3 out of 5

Weird, weird weird.  I don’t think I can recommend Brawl as a cold experience.  You might like weird stuff, but even with that attribute locked in, the stories here – Immortal by Haspiel and Panorama by Fiffe, split into three parts, one per issue – are incomplete, having, I believe, sections before and after appearing on webcomic portal ACT-I-VATE.  Why choose an interstitial story instead of something new reader friendly?  I’m not really sure.  The result is that Dogma – about two super strong lovers having a “woo war” and inadvertently waking an ancient god – doesn’t really fall into place until the last part, which has an awesome zombies vs. naked heroes battle – and Panorama shambles from incoherent to slightly linear back to incoherent.  I’m not even sure I’d have any grasp on the gist of mutating teen Augustus’ travels to the city of Copra and the girl troubles that plague him along the way if not for the summary blurbs at the beginning of the issues.

So how, in my right mind, am I giving this three stars?  …Because I doubt you’re reading these as a cold experience.  You’re here because one of these two guys has captured your interest, either at ACT-I-VATE or elsewhere, and their contributions here, at least artistically, don’t disappoint.  Haspiel’s Kirby-esque work slides across the page, and Fiffe’s amped-up Ditko style is allowed room to go full-on surreal, much to the appreciation of my Fiffe-lovin’ eyes.  While I think Haspiel’s strip is somewhat along the lines of the hero stuff he explores, Fiffe’s work – though tied, perhaps, to the more ‘human’ plotting style of Zegas – is way out there, so it’s interesting to see him try his hand at something quite different.

Art-wise, worth it.  Story-wise, ’tis a tough call, but you’re probably best doing a primer on ACT-I-VATE first, and not expecting the most coherent things to emerge from this mini.