Written, Illustrated, and Published by: Ryan Browne
Reviewed by: Kristian Horn
I love absurdist humor. I love a good superhero yarn. So when Ryan Browne takes both of these and combines them into one glorious package in the pages of God Hates Astronauts you can bet your sweet bippy it’s a comic that I’m going to love.
God Hates Astronauts is the sordidly hysterical tale of the Power Persons Five and the tragedy that would tear their team apart. On a routine mission to stop their nemesis, John P. Sullivan, the leader of the PPF, known as Star Fighter, gets handed a severe beating. This beating sets off a chain of events that pits Star Fighter off against the very super team he founded in an absolutely ridiculous tale of super powers and super people gone wrong.
God Hates Astronauts is the most crazily original superhero book I’ve read in a long time. Each page just gets sillier and funnier than the last and Browne keeps the antics going for the duration of the book. I was incredibly impressed with how much God Hates Astronauts made me smile. This is a comic that steps out there on the ledge of comedy and just takes a deep plunge into ridiculousness. If The Kids in the Hall or the cast of Mr. Show were to make a superhero movie I’m sure it would go down much like God Hates Astronauts.
Browne’s humor is only excelled by his artwork. When I discovered GHA on Kickstarter it was Browne’s illustration skills that made me support the project. Little did I know that what Browne was displaying on his Kickstarter page was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to his impressive illustration and coloring skills. Not only is God Hates Astronauts funny, it’s also absolutely gorgeous to look at. Browne’s draftsmanship is solid and his color palette is exquisite. Whatever money I contributed to his campaign was money well spent as God Hates Astronauts is a very well put together project. Everything here reeks of professionalism: the art, the writing and the production design of the actual book. God Hates Astronauts is a template for what comic book Kickstarter projects should aspire to.
Although Browne’s Kickstarter project is over, it looks as if Image Comics will be releasing a softcover edition of this book. So if you love superheroes that will make you guffaw with laughter and make you gape in disbelief at what you are looking at, then make sure you get your comic shop to reserve you a copy of this book. Trust me, you’ll be happy you did.
