Review – Super Human Resources vol. 1 (Action Lab Entertainment)

April 8, 2016

2–3 minutes

Publisher: Action Lab Entertainment
Writer: Ken Marcus
Artist: Justin Bleep
Release Date: 4th May, 2016

The premise behind Super Human Resources is, well, pretty much exactly as it sounds, and is so utterly genius that I’m shocked it hasn’t been done a dozen times already. Due to a mix-up at his temp agency, young Tim finds himself sent instead to Super Crises International, home of the world-famous Super Crises Squad, to help out in their accounts payable department. As you do.

After some initial growing pains (including being injected with a spinal inhibitor toxin by a Ninja in the waiting room who thought Tim was applying for the same “assassin” job as him), he quickly becomes a well-liked member of the team, although he just can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right in the company – aside from the usual super-heroic shenanigans, that is. Mixing relatable office humour with over-the-top superhero excess is a brilliant idea, and while this first volume is essentially four issues of non-stop gags framed around a somewhat flimsy plot, it just flat-out works.

The characters that writer Ken Marcus has created here are so inspired that I found myself constantly reconsidering who my “favourite” was on almost a page by page basis over the course of this first volume. Some highlights include; Roger, Tim’s accounts supervisor who gradually becomes more and more comically evil over the course of the four issues; Manboto 3.4, the robot warrior who really isn’t absorbing the message of these “sexual harassment in the workplace” seminars; and Batman analogue “The Wombat”, whose appearance on ‘To Catch A Predator’ caused some serious problems for the SCI, and who continually tries to recruit Tim as his sidekick, dubbing him “Thrush”.

Seriously, there’s absolute comedy genius on pretty much every page here, and that’s without even mentioning the other six or seven equally hilarious members of the team, including a “stoner” Swamp Thing riff called Bog and Doctor Exx, an extra-terrestrial hero who discovers, much to his dismay, that his clones don’t qualify as dependents under the company’s medical plan. Perhaps the funniest running joke throughout the this volume however is the company photocopier, which achieves sentience and gradually recruits the other nearby items of office equipment (fax machine, coffee maker) in his plot to overthrow humanity.

The highly stylized, gloriously cartoony artwork comes courtesy of the brilliantly-named Justin Bleep, and while there is a definite simplicity to his style, it works perfectly alongside such an over-the-top premise. His colours are bright and bold, and the members of Super Crises International are all impressively distinctive, even if their “inspirations” are intentionally obvious.

Coming across like a glorious mash-up of Dilbert and the Justice League, Super Human Resources is probably the funniest comic I’ve read in quite some time, and feels like one of the best Adult Swim cartoons that hasn’t been made yet. And, with the first issue of the second volume set for release in the very near future, now is the perfect time to pick this one up. You can thank me later.

Rating: 4.5/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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