Toxic Teddies

Plot

This would have been right at home amongst the mid-’80s independent comics glut, but this better-than-average effort would have been lost amid all of that era’s garbage. Not that it isn’t lost amid today’s glut of comics but, ironically, it stands out almost as a tribute, 20 years later, to gems like Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or James Dean Smith’s Boris the Bear.

The toxic teddies, of course, are the byproduct of a toxic-waste spill that occurs at a teddy-bear factory. And these sick, depraved, and not-so-cuddly bears take on the personalities of other, well-known, and not-so-cuddly pop-culture figures, among them Jason and Leatherface. And, of course, their first story involves a merciless hunt for none other than a seemingly harmless unicorn.

Strangely enough, Steve Ruddy and Brian Ferrara’s pleasantly twisted story is oddly complemented by Rolo Ledesma’s deceptively innocent-looking art; innocent-looking, at least, until one of these teddies shows its true nature or brandishes its weapons. This is one sick and vile comic—and we wouldn’t want it any other way.