Brenda the Little Barbarian Returns!

If you are looking for amazing cool, engagingly entertaining, and thoroughly wonderful Indie comicbook, that is not only targeted for younger readers, but is also immensely entertaining for older readers and adults as well, then you’ll want to check out Matt C. Ryan’s Brenda series (Free Lunch Comics). As we pen this article, there are currently four mini-comics in the series; Brenda the Frost Giant Babysitter, Brenda meets the Zombies, Savage Stories of Brenda Steelhammer, and Brenda The Tower of the Pelican (with a fifth one that just dropped). Which we are going to review here.

To be fully transparent, we’ve known Matt for several years and have been a fan of his work since first we met. Matt was even the original artist on my Dark Fire comic, Wülf Girlz, but that’s another story altogether. One of the things that I truly enjoy about Matt’s work is that he has a very straightforward storytelling style that is ideal for this particular market. His is a very distinct art that is fun, bold, and eclectic, as it carries the energy of the story throughout the tale being told. As for the stories of Brenda themselves, they are fun, energetic romps that swirl around a young Viking girl who sees herself as an accomplished warrior even though her father, a Viking chief, still sees her as his little girl.

Needless to say (and much to our own delight), Brenda has a very different view of her hierarchy in the Steelhammer clan and has proven her worth numerous times over the course of the previous four comics. In each of her four previous comics Brenda has proven herself not only smart and capable, but exceptionally resourceful, as well as curious and adventurous, all of which makes her stories outstandingly delightful.

In this most recent comic, there are three stories. Two illustrated (Food Fight, Steelhammer in Chains), as well as a short text tale (My Mother’s Sword). In Food Fight (illustrated in B&W) Brenda teams up with some friends to win a food cook-off and brawl competition. My Mother’s Sword is a short story wherein her father is cleaning and polishing various weapons but leaves the cleaning of Branda’s mother’s sword to Brenda, a task she takes with much seriousness. In the final story, Steelhammer in Chains, Brenda’s father is kidnapped, and it is up to Brenda and a team of close friends to rescue him. This story is in full color.

Brenda’s comics are each technically “ashcan” sized, that is to say smaller than standard comics tipping in at 5.5 x 7.75″, which makes them especially handy for younger readers. Each of the comics is a true delight to read, and Matt clearly has great fun putting them together. Interested readers can find them online at freelunchcomics.com where fans  can also patch into all of the other activities there, including classes, workshops, and events, links to various of Matt’s comics, as well as sign up for his Patreon to get early access to art, comics and more. Matt also makes many local appearances in and around Connecticut at local comic cons and other appearances. As for us, we’ll be hanging around awaiting the next installment of Brenda.