Comic Review: Bully Wars #1

Bully Wars #1

Image Comics

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Aaron Conley

Bully Wars reads like an early 2000’s cartoon on Cartoon Network. Everything from the aesthetic and plot to the tempo of the issue feels like it belongs on the television screen. It has mass appeal for younger audiences, while still having the ability to entice adults as well.

In Bully Wars, Rufus was known as the biggest bully in middle school but is now moving on to high school, where he intends to thrive due to there being even more dorks and nerds. Unfortunately for Rufus, the bully became the bullied quickly, and now he needs to find a way to climb back to the top.

Bully Wars #1 is Skottie Young’s second Image series as a writer, and unlike I Hate Fairyland, he enlists the aid of an artist. Young as a writer has experienced some issues as far as consistency goes, but he has mostly had a solid run with scripts, and that continues in Bully Wars. I do have to admit that it does bum me out to not see his unique style at work in this series.

Fortunately, it seems that artist Aaron Conley is more than capable of completing Young’s vision for the series. Bully Wars looks like a cartoon, and while the script has a role to play in that tone, it’s mostly due to Conley’s art. I found myself thinking of Dexter’s Laboratory and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy while reading through this issue. It’s charming, but also ugly at the same time. Conley’s panels effectively capture the grotesque imagery of both bullies and puberty. Jean-Francis Beaulieu’s colors are bright and help to inject a bit of beauty into the pages. Throughout the issue, there is a wonderful amount of detail in the panels, with plenty of fun Easter eggs and gags for readers to catch.

The series has a colorful cast of characters that complement Rufus well. While bullying is a serious matter, it doesn’t feel dangerous to read due to how lighthearted and ridiculous everything feels. Children should be able to enjoy this book without fear of being upset by the content matter. Most of the humor is fairly juvenile, but the plot is just original enough to hold the attention of some adults. The end result is a fun series that should appeal to all ages provided that the reader is in the right frame of mind.

While I did enjoy my time with this issue, I didn’t quite love it. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the debut, it just doesn’t captivate yet. The titular “Bully Wars” has not yet started, and I feel that these potentially ridiculous games will be where the book truly shines.

Bully Wars #1 is an enjoyable debut and should be fun for all ages. It isn’t a home run, but it feels like we have not yet seen the best that Young and Conley have to offer. I look forward to seeing Rufus rise above his peers.