Comic Review: The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton #1

The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton #1

Image Comics

Writer: Kyle Starks

Artist: Chris Schweizer

I became aware of the creative team of Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer’s Mars Attacks miniseries last year. I was immediately impressed with their artistic chemistry, and their ability to tell deeply personal stories through the lens of a wild comedy. Now, they reunite with Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton #1, and though it’s unclear as of yet if it will match up to Mars Attacks, the potential is there.

Though I’m relatively new to Kyle Starks’ work, one thing I’ve come to expect from him is an absurdist comedy from the mouths of absurd characters. I’m happy to report that nothing describes this book better than that sentence. If lines such as “I will karate chop you straight in half” or, “I’m going to hit you so hard you become funeral confetti” tickle your fancy, then you will really enjoy this.

Despite the silliness, Six Sidekicks actually touches on some dark topics such as suicide, murder, and the scumminess of Hollywood. It views these subjects through the lens of humor and almost makes you feel bad for laughing, but you just can’t help it. The jokes fly quickly and always land, despite the subject matter.

Much like in Starks’ Assassin Nation, he introduces a cavalcade of characters right out of the gate. Naturally, given the small number of pages in a single issue, not every character is given much time to shine. We get to know a few of them, and the rest sort of fall to the wayside to hopefully be developed later. The characters we do spend time with are very well written. Their motivations and inner conflict are made clear and are adequately compelling.

Much of the stronger character work can be attributed to the art of Chris Schweizer. His look is highly stylized, and it’s incredibly easy to differentiate between all the characters by their faces alone. This is a common problem in the medium, and it is sidestepped so deftly here. On top of that, his simplistic style makes for some fantastic physical comedy. It’s a known fact that comedy is difficult to pull off in comics, and Schweizer makes it seem like child’s play.

Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton #1 is a wonderful dark comedy. Almost every joke lands due to the talent of both Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer. Starks’ wit matched with Schweizer’s comedic timing is a recipe for absurdity that delights from start to finish.

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