The Bounce - Issues 1-3 (Comic Review)
I waited until this series was three issues in to read it and kind of grabbed the issues as they came out and waited to read them at the same time. Sometimes with comics (like TV shows to an extent) it's easier to get the gist and get hooked if you have a few issues to read. I was really glad I took that approach with The Bounce. Although the fist issue was decently written and had really nice artwork, it felt slightly underwhelming and also slightly confusing. If you read all three issues at once it definitely makes for a more cohesive read and it helps flesh out a few ideas about where the series is headed.
I've heard The Bounce compared to Kick Ass a lot. Mainly I'd guess because A) Kick Ass is gigantic and anything remotely relatable to it - will get related to it and B) The Bounce like Kick Ass deals with the idea of heroes actually being introduced into a "regular" world. Now the differences between the books are pretty drastic in truth. The Bounce unlike Kick Ass deals with actual "super" heroes that have differing powers. The Bounce, the focus of the series, has the ability to bounce quickly. Early on the series focuses on The Bounce's every day life. He's a slacker pothead who ***spoiler alert*** has acquired powers by taking part in a medical experiment job to help pay rent. He lives with a guy who also lives a somewhat alternative lifestyle (I don't want to spoil it too much - see issue 3). The heroes and villains in The Bounce actually having real powers kind of makes this night and day when comparing it to something like Kick Ass. The Bounce as a series has the potential to create a world filled with heroes and villains that relate much more to something you'd see in the X-Men or Spider-Man universes.
The series feels much more like a real super hero book as opposed to Kick Ass which feels like a bunch of kids posing as superheroes. The Bounce sets up a real world where these heroes can exist and it has some things that are staples in many old school comic series. The Bounce is an off beat good guy, his brother is a police officer, and he's basically leading a dual life as a hero and an average every day slacker. He kind of has a "with great power comes great responsibility" Spider-Man mentality. That would be if Peter Parker's biggest science experiment was the effects of smoking out of a bong at two in the afternoon. That coupled with experiments on humans and people gaining powers from it seems like familiar turf from a lot of the more popular long running comic titles. That's the main issue I have with some people saying "basically like Kick Ass" because in truth it's basically more like early issues of "X-Men and Spider-Man".
The story at three issues in still needs a lot of fleshing out. I think by issue 3 the main characters feel like they are starting to take life a little more. Stick with the comic after issue 1. Had I read issue 1 by itself I might have been let down, but saving them up and reading all three together really helped. I'm intrigued to see what happens next and some of the arcs are starting to take an interesting turn. This series has the potential to have some really gritty interesting story lines.
So all in all, The Bounce may not live up to the early hype of it's creator, but I recommend checking it out. I read in an interview where he discussed cracking the code that made heroes like Spider-Man so popular and applying it to The Bounce. I'm not sure he's cracked the code of Peter Parker just yet with The Bounce. I'm hoping he succeeds in what he believes he has done because the book itself has quite a few upsides. If it continues on the path it's on I think it will continue to improve.
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