Punch-Up!

Back in 2009, maybe it was early in 2010…yeah. 2010. I met a writer by the name of Frank Cvetkovic at S.P.A.C.E. in Columbus, Ohio. I had invited Frank to be a guest at my convention, which was just barely two months after S.P.A.C.E. and picked up a copy of his self-published comic, Skottie Rocket.

After that, you’ll have to forgive me but, in my brain, my time line is a little mixed up. It was either at Summit City Con while I was chatting with Frank, or when I ran into him again at Mid-Ohio Con that fall that he told me about his then forthcoming webcomic, Punch-Up. I thought the premise was pretty cool and I promised Frank that I would read it, and I did.

I was not disappointed.

Now, I have to confess that, going into it, I had a pro-Frank Cvetkovic bias. As I said, I like Frank. He’s a cool guy. But putting that aside, this is a really fun, entertaining comic. Frank’s dialog is spot on and the art by, Skottie Rocket collaborator, David Brame is not just great, but an outstanding fit for the story.

So imagine you’re a loser. You get the bejeezes beat out of you on a regular basis, you’re not all that lucky with the ladies, and you’re not particularly good at, well…anything. Anything except for getting beat up. Now suppose that, on top of all that, you just got canned from a job that you hated anyway. What do you do next? Apply for the next crappy, minimum wage job? Or try something different? Maybe try making money at the one thing you’re good at.

This is Patrick, the centerpiece of Punch-Up.

Patrick makes the admittedly unhealthy decision of trying to make money by doing what he’s good at…getting beat up. Along with a friend of questionable, but well-intentioned, influence and a girl who’s unstable, Frank decides to start his own punch-me-in-the-face-business. Almost like a reverse hitman.

Friendliness aside, Cvetkovic’s dialog is crisp and the foundation that’s being laid here is one that has been keeping me intrigued for the past several months. Patrick is a likeable, if not entirely relatable, character who really just wants to get along and be happy.

Every bit as much as the writing, David Brame’s artwork keeps me coming back for more too. His work on this strip is outrageous.

Brame’s brush work has a certain hastiness and looseness to it that really helps to flesh-out these characters as believable people. It’s a style that is reminiscent of Paul Pope and RASL-era Jeff Smith.

Even in character driven, non-action, panels Brame’s line has a certain kinetic feel to it that makes the characters, or the goings on around them, feel lively. When I read a page from a bar scene in Punch-Up, the background isn’t populated by mannequins in stiff poses. Rather it’s full of real people drinking, moshing, dancing, and fighting. The settings feel authentic, which helps the characters in the foreground feel real and makes their sometimes awkward conversations feel even more genuine.

I’ve said before that I may find it a bit difficult to be 100% impartial with my reviews, I make no apologies for that. But, in being as objective as I can, Punch-Up is a terrific comic and is absolutely worthy of digging through its archives. Tight story telling, excellent art, and intriguing characters. 

You can find Frank and David’s Punch-Up at http://www.punch-up.net