Completely Pip & Norton

    (Dark Horse, 2002)
™ and © Dark Horse Comics, Inc.

A deranged descendant from The Honeymooners and The Odd Couple, this pair gets to romp in their own sandbox after doing time in Dark Horse anthologies and solicitation flyers. Originally conceived in the zine Vice, Pip and Norton traverse the gamut of barf jokes and post-modern irony in search of fleeting punch lines.

The first and main tale, “Spinning Buddha,” revolves around Pip’s obsession about acquiring a faddish toy at all costs. Perpetually broke, they embark on a series of hair-brained schemes to come up with the dough, which naturally results in profound disappointment. Another lark involves Pip’s equally inexplicable fixation with Barbra Streisand and his weird attempts to woo her.

Co-scripted by Gavin McInnes and drawn by Dave Cooper, stories starring this duo are over the top and lowbrow at the same time. Pip evolves from a striped id to an eraser-headed cousin of Bart Simpson, sans the conscience. But Norton is simply a foil wrapped up as a purple punching bag. Good for a sarcastic chuckle or two, P&N is an impish diversion for those with short attention spans.

— Oliver Chin
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