Booklist Review

Having established his indie credentials in the neoclassic Creature Tech (2002) and coming off the winning Ghostopolis (2010) and Bad Island (2011) TenNapel introduces a strong vein of political satire in this collected edition of his webcomic. Ratfist is your classic urban superhero, struggling with the tough choice between his rat sidekick and his rat-hating fiancee when, in the midst of investigating the mysterious Simian Icthus Corporation, his soul is accidentally melded with that of a rodent. No page goes by without a heaping helping of superhero parody, groan-worthy punning, or absurdist humor all with an unusually high hilarity ratio as the narrative pulls off several genuinely surprising and thought-provoking narrative turnabouts. TenNapel knows how to support his story, too, with his rough-hewn characters that move just as nimbly through wild action as they do through the extremes of parody. He also obviously has a lot on his mind, with commentary on religion, philosophy, morality, and an extreme antiregulatory agenda that only occasionally feels labored and only slightly intrudes on the narrative.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist