With all the superhero comics overflowing with drama and angst nowadays, have you ever wondered what happened to the "comic" in comic books? Fortunately, there are still some funny comics out there, but they're not coming from the big superhero companies. No, the funniest comics are coming from little black-and-white self-publishers. Most everyone familiar with the comics industry knows about Dave Sim's long-running CEREBUS (an A+ comic in my gradebook), but you may not know about these newer "comic" books by some veteran writer/artists.

P.S. Comedy is such a personal thing. Let me know what you think. As always, your feedback is welcome at VillemezBrown@worldnet.att.net.
 

HILLY ROSE #1-7 (Astro Comics)
 
 

"Yes, communicate. Fathers and daughters should do that, you know. Have you told her about the birds and bees . . . ? Padded bras . . . Elvis . . . the menstruation cycle? My dad and sister talked all the time. Except, I admit, they never broached the subject of religion or diarrhea." (Spoken by Harv to Steeltrap in issue #3.)

HILLY ROSE is the story of Hilly Rose and her father, Steeltrap Rose. She is a young investigative reporter whose fame is on the rise because she always seems to be in the right place at the right time to get stories of disaster. She is haunted by the memory of her missing mother, one of the best reporters ever. Steeltrap Rose owns the paper for which Hilly works. As if he hasn't already taken nepotism to the extreme, he is responsible for the disasters which are making Hilly famous. Y'see, he doesn't think she's a very good reporter, but he wants her to stay close to him. So he provides her stories and keeps her busy so she won't leave him like his wife did. And the fact that his paper's circulation has tripled because of Hilly's exclusives ain't bad either.

With pin-up girl good looks, Hilly is both naive and earnest. In fact, she is so focused and single-minded that she is oblivious to all the comic hijinks surrounding her. And this is the magic of HILLY ROSE. Set in a generic sci-fi future, HILLY ROSE has two tracks. On track one, we have Hilly hunting for her mother, trying to solve the mystery of the disasters, and dealing with the fact that her father may be involved. Pure melodrama, realistically drawn. On track two, we have pure farce as all the other characters are cartoonish or anthropomorphic and intent on topping each other with slapstick, zingers, and sexual innuendo.

Helping Hilly in her quest to solve the mystery of the disasters are a veteran reporter and a sixteen-year-old runaway. Bach, the reporter, wants Hilly to come to Earth and work for his paper. He's going to hang around and help Hilly until he can convince her to make the move. Meanwhile, since he's a troll-like herbosexual, he's thinking about making the moves on every houseplant he comes across. Blossom, who looks like one of Jeff Smith's BONE cousins with a pretty pink hair ribbon, is one of those characters who is supposed to be cute and annoying at the same time. She succeeds at the annoying part anyhow.

The biggest yuks in HILLY ROSE come from the villains responsible for the disasters. Sidney, the Evil Incarnate Guy, is a vicious parody of Rob Liefeld. He's big, he's strong, he's got a really big gun, and he gets his butt kicked by Blossom every time they meet. The "Blood Sheddin' Texas Gang" (a.k.a. the Weasel Boys) is a pair of walking, talking weasels who make Wile E. Coyote look competent. Whenever they're not blowing themselves up, they're being defensive about the fact that they're a couple of single, thin guys with a close relationship--but not THAT close! Harv, a dinosaur who constantly reminds everyone that his brain is the size of a walnut, is just the janitor, but he'd like to be a bad guy too. The only problem is, he's too easily convinced that dusting is a matter of national security. The Stranger, dressed like Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western, is the mastermind of the group, manipulating Steeltrap Rose deeper into trouble. An aspiring writer, he's only doing it to have fodder for his "great galactic novel."

HILLY ROSE is chock full of nice little touches. Each issue has two covers. The front cover features your basic well-rendered science fiction action/cheesecake pose that has nothing to do with the story inside. The back cover features a gag that ties directly to the story within or shows the characters in a more relaxed setting. There is a page at the start of each issue which not only recaps the story so far, but also features labelled pictures of each character so you can keep 'em all straight. So it's easy to join the fun with any issue. Finally, there's a one-panel gag at the end of each issue which acts as an epilogue and is often the funniest thing in the issue.

It's no secret that writer/artist B. C. Boyer's biggest artistic influence is comics legend Will Eisner. Indeed, Boyer did a series for Eclipse Comics back in the 80's called THE MASKED MAN, which was a pastiche of Eisner's THE SPIRIT. (By the way, THE MASKED MAN was extremely well done and is worth a search through the back issue bins.) Boyer doesn't have the fluid line and strong layouts of Eisner yet, but that's only because he's a little rusty. Boyer had to leave the comics field for ten years in order to make a living with his janitorial supply company. Now that he's concentrating on comics again, his work is improving with each issue.

Alas, HILLY ROSE got off to a bumpy start. The first few issues are funny, but the storytelling is a little rough and the jokes a bit forced. Though ostensibly edited by Catherine Yronwode, the series was plagued by silly little misspellings. It reached a peak in issue #4 with "colleges" for colleagues, "you're" for your, "sabatoged" for sabotaged, "deminished" for diminished, and "renegociations" for renegotiations. Spelling may seem like a minor thing, but it makes the final product look amateurish when not done correctly. Fortunately, the problem seems to be solved in later issues. Even better, with issues #6 and #7, all the elements of the series finally jelled together and the results are hilarious. If Boyer maintains this level, my overall grade for the series will definitely go up.

So jump on now. It's easy to still get in early because HILLY ROSE is only published once every two or three months. For those who want the full story, issues #1-5 have just been collected in a trade paperback called HILLY ROSE: SPACE REPORTER.

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Grade: B+

(Editor's Note: Thanks to Rod for including this review which was prompted by my comment: "There should be a Federal law requiring every man, woman and child to read this comic!".)

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WOLFF & BYRD, COUNSELORS OF THE MACABRE #1-12 (Exhibit A Press)

 "A man went to a lawyer and asked what his least expensive fee was. 'One hundred dollars for three questions,' said the lawyer. 'Isn't that a lot of money for three questions?' asked the man. 'Yes,' said the lawyer. 'So what is your final question?'" (The Lawyer Joke-a-Day 1997 Calendar, Lame Duck/Paramount Enterprises)

Everyone has a favorite lawyer joke, and most everyone agrees with Shakespeare's edict to kill them all. However, deep down we all know that some lawyers are nice people. But, hey, did you also know that some could be funny too? Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd are two of the best examples I have ever come across.

Wolff & Byrd are not your average lawyers. What makes them distinctive is their clientele. Y'see, their clients are the things which go bump in the night -- monsters! They defend all the traditional bogeymen: vampires, zombies, gnomes, werewolves, and witches. They also have some unique creatures, like the zombie dog or the were-house. When a guardian angel is being sued for negligence by his klutzy ward, where else can he turn but the law firm of the supernatural? Or how about the comedian searching for an escape clause in the gypsy's curse which has his every sentence followed by a laugh track from beyond? Indeed, Wolf & Byrd are about the only lawyers you'll ever find defending the corpus delicti.

Aside from the usual gang of monsters, WOLFF & BYRD often features direct parodies of television, comics, and literature. Issue #4 has a doppelganger of the Crypt Keeper from tv's TALES FROM THE CRYPT facing charges of grave-robbing in a story drawn in the fashion of the 1950's EC Comics. Issues #8 and #10 have spoofs of H. P. Lovecraft stories and vintage romance comics respectively. With issue #9, Wolff & Byrd go nose to nose with Mulder and Scully of the X-FILES. This nifty little tale takes a stab at solving the long-standing mystery of the abduction of Mulder's sister. (My favorite part is the chapter title, "The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth is out There.")

Writer/artist Batton Lash has been doing WOLFF & BYRD for years, and his experience shines through. It has been a long-running comic strip in many law journals and papers, and it is reprinted weekly in the COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE. There are also two trade paperback collections of the comic strip available. I have always liked the comic strip when I came across it, but the serialized format and cramped panels were slight turnoffs. The comic book, however, features all new stories told in comic book format, and Lash uses the extra space well. His artwork is accomplished and professional, and his stories are consistently funny.

This is another one of those series that you can join anytime, regardless of how many issues you have missed. Lash's stories are almost always complete in one issue, with only minor subplots about the lawyers' love lives carrying over. Also, issues 1-4 and 5-8 of the comic book are collected in trade paperback form and are occasionally resolicited through PREVIEWS.

Of all the series I'm reviewing this time, the humor in WOLFF & BYRD is the most cerebral. It relies heavily on puns, parodies, in-jokes, and current events. While it may not inspire a gut-busting guffaw in each issue, you'll get a steady stream of chuckles every time. Sorry to say though, despite the presence of all the monsters, the scariest things in each issue are the lawyers' fees.

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Grade: A-

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TUG & BUSTER #1-5 (Art & Soul Comics)

 Once in a while, you might like your comedy black. And quite a bit tasteless. If so, TUG & BUSTER is the book for you.

Tug is a walking slab of beef. His pompadour is huge. His hair is thicker than shag carpeting. He can get a five o'clock shadow by one in the afternoon. He's got the tough guy squint. He smokes and wears a leather jacket. He's Marlon Brando in THE WILD ONES squared. Except, of course, for the fact that he never speaks, moves, or thinks. For all of this, Buster worships him.

Buster is a rather excitable, foul-mouthed, short little bag of insecurity. Tug is the macho ideal to which Buster aspires. He funnels all his energy into building up Tug's image and then trying to sponge off of it. In short, Buster is a loser who cannot realize that his hero is an even bigger loser.

The first line of each issue is an outburst from Buster which summarizes the plot of the story: "Me 'n' Tug's goin' cruisin' fer babes!" "Tug's goin' blind!" "It's Tug's birthday!" "Tug's goin' bald!" "Tug's dyin'!" Each issue deals with Buster's frenzied, witless attempts to avert crisis or revel in the good times. Meanwhile, Tug smokes.

What keeps this from getting monotonous is the supporting cast of characters. Stinkfinger is the philosophical loser who tries to convince Buster he needs to get a life. Of course, Stinkfinger is in need of a life himself. Genital Ben is the perverted loser who constantly hits on any life form that gets within earshot regardless of gender. He shows up to Tug's birthday in his birthday suit and rhapsodizes upon the aphrodisiacal qualities of farts. Each page which features Ben is a sick masterpiece.

Indeed, Ben is the breakout character here. Dave Sim has co-opted Ben for his current CEREBUS storyline, entitled "Guys."

Artist/writer Marc Hempel has a distinctive, bold style. His most high-profile work of late has been on THE SANDMAN, where he did the artwork for Neil Gaiman's "The Kindly Ones" story arc. Previously, he also did a book called GREGORY (see review below). In TUG & BUSTER, his linework is very thick and cartoony, the pages are raw and dark. At first glance some pages appear almost to have been drawn by a child with crayon. But don't let that fool you--Hempel is very much in control of the art and is making smart stylistic choices.

Obviously, because of the subject matter, this book is not for kids. Or people who are easily offended. But if your stomach is strong and your sense of humor is wicked, you're gonna find some good stuff here. And don't worry about back issues you've missed; each issue is complete and stands alone. (It's not like Tug and Buster are going to mature or grow as characters, y'know.)

_____

Grade: A-

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GREGORY (DC Comics/Piranha Press)

 Gregory is small. Which is good, because his cell is pretty small too. Gregory is the world's littlest inmate of an insane asylum. He's also one of the funniest.

TUG & BUSTER is a pretty good book, but Marc Hempel's masterpiece, GREGORY, was completed years before, back in 1989. Fortunately, for those who missed it then, DC Comics keeps it in print and available on their back list every month in PREVIEWS. You'll also find there three GREGORY sequels which are good, but just don't compare to the first for sheer originality and audacity.

While TUG & BUSTER is sick and dark, GREGORY is sick, dark, and bleak. But funny! Gregory spends most of the book in a straitjacket, and his vocabulary consists mainly of "I Gregory" and "Ub." (Doesn't this sound hilarious?) And his only friend is a rat named Herman Vermin, who is constantly being killed by the janitorial staff. But that's okay, 'cuz, fortuitously, Herman is always reincarnated as himself. (Don't hurt yourself by laughing too hard now!) Oh, and there's lots of ka-ka jokes and moldy cheese. (Attention, Jim Carrey fans!)

Really, it's funny. Mostly because, despite everything awful that surrounds him and happens to him, Gregory is one of the happiest people in the world. And his joy is infectious.

_____

Grade: A

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