Review of Frogman Trilogy Graphic Novel
Reading time: 2 minutes
Frogman (Freddy) is an inept super frog who has a love of boobs. The comic skits several superhero clichés and puts a dark often adults twist on them with a Deadpool style breaking of the forth wall. The main issue of the book I felt is worth getting out the way first, the price. At £10 for just under 90 pages in black and white it’s more expensive than many mainstream graphic novels per page. But this is due to the high printing costs which means this book would cost around £6 to print (hence why they did a kick-starter for initial run) then you have stall costs and it leaves a small mark-up which is shared between several people (at least artists and writer). Therefore it’s normal to pay so much for a smallish B&W graphic novel from an independent publisher. However the lack of colour means there’s greater emphasis on the art as the dpi will be higher.
Thankfully Frogman doesn’t disappoint with three different artists each provides a clear picture so there’s no confusion and despite the difference in art styles with Matt Finch’s art being more basic 60s style comics compared to the detail in the others you can easily recognise the recurring characters. There are plenty of memorable panels in each story where the artists were given free rein to showcase their ability including a parody of the Spider-Man No More image in issue 1, Frogman in bed with a porno magazine in issue 2 and Frogman facing his enemy the undead squirrel in issue 3. The stories all work individually but there’s several references throughout the series like the hooker from issue 1 and the squirrel from issue 2. The plots mix surreal, horror and comedy in the best possible way think of a more adult Scott Pilgrim and you wouldn’t be far wrong. This ridiculousness leads to some continuity issues like Freddy being replaced in issue 3 and nobody spotting the difference. But apart from that the comedy works most of the time particularly the fight scene where the squirrel avoids all of Frogman’s best shots with the sound effects saying miss, almost etc. Freddy is a relatable down on his look character and even when he makes mistakes which leads to the media saying he causes more crimes then he stops you still feel for him.
Overall this comic has some bizarre stories which are well drawn focusing on a relatable character with a mixture of every genre. I would recommend this comic to anyone into superhero parodies but wants a more adult take on them.
Support Us
Enjoyed this article?
Supporting us on Ko-fi helps keep Comic Book News UK running and lets us continue championing indie comic creators across the UK. Every contribution makes a real difference.
100% goes towards supporting indie creators
