REVIEW: 'Big Man Plans' #1 by Eric Powell and Tim Wiesch

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One of last week's great debuts that's unlike anything in comic book stores right now. Eric Powell is synonymous with is fantastic work on Goon but with Tim Wiesch, Big Man Plans, is another beast altogether. A beast known as Big Man for lack of an actual name and a chip on his shoulder the size of a boulder. 

Imagine being pushed around all your life, looked down upon, both figuratively and literally, and just underestimated at every turn. What if you stopped taking the crap life kept handing you and you started handing it back? This little person has seen some shit and isn't taking it anymore. 

Powell and Wiesch have created one of the greatest R-rated anti-heroes in comics today. This man's life has been a meat grinder from the day his mother left him as a child, seeing his father deteriorate into a drunken mess, an unloved foster kid to the government's secret weapon against Vietnamese soldiers hiding in underground bunkers. Big Man has had a hard life and is the epitome of someone who has zero fucks to give. 

That's the beauty of this miniseries. It's an extremely dark revenge fantasy told with dry humor, explosive action, and sobering crudeness. It's like a comic book for people who don't like comic books. There's violence and nudity, mostly from Big Man, but the narration from the little guy is honest and so convincing you can't blame him for lashing out. 

If you're familiar with Goon then you'll understand the look of Big Man Plans. If not you're in for a treat because Powell uses an old-school approach to drawing big bold characters with  heavy ink and expressive faces. Powell can command an explosive scene just as easily as a quieter, more sentimental one with the same attention to detail. Sure, there's nudity but it's handled matter-of-factly. He just happens to be pantless as he's beating a guy with a tire iron. The beating is the shocking part, not the nudity. 

Big Man Plans is a voyage into the heart of darkness of a marginalized human being unwilling to live under society's thumb. Especially when he has a score to settle. It's vulgar, dirty, violent, and absolutely must-reading.