Battlepug, Vol. 1: War on Christmas

Battlepug (2019) #1-5

by Mike Norton, Allen Passalaqua (Contributor), Chris Samnee (Contributor)

The epic tale of blood and drool continues! It's been a few years since the Last Kinmundian and his faithful BATTLEPUG saved the world from a magical apocalypse, but now a new threat arises. He'll need the help of a couple of old friends and some brand new ones to take care of this new adversary (who's not as new as he thinks!) Start the adventure anew!

Collects BATTLEPUG: THE SERIES #1-5

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book

128 pages, Paperback

Published February 25, 2020

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Mike Norton has been working in comics for 10 years now, gaining recognition for projects such as The Waiting Place and Jason and the Argobots. In 2001, he became Art Director for Devil's Due Publishing where he drew the first Voltron mini-series. In 2005, he went freelance and has since made a name for himself working on books like Queen and Country, Gravity, Runaways, All-New Atom and Green Arrow/Black Canary.
He is also very, very tall.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent follow up. There is more character development and the humor is still there.

[Alex Sarll]

Mike Norton's Conan knock-off and his boggle-eyed steed return in an uneven outing which, much like Pullman's Book of Dust, confirms the difficulty of trying to tell new stories in a fantasy world that was built as the setting for one specific tale. The original Battlepug had a structural neatness (the narrator and her two small dogs, the hero and his one large one) and also a thematic unity, where the big threats tended to be destructive leviathans, but also really cute. Now, the narrator has been incorporated into the main plot, and as such is no longer narrating, and the biggest monster we see is just, well, monstrous. Initially it looks like political satire might be intended to fill the gap; we open on a Putin lookalike asserting that he is the new ruler of a town, by way of his stupid-haired glove-puppet Covfefe. Ah, I see what you did there. But he's soon reduced to a standard issue henchgoon, and there's little sign of anything else along those lines, although we do get one confusing indication that it might be otherwise when Battlepug's previous owner turns up and reveals his name is Modi. Ah, this must be a reference to another strongman bastard with a sizeable chunk of Asia in his grasp, right? Nope, looks like simple coincidence. Though it does at least contribute to a vague subplot about naming the dog: "Sir Sprinkles Goodsniffer von Wigglebottom. Pfft. Children. You need a strong name. Yes. A warrior's name. Like Doomscar, or Killknuckle." See also the gang of rogue My Little Pony-a-likes, with names like Slamprancer and Dankmeme. The main plot concerns our nameless hero's efforts to return to his homeland, where he once slew the King of the Northland Elves – who has the appropriate beard and candy cane iconography, and explains the volume's subtitle, and yes I am faintly peeved that it only appeared on Edelweiss on Epiphany. Except now he's received a threat suggesting he didn't finish the job. What's afoot? Well, the reader learns almost instantly, and then so do the characters, and alas, none of it sings like the original run.

Although it does still have a giant pug, so it's not all bad.

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Cesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Störtskön serie som jag aldrig har hört talas om och som jag helt i blindo köpte på årets bokrea hos SF-Bokhandeln enbart för att albumet var så billigt, hade ett coolt omslag och för att hela premissen var så skruvad att jag helt enkelt inte kunde låta bli. Väldigt bra handling med fokus på klassisk fantasy, humor och inslag av både SF och skräck. Väldigt bra skriven dialog och ännu bättre tecknad. Jag har redan via andra alternativa vattenhål hittat dom serier som föregick denna julspecialare och det ska bli mig ett nöje att få läsa mera om våra hjältar och deras tidigare äventyr. Rekommenderas varmt och är lätt att få tag på om man bara vet var man ska leta.

[Ayre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to read a comic about a giant pug that also mocks Trump and Putin? We'll .... do I have a comic for you.

This is cute and ridiculous. Recommend if you're not a republican and it sounds interesting.

[Emma Gear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhh. Thought it had potential but it really failed to live up to it. Battlepug is essentially a parody of Conan the Barbarian-styled stories with a huge powerful scantily clad man engaging in violent battles. Except this one's got a gigantic pug that he rides around with as a steed. As a premise it's positively delightful but in execution I felt like it was lacking.

Problems begin immediately in the first issue with the introduction of a minor villain who bears a striking resemblance to one Vladimir Putin, and who has a hand puppet that looks awfully similar to Donald Trump that he calls Covfefe. It's just the kind of thing that seems like it was written with arms folded and a smug "GOT 'EM" expression plainly evident. Things do improve after a terrible start but more than anything I think this run's biggest problem is the lack of action with the pug itself. He's headlining the act but shortly into the run is sort of taken away and doesn't do much for a big portion of the issues, falling back instead on the human characters to carry the story. And while many of them are cool (in particular I like the foul-mouthed young mage) it just feels like it's lacking in a lot of areas to truly shine.

This was the second Battlepug run however and what's here is enough to make me want to check out the first. Maybe the extra issues from how much longer it is will give everything more room to breathe and allow for more jokes with the pug itself and hopefully less topical missteps. I can't recommend this one, but the premise is cool and I am personally interested in checking out the first series.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light-hearted fantasy, by which I mean it's got Putin controlling a puppet Trump (until he loses both his hands, that is). Apparently this is a thing, and an ongoing series at that, but this was quite a reasonable jumping-on place, with the last Barbarian – sorry, Cimmerian, sorry, whatever he is – and his back-story forcing just one more fight, a fight his friends and loved ones don't think he will win. Cue a lot of controlling nature a la Poison Ivy/Swamp Thing, a baddie with all the colouring of Harley Quinn, and a few other blatant riffs, just to keep things ticking over. Oh, and of course a whopping great big Battlepug, complete with pencil sharpener arsehole. Clearly some of this is just annoying (the Scribbly Scrabbly bloke, the incessant bleeping out of the cussing as if we're nine), but there's just about enough entertainment to make it worth a look. It's certainly a quick and unchallenging read, either way.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing wrong with having a little fun, especially if it accompanies a giant pug. After the events of the main Battlepug series, the Conan-pastiche looks like he might have peace. For all the world ending threat there's plenty of fun to be found with all of the surreal things. For every serious situation like a maniac looking to conquer something, you find that their plans and the means to get them are the right combination of feelings of humor and tragedy if it comes to the mundane. Because with fun like this, sometimes that's all that really matters.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first exposure to the Battlepug universe. It was fast-paced and fun. It took some interesting twists and turns and had me laughing out loud more than once. I plan on going back and reading the original five volumes of the series. I suggest reading them before getting involved with this War on Christmas as I was a bit lost at times not having done so.

[Amanda K · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like your sword n' sorcery tropes well skewered (or just plain skewed) and liberally salted with pop culture then you should read Battlepug! Hilarious and addictive!

[Darth Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

lolwut?

Kinda just the ridiculous shenanigans I needed right now.