Writer: Matthew Rosenburg
Art: Tyler Boss
Publisher: Black Mask Studios
Release Date: April 20
Chapter One – As far back as lunchtime I always wanted to be a Gangster.
A fun(ish) crime caper about children! Eleven-year-old Paige and her weirdo friends have a problem: a gang of ex-cons need her dad’s help on a heist… the problem is those ex-cons are morons. If Paige wants to keep her dad out of trouble, she’s going to have to pull off the heist herself. Like Wes Anderson remaking Reservoir Dogs, 4KWIAB is a very dark & moderately humorous story about friendship, growing up, D&D, puking, skinheads, grand larceny, and family.
4 Kids Walk Into A Bank #1 is the beginning of a new five issue miniseries that will take you back to Junior High School days. Imagine a group of Dungeons of Dragons players in their pre-teens and being set free out in the real world. On this journey, they also make the world their own playground and no obstacle can stop their adventure from continuing. The title may seem like a big joke, but it actually turns into a comic book that will read longer than your average book these days.
4KWIAB is a cast that is met with equal fun on both sides of the spectrum. Our ragtag group of kids includes Pat “Stretch” Schramm (12-year-old boy. Tallest boy in 7th Grade. Used to stutter), Daniel “Berger: Berger (11 year old boy, Lives next door to Paige. Curses too much), Walter Johnson (12-year-old boy. Takes high school science classes. Still wets the bed), and of course Paige (12-year-old girl. Could beat up all her friends. Super smart.) The kids have run-ins with other hoodlums on their courtyard at school, but more importantly, we meet our thugs too that barge into Paige’s house looking for her Dad. Of the thugs we have Hayes (33 years old. Getaway driver with an 85% success rate), Vernon (34 years old. Best poker player in cell block C. The brains), Silk (29 years old. Temper that has never served him well), and there’s Skinhead Mike (25 years old. Skinhead). Skinhead Mike actually has no hair on his head, and he has a Nazi tattoo on his face.
Tyler Boss’s art on this book is spot on. It gives me the feel of a modern comic book, while at the same time giving a feel that is light-hearted since we are following the adventures of minors. Something I’ve never seen in the credits in a comic book is “Wallpaper Design”. It kind of had me wondering what I meant, but as you go through the book, you will notice that the walls have pretty impressive wallpaper! Not just the walls, but some of the background is so details, it’s pretty neat to see an art team come together like this for this book. I found myself go thru again just to pick out all the different patterns of “wallpaper” used on the pages.
You can order an exclusive variant of 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank #1 from our friends at Silver Linings Comics here.
4 Kids Walk Into A Bank
- Story - 9/109/10
- Art - 9/109/10
Verdict
4 Kids Walk Into A Bank is one of the funnest books in a long time Its a book that I have honestly read at least four times now. I’m still amazed how long it takes each time, and finding stuff that I didn’t see the previous time. There is so much to process each time you read between the story, backgrounds, and the art and knowing you’ll get your monies worth with this book.