'The Tick' reviews: Critics praise blue insect defender for poking fun at comic book superhero genre

"The Tick" promotional poster. Twitter/TheTickTV

Amazon Studios recently had advanced screenings for the superhero series "The Tick" which was met with favorable reviews.

The series currently has a 91 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a site that aggregates review scores from various entertainment outlets. Here is what some of the critics had to say.

Ben Travers from IndieWire wrote, "[The Tick is] instantly endearing, and the more time spent with The Tick, the more love is felt for the pure-of-heart and utterly clueless crusader."

The Tick (Peter Serafinowicz) is an invulnerable superhero dressed in a blue costume with insect antennas. He arrives in The City to help maintain law and order and also uncover the mysterious person pulling the strings behind the city's rising crime situation. He is joined by a mild-mannered accountant named Arthur Everest (Griffin Newman) who later becomes his sidekick while dressed in a moth costume.

The chemistry between the two actors was praised by critics and showed the humor and rapport that was established later on in the series.

Glen Weldon from NPR expressed, "It takes Serafinowicz and Newman a couple episodes to settle into the necessary chemistry between The Tick and Arthur, but they do find it, which is really what matters."

Cartoonist Ben Edlund created "The Tick" in 1986 as a spoof of American comic book superheroes. The character was initially a newsletter mascot for the New England Comics chain in Boston.

Elisabeth Donnelly of Vanity Fair stated, "30 years later, Edlund is still working on 'The Tick.' And in the age of superhero anxiety, the big, blue hero is a necessary corrective: a guy who can both save the world and crack a legitimately funny joke at the same time."

Donnelly agreed that with the saturation of superhero shows and films today, "The Tick" is a welcome respite that pokes fun at the comic book movie genre and even sets its balance back to normal.

The first six of 12 episodes of "The Tick" is now available and streaming on Amazon Prime. The second six will be released in early 2018.

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