Scud: The Disposable Assassin - Heavy 3PO Review

Alright, I'm reviewing another comic that has nothing to do with superheroes or supervillains. So let's dive in.

Scud: The Disposable Assassin is a 1994 sci-fi comedy comic first published by Fireman Press before Image Comics started publishing reprints. Heavy 3PO collects the first four issues which were written by Rob Schrad, Mondy Carter, and Dan Harmon with Schrad providing the art.

The story is, Scud is a robot assassin people can buy from vending machines and complete any task you want them to. One Scud model was bought to kill a mutant named Jeff but during this mission he finds a sticker that says once he completes his mission he'll be forced to self-destruct, ensuring his survival he wounds Jeff which puts Jeff on life support. Now Scud must take a series of hit jobs to make sure both him and Jeff stay alive.

• Negatives

I don't have anything to say. So just move onto the next part.

• Mix

There's two slight issues. One of them being the writing. Now the concept is really good and there's a lot of crazy stuff. Like how Jeff is a mutant with a plug for a head and mouse traps for hands, zombie dinosaurs, and robots that basically combine into a Megazord. There's also a lot of comedy from things ranging from rapid fire dialogue to dark comedy to some gross out moments. It's ridiculousness in the best way. But sometimes it does feel like we just jump around from place to place with no connective tissue. For instance, issues two and three have Scud caught up in a prison break arc then by issue four we're right in the middle of Scud working with some mobsters with absolutely no set up or explanation. I get this is shooting for more of a "fly by the seat of its pants", but a little info doesn't hurt.

The next aspect is Rob Schrad's art. Now Schard's art isn't by any means bad. It has a very fun and kinetic energy to it. So it's never boring. However the layouts could've used some work. Sometimes the layouts are hard to follow. There were times when I had to pause for a brief moment to understand what was going on and what dialogue connected to what someone said to another character.

• Positives

One true praise I can give is the pacing. This is an easy read to get through. I was able to read all four of these issues in under an hour.

While I had some issues I think this is one of those moments where the good outweighs the bad.

My final rating is, Good.

Okay, that's gonna do it for me. Come back on Saturday, Jun 20th, for my review of Toy Story 5. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.