The human race will shortly be in the fight for its life.

According to cartoonist Ethan Nicolle, however, that fight won’t be against zombies, aliens, or robots. Nope; the popular web cartoonist has decided that we’ll go head to head against mutant grizzly bears. In his newest series, “Bearmageddon”, which has been up since August 1st and updates biweekly, he details this cross-species struggle.

You might be familiar with another comic Nicolle has illustrated, “Axe Cop”, the absurdist webcomic written by his five-year-old brother. In “Bearmageddon”, Nicolle takes total creative control, showing us that he has some off-the-wall ideas of his own. Noah Maas, a prolific digital artist, colors the pages, and it must be said that they’re beautifully done indeed.

The comic starts with a giant  “something” plugging the sewer. On the second page we see what it is: the most uncomfortably detailed dead bear-octopus ever drawn. Nicolle tells us in the mouseover text to “Imagine the smell of wet dog, rotten tuna, and swamp dung”. It’s hard to find a page in comics so beautiful and yet so disgusting at the same time. Meanwhile, Joel Morely works under his evil boss at “Wow Mart” with Gogs, a hardcore wannabe who wants to know whether a gorilla or a bear would win in a fight. Although Joel seems like a strong, relatable protagonist, the character of Gogs is a bit weaker. His macho attitude and scrawny figure annoy more than delight.  However, there’s a lot of room for him to grow and evolve, and because the comic has just started, there is a good chance this will happen.

All that plus a video game where you can “suplex an elk”, an energetic younger brother, and a bear who robotically speaks “I desire honey” make for an interesting ride during these first 12 pages, and while there are some flaws, it’s definitely an entertaining read.

One thing slightly disappointing about the comic is a sense of stiffness felt from the character art. It might be that the pages are digitally drawn, or just Nicolle’s art style, but the characters don’t seem quite “organic”. This trend has appeared in a few webcomics lately, and, hopefully, it won’t become the norm. Another thing not quite there is the humor, as although there are some moments that draw a laugh –a chase scene involving Chuckles the dog for instance– most of the jokes are fairly hit and miss. However, it is obvious that the main draw of the comic will be the war between the bears and humans, and any major judgments will be held off until that is well under way.  From the looks of the bears, it will definitely be worth following.

Until then, watch out for mutant grizzlies.