This month, Slapstick takes a more cutesy turn, but that doesn't make it less dark. In fact, quite the opposite happens. It gets even more grim, but that just leads to more humor. Beware the toxic Taurs! When you combine the happy sensibilities of My Little Pony and the hive-mind-esque Smurfs, you get the Taurs. Naturally, Reilly Brown and Fred Van Lente mine this for all that it's worth, especially with almost every single Smurf being male. Taken to its logical conclusion, it turns out that Taurette, the only female Taur, hates her life. The other Taurs are obnoxious, condescending, and quite rude.
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| Yes, our world is completely perfect in that regard, HA HA HA- I need to go cry. |
Most of the issue is really just a gigantic battle between Slapstick and the Taurs. It's really creative, showing the "eclectic" Taur personalities (D.I.Y. Taur!) and how disturbingly efficient they are at forming weapons, even when they seem to be defeated. In that regard, they are very similar to the Aeslin mice in the Incryptid book series. Fortunately, he has some help from Mike and Jenny.
I never said it was particularly good help, but, to be fair, the blame is mostly on Slapstick. Also, I will never stop laughing at the line "Choke him with our dead!" I would highly recommend the issue. From start to finish, it's hilarious. I don't think I've laughed that much since the last issue. If you like your humor dark, you'll like this.
Slapstick #3 is written by Reilly Brown and Fred Van Lente, storyboarded by Reilly Brown, drawn by Diego Orlotegui, colored by Jim Campbell, and lettered by VC's Clayton Cowles. You can find it at your local comic book shop.
Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.
