Written by David Brothers

Art by Nick Dragotta

The Shortbox Comics Fair runs all month and showcases digital comics from creators all over the world. It’s an incredible line up and it’s already introduced me to some incredible new comics. Starting with Fight Like Hell.

Kid Jolt is the best boxer left alive after the world ends. He’s got the zen flamboyance of Ali, the needlepoint precision and iron fists of Lucjia Rijker and the swagger of every fighter who believes their own hype. As the greatest once said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Kid Jolt gets punched so hard he wakes up in Heaven. Then, the real fight begins.

David Brothers’ script is deceptively simple and, like Kid Jolt, it reveals its layers cautiously. It’s a pair of beautifully kinetic, crunchy fight scenes that will make anyone who’s ever enjoyed, or done, a combat sport wince and cheer in equal proportion. There’s a pair of panels early on which is just the Kid bopping their opponent with machine gun jabs, not even looking, that’s exactly what it feels like to spar someone significantly better than you, for example. But underneath that there’s also a call to adventure and a scathing, right between the eyes critique of the amoral showmanship at the heart of boxing and MMA.

The call to adventure first. Kid dies, a lot, punched out of his flip flops by a masked female opponent. He immediately picks a fight, in Heaven, with Samson and again gets his ass handed to him in short order. This fight in particular is where Nick Dragotta straight up flies, not just in the action but in the character work. Coach Sebi, the greeting committee for newly dead athletes, is a Wilford Brimley-esque teddy bear of a man while Samson is a wall of muscle and arrogance, at least at first. As the fight goes on, we see just how much the Coach loves his athletes (I’m reminded of Ricky Jay’s line in the superb Redbelt, ‘God loves a fighter’) and Samson too has hidden depths. The fight isn’t about who can win, but about why Kid Jolt can’t.

Dragotta’s work in these pages perfectly captures Kid Jolt’s nervy arrogance, Samson’s strength and some really crunchy action. There’s a headbutt exchange that will make you wince and the final punch literally knocks some sense into the Kid even as it knocks him off the page. This is the core of the story and the moment where Brothers and Dragotta hit it, and their hero, out of the park. The fight isn’t over, but that’s not the point. What the fight is about, who you fight for and what happens next, is what matters most.

The issue is rounded out with a great one page essay from Brothers on seminal sports manga Hajime No Ippo which will sell you on that book and explain a lot about this one.

Verdict: This very clearly a first issue and I’d love to see more but I’m not sure we need to. Kid Jolt’s good fight is just getting started here and that’s enough of a victory for him and us. Tough, smart, darkly funny and excellent from bell to bell. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart