I am in love. With an axe-wielding police officer and his flute-wielding partner. Yes, I said “flute-wielding.” But really the flute is a recorder. And the flute-wielder is actually a dinosaur soldier. At least until he becomes an avocado. With a horn. And… Wait. What were we talking about again? Oh, yeah – Axe Cop. The awesomest web comic EVER.
Axe Cop is the brainchild of 29 year-old comics artist Ethan Nicolle and his 5-year-old brother Malachai. Yes, you read that right. Malachai is 5 years old. Which is half the reason this comic is so awesome. The other half is that Ethan has a brilliant sense of comic timing, mad drawing skills, and the ability to edit his brother’s stream of consciousness storytelling without losing the “my ideas are strung together with no filler” essence of being five.
So, just how did Axe Cop come about? At one point Ethan was home visiting his parents, and (as he explains on the Axe Cop website), “During the visit Malachai was running around with his toy fireman axe and he said he was playing ‘Axe Cop.’ He asked me to play with him, and I asked what my weapon was… so he brought me a toy flute (actually a recorder). I told him I would rather be Axe Cop then Flute Cop, and he seemed just fine with being Flute Cop. The story that followed became more and more brilliant, until I couldn’t contain myself and I had to draw the whole thing into a one page comic.”
That first page became five and then those five became several more after Ethan posted them online and the series gained a following. Today Malachai and Ethan are still collaborating on the comics and posting them to a dedicated (and deadpan) Axe Cop website where, for free, you can (and will) LAUGH uproariously at the madcap adventures that spring from Malachai’s very young mind and are expertly captured by Ethan. I recommend starting with Episode 1 and continuing from there. OR… you can watch Episode 1 as a “Motion Comic” right here, by way of YouTube.
If you want to laugh still harder, be sure to read the “Ask Axe Cop” section of the site too. If you like what you see, consider making a donation to Malachai’s college fund. A button on the Axe Cop front page directs you to the requisite page on PayPal.
Credit for the discovery of this genius goes to my colleague and office-mate Lorna Ruby, who learned about it from Very Short List.
Hey there! I draw Axe Cop and wanted to thank you for the kind things you said about my comic timing and drawing abilities. Most people writing about Axe Cop sort of focus on Malachai’s genius (understandably), but it’s nice to have that work noticed. Glad you liked it, and thanks for writing the article.