Comic: "Man-Eating Cow"
Published by: Other
Written by: Clay Griffith
Artist: Alan Hopkins

Reviewer: Dr. Boogie
Posted: 11/30/2009

Plot: When low-level thug Nick Gallo goes missing (except for his severed feet), the police turn their attention to the Crime Cannibal, a superhero with the incredible power to eat people really, really fast. However, a washed-up old rodeo clown has some dire news for them: "It was a cow!"

Review: I love The Tick, but there’s only so much of him to go around. Thank goodness that there are so many memorable characters that the spin-offs can last a lifetime.

Originally, the Man-Eating Cow was just a part of a larger trap designed to consume captured superheroes and other such meddlers. At some point, she was able to escape, and now, she consumes people. Or at least that’s all we know after issue one.

The whole book plays out like a parody of hard-boiled detective dramas, aside from the fact that the perpetrator is a man-eating cow. A low-level gangster disappears, leaving only his wallet and shoes (with his feet still inside), so the police round up the usual suspects. It seems like an open-and-shut case, given that the city has a superhero whose MO is eating criminals, but certain signs point the police toward a suspect a bit more bovine in nature.

Fans of The Tick will love the comic. It’s written in much the same style, particularly emphasizing how nonchalant everyone is with otherwise bizarre happenings, like a bar catering exclusively to clowns, or a crime boss who fashions himself after a 19th century poet/dandy. In spite of this, however, the book never loses its focus and becomes too absurd, too ridiculous to the point that you don’t believe the police department is seriously investigating the possibility of a man-eating cow.

My only complaint is that the book features very little of the title character. The story moves along a little slowly in order to properly establish the setting and mood, but I still found myself hoping to see a Man-Eating Cow on the next page. Sure, the police don’t know anything about it, but it’s in the frigging title! If Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a Sherlock Holmes story called “Moriarty”, you wouldn’t want to wait until the final chapter to see the guy pop up.

Nevertheless, it’s a fun read and a fine opening to what is undoubtedly the finest series about a flesh-eating superhero in a long while. The writing is great, the artwork is top-notch, and it’s tied to a great series about a man in a tick costume. Three thumbs up!

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)