That Bullet Proof Kid is written by Matt Kyme, art by
Arthur Stickland, letters by Brendan Halyday and published by If?
Commix. Bulletproof is one of the most well known local Australian
comics with Matt Kyme being almost guaranteed to be at any local
convention or event (go say hello, he's a cool guy). Bulletproof is a classic teenage superhero story
done well but in a more Australian way making it far more
relatable to local readers.
Bulletproof follows
Anthony, a student beginning year eleven, as he is questioned by his
friends on where he has been and why he missed so many social events over
the holidays. Anthony recently becoming the sidekick known as
Bulletproof to the hero Crusader, works on balancing his normal
teenage life complete with normal teenage problems such as friends,
girls and bullies with the added issues of being a masked superhero
trying to save the world.
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| Way more interesting than my school holidays ever were |
The way that characters are
portrayed and act towards each other is fantastic and feels very genuine
as though a group of teenagers could be having the conversations on
the page. A little scene that I really
love is when the Anthony and his friends are lining up for their General
Maths class they call it "vegie maths" which I find hilarious because I
did a general maths class and we used to call it vegie maths too. The character of Anthony seems to be an average well rounded
teenager dealing with issues that almost everybody will remember form
high school such as friends, class, girls and bullies while also dealing
with his new secret identity as Bulletproof. Anthony's character also seems to be having a minor struggle dealing with typical
teenage vanity in the way of wanting his superhero identity to be in the limelight and
tell his friends about his adventures while understanding that he can't show his talents for his own, and his friend's, safety. Anthony's friends seem like a
very realistic group of teenagers who care about each other but still
tease each other in a light-hearted way. The villain, Monochrome, although only in three panels has a pretty chilling presence, already making it clear that she will be a fantastic villain throughout the series.
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The
art of Bulletproof is on a whole different wave length than any other
comics currently running with thick outlines and bold colours making it
stand out on the shelf and grab your eye. All of the panels that involve superhero destruction and mayhem are rather interesting and bring to mind thoughts of classic superhero city destruction. The character designs are simple and the teenagers, unlike like many other comics, actually look and dress like teenagers. This may seem a strange thing to praise, having the characters actually look their age, but it is so common for young people in comics to be drawn as perfect specimens of human beings its rather refreshing to have teenagers actually look like teenagers with different body shapes.
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| We all knew somebody in high school with an awkward goatee |
That Bullet Proof Kid is one of the most well known local comics and for a good reason it uses the classic formula of a teenage superhero trying to hide his secret identity and still have a mostly normal life and makes it relatable to a modern audience. The character's aren't full of excessive teenage angst nor are they played off like adults with everything under control and relatable characters are always a sign that a comic can be enjoyed by a wide audience.
I give That Bulletproof Kid 3.5 out of 5 explosions.
Find out more about That Bulletproof Kid
here.
