After a solid fourth issue, Bebop & Rocksteady Hit The Road #5 looks to ride the momentum into its final issue. However, it looks like the series is simply out of gas as it struggles cross the finish line.
Comic Review: Bebop & Rocksteady Hit the Road #5
(W) Dustin Weaver (A) Ben Bates (C) Brittany Peer
For three issues, readers have experienced idiot characters acting like idiots with sloppy artwork, with a brief interlude in Issue #4 of effort and quality. However, as the series comes to a close, it looks like the creative team has reverted back to their old ways, making this miniseries a complete disappointment from start to finish. Bebop and Rocksteady Hit the Road #5 is a bad comic.
The writing is surprisingly dated, with every character yelling to each other in the midst of battle, trying to up the ante by trading one-liners and catch-phrases. There is one or two instances of well-timed comedy, but it’s clear that Weaver and Bates at this point are throwing whatever they can at the reader in the hopes that something sticks. It’s sloppy, tired, and predictable.
The writing leaves a lot to be desired, but it’s better than the art. Save for one panel, in which Bebop and Rocksteady are black silhouettes covered in blood (it really is cool looking), this is one of the uglier issues I’ve seen. Too chaotic and messy for its own good, even the colors from Brittany Peer seem phoned in.
August is the dog days of summer, so it’s appropriate that this dog-crap miniseries was released this month. I am lucky enough to have access to review copies of this series, but I feel bad for those that actually forked over the $20 (plus tax) that it cost to follow this miniseries from start to finish. Perhaps there is a certain type of reader that a series like Bebop and Rocksteady Hit the Road appeals to, but it isn’t me. Thankfully, the series has come to a merciful end.
