Happy New Year everyone.

When I was your age, we had to walk FIF-TEEN MILES in the snow, uphill both ways, carrying a shield made of pure lead covered with asbestos, Just for the CHANCE to punch Der Furhrer in the face!

Before there were supervillains, there were superheroes. They protected ordinary people and ordinary values from things and people that they might otherwise be totally unable to affect, no matter how much the zietgiest might wish to. A single caped, leotarded crusader for Right and Good could fight off an army of The Enemy, burst into the stronghold, and punch whomever was behind the nefariousness right in the face.

This is one of the reasons that I think that the Iron Man movie was so well received, and it’s also one of the reasons that I like the comic Nailbat Begins, by Vinnie D. Nailbat is actually a side story (but not a subplot) which takes place in the same world as his other comic, Antibunny.

(As an important aside, it should be noted that the Nailbat story runs alongside the more frequently updated (and sometimes hard to follow, with its large cast and many separate storylines) Antibunny comic. In addition to that, the way that the archive is set up does not readily allow reading through either one continuously, but it’s worth it.)

Two types of people populate Gritty City, a primary location in the world of Antibunny and Nailbat. Humans like you or me, and rabbits. The rabbits are anthropomorphic, but they are more or less the size of, well, rabbits. This comes as a surprise from time to time, as they largely interact with themselves, for the majority of humanity has a strong dislike of rabbitkind.

Where this species-based prejudice comes up only occasionally in Antibunny, it runs rampant in Nailbat, where the lagomorphic population lives in fear as many rabbits are hurt or killed on a regular basis at the whim of the Mayor of Gritty City, who also happens to be the head of a powerful criminal organization within the city.

Through a supernatural mishap, a young rabbit named Mors is imbued with the ability to literally ‘make a difference’ in the lives of the rabbit populace. He gains the ability to sense when the lives of other rabbits are in danger, and as the life spans of rabbits (and humans involved with them) are dictated by Fate, he can intervene on their behalf to prolong or end their lives.

Mild-mannered bunny by day, blunt force trauma by night.

However, this power does not extend to him in quite the same way. When Fate calls for Mors, he will have no choice but to answer. At the same time, since he is going to die on a set day and time, he cannot die before then. Because of this, he can do heroic things, for most lethal forces simply will not kill him before his appointed time.

The comic goes on to explore the concept of what makes up a hero, the choices that a hero faces in the pursuit of heroic ideals, the need that a world has for heroes, as well as the struggle between extremes of conviction. It’s actually pretty weighty stuff for a cast of bunnies and anime-styled villains, and that is part of what makes it really stand out to me.

The artwork has issues with contrast at times- I really like the fact that the comic is in black and white (with occasional colors for emphasis), but for the most part, there are a lot of shades of gray. In some of the more complicated panels, they run together and become hard to tell apart, but the story makes up for occasional muddy panels. On the whole, it’s well thought out, and if you have any interest in the superhero genre, I highly suggest that you give Nailbat Begins a try.