Bear (comic book)
Encyclopedia
Bear is a popular black and white alternative
comic book
created by British
writer
/artist
Jamie Smart
and published in the United States
by Slave Labor Graphics
. It follows the adventures of a small stuffed bear
named Bear and his roommate/antagonist
, a psychotic housecat named Looshkin. Looshkin often plays cruel, sadistic, and nonsensical pranks on Bear, and it is not uncommon for faeces and dismemberment
to come into play.
Smart's linework is bold and expressive, and his panels are littered with information and throw-away gags. The stories are marked by a combination of violent shocks, random silliness, and other hallmarks of Dada
.
in a great number of wars (ex: World War I
). When you poke his nose his head expands, much to his dismay and Looshkin's joy. He hopes that one day Looshkin will die so he will be able to live his life reading books and slowly becoming an alcoholic.
Bear is known to date human women, much to Karl's surprise, and he spends a good deal of his time fantasizing about being a ladies' man or a gentleman in a Jane Austen
novel.
Looshkin appeared in the first Bear comic, in which he had unwittingly forgotten stowing Karl’s previous pet dog Marmalade in a closet to protect him from evil bats in the laundry room. As a result, a few days later, Marmalade suffocated and died head-down. However Bear reminds us that Karl’s home does not have a laundry room. Looshkin has also been known to have a very vivid imagination, but all of the things he says or does come from his suspected dementia. Looshkin has thought of cloning Bear with a kit that will give him an endless supply of Bear clones on which to waste his days torturing and killing. In Looshkin’s words, “An endless supply of Bear fodder!” In another episode he believed a giant squid that he brought home was a tiger.
One of Looshkin's absolute favorite activities is playing with animal carcasses, especially if Bear is around to stuff in them. He also enjoys the black arts, and he often attempts to do horrible things to Bear by casting spells on him or making look alike Bears to annoy/kill/maim. Looshkin is known to buy dangerous weapons off the internet (which he also uses to find cat porn) and run up Karl's credit card bills.
Flashbacks
in later Bear comics show that Karl had a difficult childhood and may have been responsible for the death of his uncle.
Karl works in a CD store and has strong opinions about music and cultural stereotypes. He likes to go to clubs and on occasion brings Bear and Looshkin with him.
Bear is Karl's best friend, and they sometimes have serious discussions although both have acknowledged a distaste for doing so.
Karl hasn't had much luck with women, which is partially Looshkin's fault.
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
created by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
/artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Jamie Smart
Jamie Smart
Jamie Smart is a British comic artist and writer, most famous for his ten-issue comic series, Bear. He has also had his comic My Own Genie published in the popular children's magazine The Dandy....
and published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...
. It follows the adventures of a small stuffed bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
named Bear and his roommate/antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
, a psychotic housecat named Looshkin. Looshkin often plays cruel, sadistic, and nonsensical pranks on Bear, and it is not uncommon for faeces and dismemberment
Dismemberment
Dismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. It may be practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism...
to come into play.
Smart's linework is bold and expressive, and his panels are littered with information and throw-away gags. The stories are marked by a combination of violent shocks, random silliness, and other hallmarks of Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
.
Bear
The foil and victim to Looshkin's insanity, Bear is a stuffed animal standing twelve inches tall. Apparently, he has served in the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in a great number of wars (ex: World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
). When you poke his nose his head expands, much to his dismay and Looshkin's joy. He hopes that one day Looshkin will die so he will be able to live his life reading books and slowly becoming an alcoholic.
Bear is known to date human women, much to Karl's surprise, and he spends a good deal of his time fantasizing about being a ladies' man or a gentleman in a Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
novel.
Looshkin
Looshkin is depicted as a mentally disturbed cat who has a blue pelt. He has large, sharply pointed ears that look like party hats. He is a bipedal creature with opposable thumbs that make him able to pick up objects, much to the displeasure of others. His activities usually consist of senseless babblings and innumerable sadistic acts on people, chiefly his housemate Bear, or whoever is closest when he gets his hands on a likely weapon. He is a humorous character (in the sense of black humor) by some of the things he says or the original comical scenes he’ll inflict, such as pretending to be a “Gangsta” and speaking fluent slang that he picked up from “Hood Movies” and going by the name LZ. He is maniacal and merciless, and most readers assume that the reason for that is that he has a mental disorder. Karl, Looshkin’s hapless bachelor owner, thinks Looshkin is just lonely and needs a female cat to play with, but the traumatized Bear vehemently disagrees.Looshkin appeared in the first Bear comic, in which he had unwittingly forgotten stowing Karl’s previous pet dog Marmalade in a closet to protect him from evil bats in the laundry room. As a result, a few days later, Marmalade suffocated and died head-down. However Bear reminds us that Karl’s home does not have a laundry room. Looshkin has also been known to have a very vivid imagination, but all of the things he says or does come from his suspected dementia. Looshkin has thought of cloning Bear with a kit that will give him an endless supply of Bear clones on which to waste his days torturing and killing. In Looshkin’s words, “An endless supply of Bear fodder!” In another episode he believed a giant squid that he brought home was a tiger.
One of Looshkin's absolute favorite activities is playing with animal carcasses, especially if Bear is around to stuff in them. He also enjoys the black arts, and he often attempts to do horrible things to Bear by casting spells on him or making look alike Bears to annoy/kill/maim. Looshkin is known to buy dangerous weapons off the internet (which he also uses to find cat porn) and run up Karl's credit card bills.
Karl
Karl is Looshkin and Bear's owner. Whenever Looshkin starts causing trouble Karl leaves for 'work.' Karl rarely takes action against Looshkin's attacks on Bear, arguably because he too is afraid of Looshkin to a certain extent.Flashbacks
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
in later Bear comics show that Karl had a difficult childhood and may have been responsible for the death of his uncle.
Karl works in a CD store and has strong opinions about music and cultural stereotypes. He likes to go to clubs and on occasion brings Bear and Looshkin with him.
Bear is Karl's best friend, and they sometimes have serious discussions although both have acknowledged a distaste for doing so.
Karl hasn't had much luck with women, which is partially Looshkin's fault.