Sunday Comics: Bear

Bear, by Jamie Smart

Format: Comics-form...they're not quite short stories, more like brief vignettes or episodes, ranging from single-pagers to five-or-six-page stories. Bear was originally published as ten single issues, then collected into a pair of volumes, respectively titled Bear: Immortal and Bear: Demons.

Content Rating: R...ish. Swears get dropped, the violence varies between cartoony and goretastic depending on the mood (and frequently blends the two), and a good chunk of the jokes run on "dead baby" humor (at a couple points, literally).

Plot: While the actual plot of Bear varies wildly (there is closure at the end, and how Karl and Bear met is very briefly brought up, but apart from that anything goes), the basic setup involves three central characters: first, the titular Bear, a somehow sentient foot-high teddy bear (how Bear walks and talks is never addressed, and few characters seem questioning of it) who claims to have seen action in every major war of the last century. He is almost invariably the straight man of the group; the long-suffering, sardonic victim. Second is Karl, a British everyman and Bear's flatmate. Whether Karl is of reasonable intelligence, unusually insightful, or phenominally stupid depends on what would be funniest at the moment. Finally, there is Looshkin, Karl's cat, who like Bear is somehow capable of speech and walking upright (though this, at least, is given some consistency--every cat we see in the Bear universe can do this). Looshkin suffers from violent bouts of schizophrenia and a rather advanced case of ADD, though even when he's not having one of his fits is still quite an abhorrent, violent, and often outright evil individual. Usually, the plot involves or is triggered by a sort of Tom-and-Jerry setup between Bear and Looshkin, Bear just wanting some time alone and Looshkin insisting on tormenting him. Every so often the plot takes a break from that to visit Bear at a different point in history, or just have a different story with the same characters. Some of the one-page stories don't visit the main cast at all, instead focusing on special side-characters like Elliott the Dunk (a tiny wizard who dispenses nonsensical advice) and Justin (a young boy whose brain is a seperate entity from his body and often gets into arguments with him).

Thoughts: Though there are plenty of things with Bear's sense of humor, I don't think I've come across anything with the same delivery. Its sheer Britishness is a palpable thing, and sets it apart. There's so much fun British slang injected into the dialogue sometimes I can't even tell if Mr. Smart just made it up. (If he did, he has an ear for words.) Bear's goals aren't lofty, but it achieves what it sets out to do 100%. Is it intellectually stimulating? Not usually. Does it have great moral value? No. Is it a great work of art that will be remembered for generations? Unlikely. But what it is, is fun. Well-crafted, super-British, dark, cranky fun. I'd share some gin with Bear anytime, were he real.

PS. Bear has now also been collected online for your perusal here.

[Holden Out.]