The eponymous, hooved anthropomorphic donkey has become lazy, and is finding it hard to motivate himself to do… anything at all. Yet, in the face of an uprising against humanity (yes, humans exist in this world of anthropomorphic animals too!), fate comes calling, and Tae Kwon Donkey is set on the path to rediscovering his purpose.

Absolutely overloaded with puns and visual gags, the surprising thing about Tae Kwon Donkey is just how grim its animal uprising lore is over the course of the issue. No punches are pulled when it comes to the gore and horror of the uprising led by crustacean, Crab Maga (not, it must be said, a comment on current US politics; rather, that’s a pun on the martial art Krav Maga).

Given that seemingly every member of its sprawling cast of fighters is named with a silly pun, it can cause a bit of tonal whiplash in its darker moments. Arguably though, that makes them hit much harder; there’s a moment related to the origins of the uprising which hits like a horrific punch to the gut, for example. It’ll also make you question whose side you’re on in this initially black and white conflict, which definitely becomes a lot less straightforward by the issue’s end.

The art is fantastic, with gorgeous character design (a golfing tiger, who’s not just a tiger by name, was one of my favourites) and flawless action sequences by artist Ryan Best.

The writer and creator of the comic, Seth Balestrieri includes an awful lot of references to genuine martial arts, and there’s a really fun page with famous, sometimes iconic, anthropomorphic animals from various media as a little nod to the forerunners of the action and style of Tae Kwon Donkey.

Despite the sometimes bizarre shifts in tone, I did enjoy reading the first issue of Tae Kwon Donkey, and I look forward to seeing the fight back against Crab Maga and his forces as the series continues.

Check out the official Tae Kwon Donkey website. Many thanks to Seth Balestrieri for providing me with a digital copy of Tae Kwon Donkey #1 for review purposes.

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