Five years ago, an unexpected hero fought his way into the hearts and minds of comic book readers everywhere. Now he has returned to continue the war on bears. That’s right, Shirtless Bear-Fighter is back!

Shirtless Bear-Fighter 2 #1 picks up with Shirtless Bear-Fighter in the middle of a mission for the Fuzz. The evil gummy bear Crummy Gummy has taken control of a gummy bear factory and is dispensing giant, mutant flesh-eating gummy bears in cities around the world. While the gummy attacks are causing a sticky situation, an underground cult is calling upon a supernatural spirit to help with world domination. Plus Shirtless is struggling with why his parents chose to leave him to be raised by bears all of those years ago.

Much like the first volume, the first issue of Shirtless Bear-Fighter 2 is filled with non-stop action. And of course, much of that action is over the top and larger than life which is perfect for the action comedy theme they were going for. Of course, the big action would be meaningless without some character development. A couple of flashbacks give readers a look back into Shirtless’s life before and right after he was left behind by his human family. While not a lot is revealed in this first issue it does lay a foundation to return to while exploring why Shirtless acts the way that he does.

Much like the dialogue the art is big, bright, and over the top. And that works perfectly for the action. The page gutters blend into the rest of the art and contribute to the story, while the layout of the panels makes it easy to follow. The character designs are ridiculously fun. I mean who would have predicted a giant flesh-eating gummi bear could look so cool and menacing at the same time?

In the end, the entire Shirtless Bear-Fighter 2 #1 team hits it out of the park. Fans of the original series will find many of the things they loved back in this story. Meanwhile, the introduction of Shirtless’s backstory adds more depth to the character and the chance to explore some new territory that does not involve a BEAR PUNCH.