Weapon Brown

(Death Ray, 2003)
™ and © Death Ray Graphics

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Yungbluth’s Deep Fried was Weapon Brown, the tale of a round-headed kid who grows up to be a cyborg soldier in a post-nuke world, accompanied by his weird dog. The four-part “A Peanut Scorned” is now collected in one issue, backed-up by “A Weapon Brown Christmas.”

All of our favorite Peanuts elements are darkly represented, from carnivorous kite-eating trees and cybernetic security blankets to the monstrous Great Pumpkin. The art is inconsistent in places, but the caricatures are generally recognizable and fun. What Yungbluth does with the characters is outrageous but appropriate for each one’s personality. (Patty and Marcie, in particular, exude Yungbluth’s wicked wit.)

The Christmas backup is weaker than the main feature. It really contributes nothing to the issue.

Weapon Brown is a consistently clever parody, but it is a one-joke premise. It stands firmly as a parody, but not as a story in its own right. If seeing Peanuts characters as adults in an apocalyptic setting doesn’t interest you, well, that’s all that’s here.

— Jack Abramowitz

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