For this post, I thought I’d recommend you guys a fun indie graphic novel called Down. Set. Fight!, about gambling, fatherhood, and fistfighting football team mascots. The image of seeing giant, smiling cartoon character costumes engaging in unbridled violence is a funny one, and Down. Set. Fight! by Chris Sims, Chad Bowers, and Scott Kowalchuk, makes good use of that pro-wrestling style humor while also exploring deeper emotional themes.
Down. Set. Fight! is the story of “Fearless” Chuck Fairlane, a man trained from birth to be a professional football player by his abusive, gambling addicted father. After a confrontation with his father in the middle of a playoff game, Chuck snaps and physically attacks the other team’s mascot, ending his pro career. Ten years after the attack, Chuck is trying to make a normal life for himself as a high school coach when a number of angry mascots come back start looking for revenge. Chuck finds himself tangled in a vicious racketeering plot, and the only way out is using his fists.
The story and art of Down. Set. Fight! both strike a good balance of comedy and drama. In between mascot fights, there are some tragic moments, such as Chuck’s dad forcing him to miss his mother’s funeral for a high school football game. Kowalchuk’s artwork does a good job of giving weight to these serious scenes. He also totally captures the absurdity of a middle aged man in a yellow Bruce Lee tracksuit fighting cartoon bears and elephants. The artwork is animated and expressive, with dynamic fight scenes and a strong DIY feel. It evokes 1960s comic stylings, but with a modern approach to pacing and coloring.
When I picked up Down. Set. Fight! at the library, I was not expecting anything more than a comedy story about mascot fighting. While the fights did not disappoint, I was pleasantly surprised to get a full formed story with interesting characters and emotional depth. Down. Set. Fight! is a quick, unique, action-comedy read that I recommend to football fans and non-football fans alike.
