Man vs. Rock: Volume 1

Written by: Gary M. Kenny, CC2K Comics Editor

I can honestly state that Man vs. Rock is one of the dumbest, way over the top, comics I’ve ever read. However stating that, the teenager in me couldn’t get enough; I’m still intrigued. This parody of every low budget action flick is loaded with college jock humor. It’s filled with drawings of well endowed women, blasphemes humor, racy jokes, and a leading male character that would make Bruce Campbell’s Ash character from the Evil Dead trilogy turn his head and say “bro, chill out.” It’s a story about, get this: man vs. rock, not alien rocks, not rock music, but earth rocks (Sedimentary , Igneous, and Metamorphic).

Man vs. Rock: Volume 1
Writers: Victor DeTroy and Kevin Bieber
Artist: Jared Lamp

The graphic starts with a story about an average caveman having intercourse with a well endowed cavewoman. Along comes a bigger caveman who beats up the average caveman in order to have sex with the cavewoman. The average caveman retaliates by killing the bigger caveman with a rock. It then flashes to Egypt where a task master is conversing with pyramid building slaves (making similar jokes found in a Mel Brooks film) only to be more distraught because the rocks are refusing to work. The graphic is layered with humor stating how bad of a relationship we have with rocks, foreshadowing the retaliation and war of the rocks. Half way through the comic we meet Professor Buck Stone. An Indiana Jones type, who’s loud and obnoxious and has a serious hatred for rocks. Stone predicts the day where the rocks will retaliate and man will go to war with them. The book ends with the notion that the rocks are coming.

Man vs. Rock is the type of absurd humor you would find on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. It’s not child friendly but it is a fun quirky story that most will laugh with. Victor DeTroy and Kevin Bieber nailed the script with their shock jock direction and bizarre premise of how rocks will take over and kill us all. There is a scene of an American soldier water boarding a rock (to find Osama bin Laden) that made me laugh out loud (this demonstrates how much the rocks have hated us). It’s definitely an original idea on terms of who the bad guy is, but it’s still an action movie parody. Hm, when’s the last time you’ve read a funny action movie parody comic?

The real star of this book is Jared Lamp, he reminds me of a young Ron Frenz (Spider-Man, Thor) crossed with Frank Miller (300, Daredevil) . The faces of these characters are top notch, very animated and unique. It’s hard to hide imperfections in black and white art and he incorporated his pencil marks into the flow of the artwork. Did he draw ridiculousness, yes, did he draw boobies in immense size, yes he did, now I can’t wait to see how he draws rocks killing everyone.

Man vs. Rock is dumb, but the good kind similar that of how Dumb and Dumber is both the best and dumbest movie. You will laugh for the sheer fact that it’s so absurd, the dialogue keeps you glued to the book and by the time you are done reading it, you’ll ask “where the rest?” Well you can pick up Volume 2 out now, and just like a rolling stone Volume 3 is coming….