End Times of Bram & Ben #1

Well its here, the moment right wing Christians & bible freaks have been preaching for years… The Rapture! Follow the hilarious moments of Bram & Ben, two best friends who like thousands, maybe even millions of people throughout the planet have been touched by the strange occurrence that is the Rapture. Bram has been taken to so-called Heaven and Ben was left behind. A few minutes later, Bram was returned to earth through a case of mistaken identity and leaves Ben questioning his sense of religion as to why he was left behind. Add a weird looting friend called Tipul, a devil walking the streets and the fact that all the world’s sluts were left behind and you’ve got one bizarre, but funny little blasphemous story the likes heaven & hell have never seen.

The Team

Co-created and written by James Asmus (Gambit Vol. 1 : Once a Thief…) & Jim Festante. Co-created and illustrated by Rem Broo. Cover by Jim Mahfood (Grrl Scouts, Tank Girl). Published by Image Comics. #1 (of 4).

The Pros & Cons

I love stories that poke fun at religion, especially ludicrous ones like born again Christians or any religious groups that take themselves way too seriously (you know who you are). It’s no wonder comics like Preacher and movies like Dogma & Red State have special places in my heart. This first issue has more of sitcom cartoon feeling to it, rather than a comic book, but that’s a good thing. Everything thing from the apocalypse to Armageddon to zombies is mentioned in this wacky comic. The characters are light hearted, funny & interesting, the script is witty & the dialogue is whimsical to say the least. Some conversations had me on the floor laughing my ass off. Joe, the substitute teacher and his use of inappropriate euphemisms will make you laugh & cringe the way Ricky Gervais’ Extras did. Now this is just one many hilarious situations you’ll find from start to finish.

I really enjoyed Rem Broo’s illustrations, with his square shaped characters with exaggerated features reminded me of Chew’s Rob Guillory.

The Outcome

With it’s over the top style and an even more over the top ending, TETOB & B is a piece of guilty pleasure that cannot be taken seriously, but promises a damn good time!