Weekend Warriors: Vinegar Teeth #1

Welcome to our Weekend Warriors, where we do reviews in a similar way to how we do our Collective Consensus reviews. The staff do a review of one book, that we didn't get the chance to cover during the week. The book would be a one-shot, start of a new series or the start of a new arc, just so that anyone can jump into the book. The multiple reviews allows readers to get a wide range of opinions and the sense of how the book is.

Dark Horse solicitations: "As a human being, Artie Buckle is a grade-A schmuck. But he’s a pretty damn fine cop. Good thing, because Brick City is under siege from its citizenry and only an unlikely partnership with a mysterious, tentacled, extra-dimensional being can put an end to the escalating crime problem. Thing is, there’s a danger far greater than cub scouts robbing banks . . . oh my! Across space and time lies a far greater threat, not only to Brick City but to the world! Holy crap! Can the two get past their differences and save the planet? Well, of course they can, but getting there is gonna be a helluva fun ride."

Writer: Damon Gentry
Artist: Troy Nixey
Colorist: Guy Major
Publisher: Dark Horse

Charles
Good(ish) cop Artie Buckle is dismayed to get his sting operation ruined by a horrible Cthulhoid monster who eats his target. And Brick City is the sort of place where such a monster can get declared a hero of the city, given a badge, named Vinegar Teeth, and forced on Artie as his new partner. Sad trombone noise!

I can see that the main draw here is artist Troy Nixey's distinctive "Fleischer cartoon on acid" visual style. Mr. Nixey also takes a slice of the scripting duties, though, and it feels like co-writer Damon Gentry has let his visually-minded partner dominate the storytelling. 

The art is sometimes overwhelming, and in terms of plot, this inaugural issue offers about as much to hang onto as a sketchbook with a few story leads doodled in the margins. Vinegar Teeth ends up as an all-or-nothing referendum on Troy Nixey's lurid art. If you fall instantly in love with it, you'll plow through and ferret out the tiny nuggets of story that will carry you through to issue #2. If the art doesn't turn your crank, though, this comic's pantry doesn't offer a lot of alternatives to fill you up.

Stephen
I wasn’t quite sure about this issue after my first read.  I wasn’t sure if this was a detective story, comedy, or a horror tale. After my second read I still wasn’t quite sure. I found the storytelling a bit confusing and honestly a bit of a chore to get through. The art and colours were amazing. Normally that would be enough to keep me interested but I just couldn’t get into the story enough to want to continue past this issue. I may flip through issue two when it comes out to admire the artwork but I’ll be taking a pass on adding this to my monthly reading list. Keep in mind that’s only my reading experience you may enjoy it so give it a flip through before you decide.

Batmanaruto
As I started the issue I was really struggling to get into it, however as the story progressed I found myself really enjoying it. The main character of Artie, is a very good cop, but also appears very lazy. He is paired up with a monster called Vinegar Teeth, who serves as the comic relief in this book. The character of Artie has a very understandable reaction to this news and we get to see his first outing with this monster. This could simply be a fun outing between the two, however Artie does have pressure from the Mayor to accomodate Vinegar Teeth. The art in the issue is also very strong.