3. Ruxby’s Struggle for Justice
The opening pages of Yarns from Toyburg paints Ruxby Bear as a naive do-gooder, but by the final page of All Stitched Up, Ruxby is a beaten, broken little soul. Picture him as Jim Gordon without a Batman. The more he tries to solve the dastardly crimes being committed in Toyburg, the more treachery and deceit he uncovers from every corner.
Very quickly, you do find yourself rooting for Ruxby, as it becomes rapidly apparent that he’s one of the very few good guys in Torsobear. Additionally, Torsobear‘s all-encompassing scope shows that Ruxby’s fight for justice is’nt a fight in vein. Throughout both volumes, and who knows what volume three may entail, we see a world full of individuals struggling to survive, and that individuality radiates on Ruxby as much as the vast array of other characters who populate this world. Ruxby may be the only decent teddy bear in all of Toyburg, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make a difference.
2. The Subversiveness
In all three of my Torsobear reviews, I bang on about how subversive Torsobear is to the point where the word just sounds weird in my mouth. Torsobear has a glorious Monty Python-esque sense of taking the ordinary and creating something extraordinary. As mentioned, the appeal in Torsobear begins with the artwork. The toys brought to life aspect is the blood that runs through the veins of Torsobear, and it’s all given a subtle, menacing feel.
The narration as well has a dreamy, nursery rhyme rhythm to it, but the stories it carries are gruesome and Devilish stuff. It’s a testament to Uren as an editor that the end result feels unified and clear-minded, as though everyone involved is working towards perfecting this dark reality to the best of their abilities.
1. You’re Helping the Indie Comic Scene Thrive
For all the love to be found for Torsobear, it hasn’t been plain sailing. The initial Kickstarter for All Stitched Up failed to reach its target of £13,500, but another attempt for a far more modest budget of £3,000 was successfully achieved. In an accompanying video for the first Kickstarter, Uren explained that the five figure budget was set in order to pay the contributing writers and artists a substantial amount of money. Whatever the reason for All Stitched Up‘s initial stumble was, cutting the budget by a whopping £10,000 feels a rather drastic move.
In the two yearss I’ve been with AP2HYC, the majority of comics we cover have been funded through Kickstarter. Some have met with great success, others not so, and the successes and failures of writers/artists raising funds to bring their creations to life cannot be put down to just any one reason. And even if a comic is successful on Kickstarter, its story doesn’t end there. Buying a copy of Torsobear means you’re supporting a creative endeavour that’s full of originality, care, and all-round awesomeness.
Of course, once could apply this last reason to any number of indie titles we’ve supported on AP2HYC over the years! But Torsobear is more than just another fish in the sea. It’s a supergroup of talent from across the U.K.’s independent comic book scene, as well as being a damn fine saga in its own right.
Have you read either volumes of Torsobear? What did you make of them? Let us know in the comments section below or send us a Tweet! And why not check out our interview with Uren about All Stitched Up here?
