Brunswick and Bogdanovic manage to tie up Reality Check reasonably well. I went into this issue thinking it was a five issue series, not four, so when things started wrapping up about halfway through… well, it was a little confusing. Especially since Brunswick brings in this whole relationship between the comic book hero and villain about their being stuck in the real world together and so on.

He might have been able to get a six issue series out of this story if he’d had a good editor. There are a lot of ideas introduced this issue Brunswick never brought up before. Everything ends a little too neatly, but he’s going on the fumes of likable characters so it works out.

Except Check is a slight amusement instead of something significant. Until this issue, with the contrivances, I didn’t even realize it had greater potential. Still, it’s decent; decent’s good.

B- 

CREDITS

Writer, Glen Brunswick; artist, Viktor Bogdanovic; colorist, Paul Little; letterer, Rus Wooton; publisher, Image Comics.

Reality Check is no longer funny. Brunswick is instead going for depressing. Only Bogdanovic doesn’t change his style at all, so the comic keeps looking like it could be funny–except maybe the green zombies–but it’s never funny again. It just gets more and more depressing.

There’s a lot about the protagonist’s bad family life, both in flashback and then when he goes to see his estranged mother. Over and over Brunswick is reminding the reader at the protagonist’s sorrow.

And where’s the superhero from another dimension? He’s out on a date with the lead’s ex-girlfriend who he pushed away while going through a bad spot. Brunswick can’t make it believable the lead would have a girlfriend, not even back when he was less lonely.

There’s some banter between the lead and the superhero. Not particularly good, but Brunswick at least tries. Shame he doesn’t with the rest.

C- 

CREDITS

Writer, Glen Brunswick; artist, Viktor Bogdanovic; colorist, Paul Little; letterer, Rus Wooton; publisher, Image Comics.

I have a hard time… respecting Reality Check. This issue reveals the Batman stand-in is just sexually frustrated and that frustration is why he’s broken out of the comic book world into the real world.

In other words, Brunswick isn’t going for high brow. He’s not going for lots of laughs either. He’s trying to combination get a smile and go for the heartstrings. The villain is apparently some obnoxious white DJ who stole the protagonist’s college girlfriend. To make matters worse, the Batman guy likes her too. And won’t go back to the comic books until the protagonist helps him score.

Check is sort of the comic one would expect from Kevin Smith, actually.

Bogdanovic’s art works pretty well. There’s an exceptionally lengthy action sequence with lots of talking for the first third of the comic and Bogdanovic sells it.

The comic remains strangely compelling. Brunswick’s plain affable.

CREDITS

Writer, Glen Brunswick; artist, Viktor Bogdanovic; colorist, Paul Little; letterer, Rus Wooton; publisher, Image Comics

Reality Check is a strange one, simply because it’s so mired in not just comic fandom–complete with the protagonist recounting dressing up as Batman and Robin as a kid–but also the comics industry. The protagonist has grown up to become an aspiring comic book creator.

The first issue involves him finally hitting it big. He’s got a Batman knockoff who’s unlucky in love and wears around a costume very similar to Red Robin, with a mix of the John K. Snyder Doctor Mid-Nite. The art’s okay–Viktor Bogdonavic plays up the humor aspects quite well–and writer Glen Brunswick definitely engages the protagonist’s sadness.

Shame it’s exceptionally misogynistic. There are five female characters and all of them are awful in one way or another. Brunswick tries to rationalize a few with–they’re would-be Hollywood starlets, they must be awful.

It’s oddly still worth a look though.

CREDITS

Writer, Glen Brunswick; artist, Viktor Bogdanovic; colorist, Paul Little; letterer, Rus Wooton; publisher, Image Comics.