Saturday, August 18, 2012

The Badger

The series is a mismatch of genres: its a superhero spoof with magic / fantasy element, but has realistic martial arts. The tone varies from black to light comedy. Some people complain about the comedic portrayal of mental illness. However, others find it very funny. The setting is the very accurately portrayed Madison, Wisconsin.
Norbert Sykes, the main character, is a veteran from Vietnam that has multiple personality disorder. Among his personalities is the Badger. The Badger is a martial arts expert "superhero" that attacks innocent people due to his mental illness warping his perceptions of  what is going around him. He tries to help animals or environmental causes. He also the bodyguard for the wizard Hammaglystwythkbrngxxaxolotl ("Ham" for short), who he met after escaping an insane asylum. His other personalities include Emily (that of a nine-year old girl), the homicidal Pierre (who has a French accent), Leroy (that of a dog), Max Swell (an architect) and Gastineau Grover Depaul (who acts like an "inner city African American").
The series has other notable characters. Daisy is Nobert's caseworker. Marvis is Norbert's wife and expert in Vietnamese martial arts. Lord Weterlackus is a demon that used to working with Hammaglystwythkbrngxxaxolotl. 
My source is the Wikipedia page "Badger (comics)".