Ray Smuckles, a bear wearing sunglasses with lotsa cash who lives in a mansion, hears about The Great Outdoor Fight from his mother when she visits him randomly at the start of the book. The Fight takes place outdoors and is a kind of Royal Rumble melee of 3000 men beating on each other for 3 days and the last man standing is the victor. Also much turkey and brandy is consumed on the second day. Ray hears that his long-lost father was a champion of the Fight in the early 70s and decides that he will enter the Great Outdoor Fight in 2006 and reclaim his father’s title. So he sets off with his best friend, Roast Beef (they’re all talking bears), to win the Fight. On the face of it, “Achewood” is the kind of comic book I would usually completely fall for. It’s got anthropomorphic animal characters, most of whom talk a kind of Southern hick vernacular sometimes verging into Latino gangsta territory, and they’re concerned with winning a large fisticuffs fight in a field - the setup is brilliant. Ray and Roast Beef are great characters, Ray being a bear-like Kenny Powers - who doesn’t enjoy “Eastbound and Down”? But... maybe it’s because I had high expectations after many “Achewood” fans told me it’d be hilarious, but I didn’t think it was that funny a story. The dialogue isn’t particularly witty, there are no memorable moments, and I like the two lead characters but they’re not so fantastic that they became comedic legends. The story of a fight is a bit weak and Chris Onstad’s art is very, very amateurish - I know the effect is meant to make the book funnier but it just didn’t work for me. I hear “Achewood” gets really good in later books and I’m not totally put off the series that I would never return to it but this first book hasn’t gotten me fired up to seek out the next one in a hurry. “The Great Outdoor Fight” is a somewhat interesting indie comic but maybe not the best entry point for new readers coming to the series. Completely original. Collection of online strips, now in hardcover.... a story about participation in this year's Great Outdoor Fight, and both front and end matter document this long history, with recipes from local restaurants. Some reviewers didn't find it funny. I get that. That is sort of the point, or beside the point, as this feels almost like a cult phenomenon, where people are just doubled over laughing at the lame violence and graphic jokes... and the fact that it IS so lame is the point... it's another version of outsider art. I liked it a lot, did find it unique and funny and oddly interesting.
What do You think about The Great Outdoor Fight (2008)?
me and achewood are chochachos since old times. and this book? is definitely a thing.
—nick
reading a hardbound collection of webcomics is fucking ludicrous
—frank
