[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”14275″ img_size=”485×750″ alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Herculean biceps? Crotches galore? Count me in.
From the minds of Fred Schwartz, Savy Lim, Victor Moya, Martin Hernandez Tena, and Adam Wollet comes a quick-witted, fresh new comic with a Frankenstein-esque twist on bodybuilding culture.
Clever and fast-paced, Harbody is a story about an overweight Indian doctor, Vijay, with a monomaniacal focus on the perfectly sculpted bodies of the dudes at his gym. These men are swole; I’m talking bulging calves and washboard abs. Covetous of his beefy gym bros, Vijay sets out to score a chiseled physique, determined to have a horde of sexy babes drooling over his perfect body. To quote Schwartz, Vijay was “like a sad hobbit in the presence of elves.”
But for poor old Vijay, working out didn’t produce results. He remained unattractive, flabby, and puny. So, he decides to do what all rational-thinking people would do – viciously hack off and steal his favorite body parts from some of the bodybuilders at his gym. Like a butcher in a meat shop, he slices and dices these men until he stitches together a monsterish version of his ideal body. To top it off – plot twist! – he fastens his own head to the top of his creation.
Vijay then takes his new, muscular body for a spin; flaunting his killer biceps for all the guys at the gym. When his reception is less-than-stellar, he is beyond infuriated, slaughtering all the weightlifting beefcakes that cross his path. What’s more, the woman he’s convinced he’ll impress is completely disgusted by him.
He is chased out of the gym with people shouting names at him like, “Golem” and “Pervert.” What he believed would bring him recognition and glory, only leaves him humiliated in the end.
Hardbody is entertaining, humorous, and reflects on a prevalent issue plaguing society today. Social platforms like Instagram have given rise to body dysmorphia and have warped many individual’s perception of what constitutes beauty or perfection. I like that this comic used a tongue-in-cheek storyline to tackle such a universal issue that impacts people every single day.
The only thing about the comic that made me cringe was the graphic/violent depictions used to tell Vijay’s story. There’s no denying the artwork was done exceptionally well, just a little warning to those who are squeamish to beware. But I can say this, I am certainly looking forward to reading the next chapter in Vijay’s story.
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Either typing away on my keyboard or nose-deep in a good book. Say hi to me on Twitter @Kkantro.
