If his previous titles, Drones and Karma Police, are anything to go by, writer Chris Lewis has a penchant for humour and satire in his stories. This doesn’t look to be about to change with recent Kickstarter success Mitch Hammer: Construction Mutant #1, about a smart-mouthed construction foreman made a superhero after a freak accident. But can Lewis build on the success of his prior titles or will Mitch Hammer struggle to chisel out a place on people’s pull lists?

Publisher:
Writer: Chris Lewis
Artist: Fernando Pinto (Artist), K Michael Russell (Colourist), Nic Shaw (Letterer)
Price: $1 at kickstarter.com/projects/511329223/mitch-hammer-first-issue-for-just-1

Mitch Hammer #1 follows the eponymous lead as he runs a construction team putting the finishing touches to a new building on a university grounds just as new classes begin. However, this isn’t an average construction job for Mitch when a group of bizarre pseudo-science zealots storm the new building to confront an equally eccentric scientist working on vials of juice made from Caterpillars. Combined, these antics result in a deadly explosive which changes many in fearsome mutants while turning Mitch Hammer into a bad-ass superhero.

Mitch Hammer is an incredibly fun, colorful and zany story full of oddball comic concepts. The story itself is a simple, albeit a bizarre one, but the main draw of the this comic is the humour which justs jumps from every page. Much like with Karma Police, Chris Lewis’ sharp and witty script is packed full of light-hearted antics and colourful characters that are a joy to follow from cover to cover. Mitch Hammer has the sensibility of a subtler Deadpool book or Squirrel Girl title merged with the wacky fun of something like the original TMNT series or possibly the cult Toxic Avenger.

Of course, the artwork in this issue more than reinforces these comparisons. Fernando Pinto and K Michael Russell produce a really gorgeous style which appears to have a sort of summer like haze to the panels which helps make the book very easy on the eye. The characters too, while having been drawn with a very grounded sense (possibly with the exception of the unusual but gorgeous mutations), have nice smooth lines which adds to the warmth of the comic and really makes it look great.

If you want a gorgeous looking hilarious comic book, Mitch Hammer is the comic for you. Sure, it’s not a deep, compelling story by any means, but it is funny, gorgeous to look at and, most importantly, enjoyable from beginning to end. You can’t go far wrong with Mitch Hammer as he’ll start you off with laughs and, most probably, build your enjoyment from there.