Maybe it’s pointless to wonder what exactly goes on inside Axe Cop’s mind. With all of the bizarre and mind boggling situations he finds himself in, one would think the pressure would inevitably get to him, but no. The rules of his universe are forever in flux, and he sees no need to question much of anything happening around him. That’s actually a major part of his appeal, as well as for his comic.
Axe Cop is written by Malachai Nicolle, who was five at the time of the strip’s conception, and penciled by his older brother Ethan. Malachai throws out ideas for Axe Cop’s exploits with the sort of unfiltered creativity and abandon only someone as young as him could, so as a result our title hero becomes Axe Cop simply by walking into an empty police station, changing into a uniform and considering fighting crime with an axe to be more honorable than a gun.
His allies include Flute Cop, who battles villains with the same item as his first name. Sometimes Flute Cop is retconned into either the Dinosaur Soldier or the Avacado Soldier, depending on where Malachai wants to take the story.
There’s also Sockarang, who has socks for arms and Lobster-Man, who has lobster claws yet the body of a dog, and together they help him battle foes such as Telescope Gun Cop, aliens, giant robots, giant robot zombies, a monster who proclaims himself the King Of All Bad Guys, evil cats and the Vampire Man Baby Kid. The first time I saw Chicken Head, I laughed until my sides literally hurt.
No matter how weird his adventures get, Axe maintains his bullheaded and justice seeking personality, making him into a fun if accidental straight man. Whatever the situation calls on for him to do in order to apprehend the villains, he’ll step up to the task. In that sense, he and much of the cast operate like action figures, they’re literally the author’s toys.
Still. Axe Cop isn’t meant to be a comic about nuanced characters with depth, but rather a raw expression of a child’s animation. At the risk of reading too deep into it, some of the plot twists almost feel like modern art in how uncoerced they are.
Ethan Nicolle is just as clever as Malachai when it comes to his illustrations. Whatever off-the-wall character or scene his younger brother comes up with, he’s able to give it a creative design or layout and put it to paper without much trouble.
If, say, Malachai wants to have a dinosaur wield a gun that shoots tornados and unicorns at a giant robot zombie, Ethan captures it perfectly. His faces and anatomy are notably cartoonish but well rendered, and everything is nicely detailed. Axe wisely goes the Judge Dredd route and never takes off his sunglasses, but he’s still a very emotive protagonist you can root for.
Ok, now I want a Die By The Power Of Dying t-shirt. That sounds like the name of the best band ever.
Having seen only one episode of the Axe Cop animated series before getting into the strip, I can’t say I’m surprised it found such a large audience, so I’ll definitely be seeking out more from this franchise. The two Nicolle brothers are conducting a very fun experiment, one I think is worth a look. Not only is it fascinating how their ideas seem to literally spill onto their pages, it’s also exciting, simultaneously subversive and witty yet utterly insane, and just plain funny. If you haven’t already, check it out here.