Galactic Rodents of Mayhem #1

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  Dec 31, 2021

  The introduction to GROM (Galactic Rodents of Mayhem) states that the biggest influence on the project was Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These are two of my favorite franchises and what immediately sold me on the Indiegogo campaign. In an age of constant reboots, rehashes and rip-offs, GROM represents something new but also pulls many elements from the cartoons we grew up watching in the '80s and 90s. Off-hand I can remember several cartoons that capitalized on the TMNT format. There are Street Sharks; Biker Mice from Mars; and Stone Protectors to name a few. The influences of TMNT pervade this title but it never veers into parody or rip-off territory. In fact, Galactic Rodents of Mayhem is the first take on the formul a that I've seen work since the 90s. It's clear that Gilly & Sebastian love this era. They are also great creators in their own right and that goes a long way in establishing GROM as more than Ninja Turtles with Capybaras as stand-ins. The main characters of GROM are Bash, Ripple, and Mona-Lisa. The capybaras are joined by their Mentor/Father Figure Gan-Gon. The story opens with a brief but impactful original story. As Children, the mother of the Capybara's is killed in a bounty gone wrong. To atone for the mishap Gan takes the children and raises them as his own. The book then jumps to the present. The team has become bounty hunters themselves now calling themselves the Galactic Rodents of Mayhem. There are several nods and Easter egg's that I noticed in the comic. TMNT is obvious but I also noticed cameo's from newer franchises like Tim Lim and Mark Pellegrini's Black H.O.P.S. I'm not as plugged into pop culture nowadays as I used to be, but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of details I may have missed going on in the background. The villains of GROM are appropriately relentless, grandiose, and badass. We get evil cybernetic sharks, snake-men, and even an evil emperor of shorts in the wings of the story. A lot of thought went into these characters and their designs so there's always something cool to look at on the page. Another thing I'd like to call out is that if GROM was an animated series back in the day, the toy line would have been awesome. The Konami arcade game would have probably been just as epic. The comic works on a pretty basic level when it comes to marketing and I feel like Gilly may have been born in the wrong era because the material here connects so well to what's come before. I remember the Indiegogo campaign for GROM being somewhat late and some chatter about Gilly crapping on his supporters by having the comic published by Scout. I understand the concern but these campaigns are start-up operations for most creators. Making money and getting as many eyes on a project as possible shouldn't be seen as a negative. These creators always have room to grow but Gilly has fulfilled several campaigns now is also selling in comic shops. I think he and his team are a solid bet. It is also worth pointing out that the crowdfunded version of Galactic Rodents of Mayhem is presented in an amazing oversized format and contains over 100 pages of content. Sebastian's art pops on every page and you're getting a complete story. There's obvious franchise potential in GROM but it's not like the creative team is releasing this story half-assed while baiting a sequel or event. In Short: Galactic Rodents of Mayhem is a beautiful comic and harkens back to simpler times while delivering something new for the young and young at heart. more

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