REVIEW: 'Space Bastards' #3 by Eric Peterson, Joe Aubrey, Darick Robertson, and Diego Rodriguez

 Manicorn's day off!

"Nobody beats the Manicorn. NOBODY." Trouble is, Davey Proton didn't get the message, and Manny is out to get him. When exacting his vengeance gets Manny suspended from the Intergalactic Postal Service, there's nothing to do but head to the bar. Meanwhile, Resurrection Mary tries to help Proton, but she runs afoul of Leroy Palestine in the process. All that plus the sensation character find of 2021: Zordakk!

SPACE BASTARDS #3

Story: Eric Peterson, Joe Aubrey 

Art: Darick Robertson

Color: Diego Rodriguez 

Letterer: Simon Bowland

Publisher: Humanoids Publishing

Release Date: March 10, 2021

Cover Price: $4.99

Score:

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Whew! What a ride! 'Space Bastard's #3 is what happens when Michael Bay and Roger Corman have a baby and all hell breaks loose. Manicorn is on a rampage to destroy Davey Proton resulting in a wall-to-wall page burner with all the over-the-top violence and mayhem we've come to expect from Eric Peterson, Joe Aubrey, Darick Robertson, and Diego Rodriguez. 

Feeling ripped off and betrayed, Manicorn is obsessed with making Proton pay for his treachery. Unsurprising, Manicorn goes to extremes to get his point across to Proton and whoever else is in the vicinity that he does not lose. His act of vengeance crosses the line and earns him a 24-hour suspension from the Intergalactic Postal Service. Despite being given some advice to relax and enjoy his time off, Manicorn just stews until an opportunity arises that sends him on a tear across land and space. Peterson and Aubrey let loose a man on fire in a wave of destruction that's impressive even by comic book standards. 

The issue also introduces us to Zordakk, a green alien with a penchant for brothels and big guns. Imagine Baby Yoda as a fully-grown foul-mouthed horndog. Not as kid-friendly but certainly cuddly. Sort of. Anyway, you don't really read a comic like this you simply experience it and take in one eye-popping event after another. Darick Robertson and Diego Rodriguez have a literal blast blowing up stuff, tearing limbs apart in one long bloody race across the universe. The art realizes the writers' demented imagination in all its chaotic glory. 

'Space Bastards' is a roller coaster ride through a funhouse that's engulfed in fire. It's an ultraviolent intergalactic space romp that gets your adrenaline going and your heart racing. You won't believe what you're reading and that's why this is the sci-fi escapist fantasy that it is. I just don't know how the creative crew is going to top itself month after month.