Now, Battle Pope is presented as being a comedic and bizarre twist on superheroes, so at no point does it asks its readers to take it seriously. Basing the main character on the extremes of masculinity, though, causes a few problems for the series' concept. One problem is that, as a result of the singular perspective, heroic renderings, and cartoonish eyes, Pope is far too likable as a character despite his ultra-conservatism and social vices. Another problem is that the “typical superhero” which Pope is supposed to be contrasted with is also hyper-masculine, and so Pope ends up being more of a typical superhero himself rather than the clever parody he needs to be. Lastly, Pope ends up being pretty boring and predictable, as all of his actions and dialogue seem molded to fit society's concept of masculinity rather than to a distinct personality. The clumsiness in how Pope's joyful conducting of a wedding is handled is a good example of his character's lack of depth. For a character depicted as frequently engaging in casual sex with women he doesn't even know, it's highly inconsistent for him to be supporting matrimony so readily, and writer Robert Kirkman makes no effort to address this problem. I haven't read the other volumes of Battle Pope, so I can only speculate as to what they contain, but I'm baffled as to how or why Kirkman would try to make an ongoing series with such a shallow and uninteresting protagonist. Pope isn't much more than a bad joke.

The supporting cast is even more lackluster. Battle Pope's world consists of characters from Christian theology and culture, such as God, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Santa Claus, as well as an assortment of angels and demons. With a group this bizarre in such an absurd context, it seems almost impossible for Kirkman to make them uninteresting, but somehow he manages to do it. All of the characters fall under narrow definitions: God is an angry badass, Jesus is an effeminate man-child, Mary is sexy, and Santa Claus is an incompetent wannabe. Throughout the book, no one shows any signs of growth or complexity; it's as if Kirkman considers the inclusion of religious icons to be outrageously novel enough to warrant abandoning basic writing principles. His best attempt at character writing is when the Virgin Mary confronts God with a feminist tirade, but this scene is overshadowed by Kirkman's repeated objectification of Mary, as demonstrated by her impossibly gigantic breasts, several panels of nearly full nudity, and accounts of her promiscuity. In addition, Mary's feminism comes off as forced and cheesy in such an ultra-conservative book that constantly degrades women and even has a woman engaging in pedophilia in one scene. As for God and Jesus, God represents the wrathful God of the Old Testament while Jesus represents the passiveness of the New Testament. This distinction could have easily led to a clever, insightful, and humorous commentary on the nature of Christianity, but instead Kirkman blatantly sides with the Old Testament God for being heroic and masculine, while Jesus is portrayed as a childish and effeminate imbecile, even being shown as a crudely-dressed flower girl in one scene. I understand that this is supposed to be a goofy action comic, so I'm not expecting anything particularly deep or analytic, but there's definitely room for at least some level of thoughtfulness here in handling such a complicated and poignant subject matter. There's so much that Kirkman could've done with this concept, and instead all we're left with are cheap gags and bulky guys beating each other up.

In spite of Kirkman's failures as a writer, Battle Pope is actually a decent read due to the outstanding artwork by penciler/inker Tony Moore and colorist Val Staples. Every panel is highly detailed and vibrant, and this helps a lot to make the story feel more exciting and epic. Moore also has an exceptional grasp of anatomy, and he's consistently able to draw a variety of body types with challenging poses and angles. The only problem with the artwork is that the book relies too much on it through its overuse of splash pages and large panels, especially toward the end. Throughout the book, about one in every five pages are splash pages, and this further cripples a story that's in desperate need of more plot and character development. The finished product looks great, but without the interest in the concept and characters, I, as a reader, don't feel motivated to seek out other volumes in the series.

Lastly, the book contains a few extras, including sketches, thumbnails, alternate covers, and even a crossover mini-comic. I always find it interesting to look into “behind-the-scenes” stuff of creators and get a glimpse of their creative processes, so I consider this to be a nice addition.

Battle Pope tries to take the superhero genre in a new direction, but it falls short by quite a bit. Making fun of Christian icons isn't that great or original of a concept, and the comic's far too ridiculous for any Christians to be upset about it. It isn't nearly as funny, interesting, edgy, or irreverent as it tries to be, and it's too similar to the other mainstream superhero comics, which are already in abundance. The flashy artwork is in place, but until Kirkman can manage to separate Battle Pope from the rest of the superhero crowd, this series is going to struggle to hold readers' attentions.