Axe Cop
Encyclopedia
Axe Cop is a webcomic
by brothers Malachai Nicolle (age 5 when the series began, now age 7) and Ethan Nicolle
(age 29 when the series began). Malachai is responsible for the ideas and stories, while Ethan turns them into comics. The first four comics were drawn in December 2009 and posted to Facebook
; the website was not launched until January 2010.
The site also features Ask Axe Cop, a series of comics where Axe Cop responds to questions from readers.
The webcomic has been highly praised, leading to a publishing deal with Dark Horse Comics
for both a limited online and print run.
Axe Cop is nominally set in the present day, enlivened with dinosaurs, zombies, robots, etc., and with a propensity to feature whatever topic happens to be holding the writer's attention, such as sea creatures, brains, and especially babies. Little effort is made to keep track of backstories, powers, and equipment. This is not to say that the comic is entirely chaotic: the main characters and their relationships stay consistent, there are persistent world-building elements (most notably the shape-shifting properties of being splattered with blood), and a number of powers and items recur (e.g. the hypnotize button on Axe Cop's wrist has not been mentioned again, but the robot arms in his mustache are explained.)
when he got the idea to write Axe Cop. The idea arose when Ethan was playing pretend with his brother, who invented the Axe Cop persona. At the time, the elder Nicolle was working on a graphic novel that he wanted to release as a webcomic, and he intended to use Axe Cop as a way of practicing the medium.
listed the comic as their "Site of the Day" on January 28, 2010. In her review, Margaret Lyons described it as "all kinds of silly fun" and asked, "Are we looking at the next great comic franchise?" Detroit News said in their review, "'Axe Cop' is a hoot." GQ named the comic their "Time Waster of the Day" on February 4, 2010.
In response to the success of the online comic, Nicolle was approached by several comic publishers to print an Axe Cop series. With help of the Gotham Entertainment Group
, Nicolle found that both he and Dark Horse had the same level of interest in the publishing deal, and accepted their offer. Dark Horse published an ashcan copy
of Axe Cop for the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, which included the first five episodes of the web comic and some of the "Ask Axe Cop" strips. Dark Horse published the 3-issue Axe Cop miniseries "Bad Guy Earth" in the second quarter of 2011.
are collecting the comics into individual volumes
:
' "Munchkin
" featuring Axe Cop, with art drawn by Ethan.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
by brothers Malachai Nicolle (age 5 when the series began, now age 7) and Ethan Nicolle
Ethan Nicolle
Ethan Nicolle is an American comic book creator, artist, and writer. He created the Slave Labor Graphics comic Chumble Spuzz which has been released as two graphic novels so far...
(age 29 when the series began). Malachai is responsible for the ideas and stories, while Ethan turns them into comics. The first four comics were drawn in December 2009 and posted to Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
; the website was not launched until January 2010.
The site also features Ask Axe Cop, a series of comics where Axe Cop responds to questions from readers.
The webcomic has been highly praised, leading to a publishing deal with Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
for both a limited online and print run.
Synopsis
Axe Cop is about the adventures of a police officer who prefers to wield an axe in battle. He's a gruff, tough man dedicated to killing bad guys. The comic focuses on the times he's called away from the daily grind to help with more complex problems, such as rescuing a child from a zombie dog woman, helping Bat Warthog Man find his friends, or babysitting. This generally involves fighting bad guys from other planets. Axe Cop has gathered a loyal team. His first ally is Flute Cop, who goes on to become Dinosaur Soldier and various other things.Axe Cop is nominally set in the present day, enlivened with dinosaurs, zombies, robots, etc., and with a propensity to feature whatever topic happens to be holding the writer's attention, such as sea creatures, brains, and especially babies. Little effort is made to keep track of backstories, powers, and equipment. This is not to say that the comic is entirely chaotic: the main characters and their relationships stay consistent, there are persistent world-building elements (most notably the shape-shifting properties of being splattered with blood), and a number of powers and items recur (e.g. the hypnotize button on Axe Cop's wrist has not been mentioned again, but the robot arms in his mustache are explained.)
Background
Ethan Nicolle was already fairly well known for his critically acclaimed graphic novel Chumble SpuzzChumble Spuzz
Chumble Spuzz is a comic book series created, written and illustrated by Ethan "Eef" Nicolle, and published by Slave Labor Graphics. The series started in January 2008 with the first volume entitled "Kill the Devil"...
when he got the idea to write Axe Cop. The idea arose when Ethan was playing pretend with his brother, who invented the Axe Cop persona. At the time, the elder Nicolle was working on a graphic novel that he wanted to release as a webcomic, and he intended to use Axe Cop as a way of practicing the medium.
Characters
- Axe Cop: The main character. He is a police officer who finds a fireman's axe and uses it when fighting crime. Married to his job, he works the always shift by sleeping for only two minutes. At night he wears a black cat suit and kills bad guys in their sleep. His battle cry is "I will chop your head off!" When faced with a challenge, he will hold "try outs" to build a team.
- Flute Cop: Axe Cop's first partner. Spilled dinosaur blood turns him into "Dinosaur Soldier". An avocado and Uni-Baby's misplaced horn turn him into Uni-Avocado Soldier. He returns to being Flute Cop, only to become Ghost Cop (thanks to a wish by Axe Cop), DragDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
-TriTriceratopsTriceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
-Ghostacops Rex, and Viking Cop. He's generally depicted as Dinosaur Soldier. - Uni-Baby: A baby with a unicorn horn; she grants wishes. Her father is Uni-Man.
- Uni-Man: Father to Uni-Baby. Uniman can also grant wishes, though he doubles as Axe Cop's equipment specialist as he's a brilliant scientist.
- Sockarang: A member of Axe Cop's team, and Axe Cop's best friend. He has socks for arms that he can throw as boomerangs. He later acquires the powers of Christmas after getting Bad Santa's blood on him. He's in a relationship with the Best Fairy Ever.
- Wexter: Axe Cop's pet T-Rex. He has gatling guns for arms, breathes fire, and can fly. He also has a "super duper fast bite". He feeds on people trespassing on Axe Cop's property. Wexter gained the ability to turn into a dragon-T-Rex with robot wings in order to travel to Zombie World.
- Telescope Gun Cop: A recurring villain. Angered by Axe Cop's rejection during a team try out, he turns evil. He travels back in time and kills Axe Cop's parents. His weapon is a gun with a telescoping barrel, so he can always shoot bad guys in the face.
- Ninja Moon Warriors: Named Vampire Wolfer and Fire Slicer, they are allies of Axe Cop who live on the moon. They hunt down "Vampire Man Baby Kid". They have turned down world peace in exchange for new uniforms. They were eaten by the God of All Bears.
- Ralph Wrinkles: Axe Cop's dog. Ralph originally belonged to the Snoward family, but was given to Axe Cop as thanks for saving their family. Ralph gained the ability to talk, and later acquired numerous other powers like healing lazers.
- Best Fairy Ever: The only girl allowed on Axe Cop's team. She carries poison shrink spray and poison giant spray, and can use her small size to attack bad guys from within.
- Dr. McNinja: Starting on July 26th, 2010, Dr. McNinja and Axe Cop teamed up for a two week event.
- Doctor StinkyHead: Impostering as Sockarang, he made a fell attempt at Axe Cop's head.
Critical reception
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
listed the comic as their "Site of the Day" on January 28, 2010. In her review, Margaret Lyons described it as "all kinds of silly fun" and asked, "Are we looking at the next great comic franchise?" Detroit News said in their review, "'Axe Cop' is a hoot." GQ named the comic their "Time Waster of the Day" on February 4, 2010.
In response to the success of the online comic, Nicolle was approached by several comic publishers to print an Axe Cop series. With help of the Gotham Entertainment Group
Gotham Entertainment Group
Gotham Entertainment Group LLC is a US based company established in 1997 to establish a leadership position in the Indian comic magazine and children's book market...
, Nicolle found that both he and Dark Horse had the same level of interest in the publishing deal, and accepted their offer. Dark Horse published an ashcan copy
Ashcan copy
An ashcan copy is a term that originated in the Golden Age of Comic Books, meant to describe a publication produced solely for legal purposes , and not normally intended for distribution.-Origins:...
of Axe Cop for the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, which included the first five episodes of the web comic and some of the "Ask Axe Cop" strips. Dark Horse published the 3-issue Axe Cop miniseries "Bad Guy Earth" in the second quarter of 2011.
Collected editions
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
are collecting the comics into individual volumes
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Volume 1 (144 pages, January 2011, ISBN 1595826815)
Other media
An expansion for Steve Jackson GamesSteve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
' "Munchkin
Munchkin (card game)
Munchkin is a card game by Steve Jackson Games, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, that has a humorous take on role-playing games, based on the concept of munchkins ....
" featuring Axe Cop, with art drawn by Ethan.
External links
- Official Axe Cop Fan Page, FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Official Axe Cop Podcast