3 out of 5

Some ambitious artwork and a worthwhile new plot tweak help to add some oomph back into Mike Norton’s fantasy comedy, Battlepug.

While volume 1‘s simple oddities make it a rewarding read, volume 2 didn’t add much to the mix beyond a few more characters, otherwise just kinda chilling in good will and assuming that funny archetypes would be interesting enough.

Volume 3 rightfully adds some actual lore to the mix – some in-world logic regarding magic – and shakes things up with some other-dimensional exploration, which gives Norton the chance to go pretty trippy on some pages and try some fresh paneling.  There are also some successful gags that just happen, without drawing attention to them, which works best for a strip where the foreground elements are already pretty absurd.

Nothing too mind-blowing, but enough good stuff happens here to differentiate Battlepug from its peers, dribbling in some notes of interest that will lead us into the next volume…