Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid. BloodFire Studios Unleash "The New Goths On The Block" Kindergoth
Written: Sep 08 '03 (Updated Mar 09 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great concept, nice illustration and clarity, hilarious story.
Cons: Missed out on the first black & white 'ashcan' version, Lee never answers his email.
The Bottom Line: Tired of comic book heroes that leave a lot to be desired? Pick up either of the now available Kindergoth issues and prepare to be entertained.
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| Freak369's Full Review: Kindergoth Magazine |
I'm sure that if I mention the San Diego ComiCon one more time, someone is going to send me hate mail about it. Well, if you can handle just one more pimping of the event, you’ll be rewarded with a review of one of the freshest comics on the scene - Kindergoth. I'd heard great things about Kindergoth before attending the ComiCon and managed to get a sneak peek at the first issue – something that really got me interested in the comic. Thanks to some great friends who were showing their ink at the event, I got a copy of my own. Luck was with me when I strolled the aisles of a local comic book store and came across a few more copies that I could tuck away and sell for an obscene price when the series takes off. But what … what, dear freak, is Kindergoth? Now, prepare yourself for this – gothic kindergartners. Yes, you read that correctly, gothic kindergartners. The rebel school kid theme has been done before but not like this – and I’d like to gently ask that you refrain from thinking that this is like South Park. Once you check out this comic you’ll see comparing Kindergoth to South Park is like comparing Sid Vicious to Michael Bolton. It just can’t happen without the nexus of the world we know and love becoming unhinged. OK, so that was a little verbose and over-the-top. Gimme some liberties here, I’m working on zero caffeine.
Kindergoth
First off, this is a relatively new comic from BloodFire [once again, I’m pimping my local colors], and if the name sounds a little familiar it might be because of their other popular title, Dark Tarot. OK, so chances are you’ve never heard of them – but rest assured … you will. The premise is simple, kindergartners with an attitude, clueless parents and the threat of being terminated by aliens who capture a seventeen year first grader thinking he’s the average human specimen. But that’s just the surface, once you really dig in to the first two issues, you&'ll see there's a tremendous amount of humor to it. It’s the small things like references to John Bigboote from The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. It's pretty evident from reading the first two issues that a lot of thought was put into not only the storyline but the illustrations as well.
Meet The Dead Bonsai Society
If you the least bit curious about The Dead Bonsai Society, read on … it's a nickname for the kindergoths that came from Alise's mothers lack of a green thumb and the subsequent bonsai plants she killed. The various members of the group include Alise, the ringleader and one of the coolest little chicks I've ever seen in a comic. Hans is the chubby German student whose accent is a little hard to understand in text form but after a few pages of his interactions with the group, you figure it out. Carl is the one with the brains and could probably be considered the co-leader along with Alise. Other interesting members include Heather, Sarah, Zack, Erwin .. just to name a few. It takes a while to pick out who is who and attach a name to the individuals – maybe they'll add a small insert into issue three or four - like a class photo with everyone's name. The kids all attend a small public school – Third Street School to be exact.
Also mentioned in the comic are various members of the school faculty, Heathers parents, the grim reaper [that has one hell of a sense of humor] and of course the aliens. Actually, it starts off with a few aliens then only one of them is turned into a main character. The same thing happens with the grim reaper - you see several of them after the Dead Bonsai Society decide to take advantage of the "magic paint" [more about that later] and end up killing a large number of people.
Tiny Green Men 1 & 2
The first two issues introduce us to the characters and set the scene. The kindergoths are pitted against aliens that are looking to evaluate the planet to see the general intelligence level. There are only three possible outcomes of this event – be taken to their planet as part of a inter-species experiment, be used for slave labor or destroyed to stop the further gene pollution of the galaxy. Not a whole lot of options huh? The aliens manage to capture one of the "slower" of the humans and assume that he's a fitting representation of the species. So it's up to this small grouping of kindergartners to convince the alien to take a better sample back to their planet. While this is just the condensed version of what happens – there are a lot of other things going on. The grim reaper [yes, he really does look like a Jawa] is loving the fact that these kids are offing people left and right.
While this might all sound like its "heavy" reading the story really flows nicely. There are a lot of small things tucked away in the story so read it a few times to get the most from it. Both of these issues are great but to be brutally honest, the first one is a little slow when it starts out – this is to set thing up and introduce some of the characters. Trust me, once you start flipping the pages you'll get hooked on it. Issue two ends with the alien being introduced to a possible new specimen so there are a lot of doors open to how the story can / will continue.
Made In Taiwan
As I live and breath, I will never be able to look at the words “Made In Taiwan” again without thinking of the first few pages of the issue one. Just to give you a sample of why this is so hysterical to me, let me set the scene. First day of kindergarten and Alise is on her merry way, chirping about how her mother is so upset that she’s stating school. Out of nowhere comes a baddie out of the bush and she gives him a good solid whack with her trusty metal lunch box [is it a lunch box or a purse? I’m still wondering about that]. This is a growing trend through the beginning of the first issue and she’s leaving a trail of bodies wherever she goes … all stamped with the words “Made In Taiwan” on their foreheads – the imprint from her lunchbox. OK, so maybe it doesn't sound all that funny, check out this URL www.bloodfire.com/html/gallery_kgtgm1.asp and click on pages two and three to see the preview version of the event I just described. Some of the images won’t show up in the boxes since these are preview versions – but you’ll be able to get the general drift.
Illustrations
Kindergoth features a full color glossy cover with black and white panel artwork. There are some gray tones here and there but for the most part it’s all black and white. The illustrations are basic but give you enough detail to make each page interesting and attention grabbing. There’s nothing overly complex about the drawings but they are consistent, have just enough detail to make it interesting but not so much that it loses its simplistic form. Lee Kohse and Jeff Zugale did a fantastic job with the art and story and deserve a good pat on the back [even if Lee never checks his email]. Tucked in the back pages of the Kindergoth issues are sketchbooks from Zugale [issue one] and Kohse [issue two]. These show some of the early works of Kindergoth as well as other products they are working on.
For Kids or Adults?
Honestly, this is something that most kids just won’t get. My oldest read it and thought it was hysterical; then again, he's been into the comic scene a little longer than the rest of my brood and is starting to display small freak-like tendencies just like his momma. There's a little mild violence but again, in all honesty, this isn't anything that is going to turn your child into an axe wielding serial killer. Kids are exposed to more violence during a 20 minute afternoon cartoon than they are in one of these comics. Most of the humor will go over kids heads, if I had to pick a target range it would have to be the 22 – 35 year old crowd.
The comic is full of little intangibles – things that give it a distinct flavor. A great example of this is in the first issue when the Dead Bonsai Society is trying to make it to the Parker Ranch to investigate the mysterious crop circles. After walking for a while they realize they are going in circles – why? Because they aren’t allowed to cross the street. Carl suggests they use the crosswalk and he has to explain the dynamics of it to the group. He tells them that the crosswalk has two strips of magic paint and when they walk between them, no cars can hurt them. This leads to a huge pile up and one very happy soul shepherder [ahh the grim reaper]. Another great reference to past pop culture is when Alise talks about how her mom made her watch all her My Little Pony tapes … VHS tapes. You’ll have to read the first issue to understand why that’s so hilarious, it would take me too long to try and explain it.
Price
Since this is a new comic, subscriptions aren't available. Each copy will set you back $2.95, this might seem a little high for a comic when you compare them to other popular titles but in my honest opinions, you are getting a lot for three bucks. Both issue are available through the BloodFire site [www.bloodfire.com] with [rough estimate] a $2.00 charge for postage inside the United States. Is it worth it? To me it is, others might not find it all that amusing but unless you lack a funny bone – even non-comic readers will get at least a laugh or two from it.
The Bottom Line
Newer issues [3 and 4] should be out toward the end of the year, possibly October or November. It should be interesting to see if the Dead Bonsai Society can defend the planet, make it home before curfew and avoid the baddies. But for now you can pick up the first two issues at comic retailers or order them directly from BloodFire’s online store. You can also check out their other projects [my suggestion in addition to these two issues – the black and white ROTH Ashcan issue – priced at $1.00 – anyone can afford it].
To check out some of the artwork and pages from the first issue of Kindergoth, check out this URL www.bloodfire.com/html/gallery_kgtgm1.asp
Want to contact this studio? Do it here …
BloodFire Studios
PO Box 710451
San Diego, CA 92171
As always, thanks for the visit …
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Thanks to gracef for adding this to the database!
Recommended:
Yes
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