J. Thompson, PopCultureHound.com

“…it reads easily and could be used as a book before bed time…” - Lan Pitts, Newsarama.com

“Graphic Novel Reporter Fall 2010 Essential Kids GN”

Stu Bear In The 25th Century

Stu Bear is lazy – everyone in the forest knows this.  But no one could have suspected that a freak avalanche would turn what was already the longest hibernation on record, into 1000 years of frozen-slumber.

A millennia later Stu is discovered, defrosted and finds the world has turned upside down.  Humans have devolved into monosyllabic earth-bound brutes.  All manner of evolved animals inhabit floating high-tech cities above the earth, with hairless, intelligent bears, descendants of Stu’s brother, the new dominant species.

Stunned by the changes he faces, Stu is grudgingly taken in by his great great great great… (you get the idea, right? it’s a LOT of greats) …grandnephew Al Jr.

But even as Stu tries to adapt to his new life, a seemingly incurable plague threatens to destroy all life above earth.  Al Jr. and Stu must set aside their differences and embark on a dangerous mission to the surface of the planet, find a cure and save their family… in every sense.