Once I started, I couldn’t put down this comic. We live in a world where we are constantly putting down one thing in favor of the next thing, and then the next thing after that. Well, I was hooked, compelled to read on, and so I did. James Hilger brings a lot to the table, the kind of set of tools that will serve any cartoonist well: a lot of reading; a lot of observation; and a lot of wisdom. I’ve been reading a book on Chester Brown and his comics, with the delicate line and the morbid originality, kept coming to mind as I read Hilger’s graphic novella. It’s longer than your typical comic book at 38 pages and certainly far more substantial, encompassing an in-depth look at one person’s struggle for meaning. So, yeah, a bona fide graphic novella, one that kept me inspired and intrigued.
If you’re looking for a literary comic, this is it.
Based on his social media activity, I see that James Hilger is passionate about prose fiction and filmmaking along with comics. To my way of thinking, that’s a terrific creative trifecta, as each medium informs and helps shape the other in the creator’s pursuits. Clearly, Hilger has a very strong visual and verbal sense. He’s working off what some of the great cartoonists from the alternative scene of the last thirty or forty years have built, people like Daniel Clowes and Charles Burns, but I don’t cringe at any of his work, thinking he’s just lifting from this or that comics artist. Hilger has allowed himself the time to digest and process and offers the reader his own refreshing take. Hilger dives in with his own anti-hero, one unsure lad named, Alvin Leif Limoncello. And, as bullies and insensitive clods are prone to do, they find a weak spot and take aim. Alvin, due to his quirky middle name, will henceforth be known as “Treeboy.”
Alright, well, originality is one thing. But I’m not suggesting to avoid climbing the same mountains. You just can’t help it, nor would you want to, really. I’m referring to a grand ole coming-of-age tale, with the earnest young person in search of meaning, who thinks meaning can be found in a soul mate. In this case, Hilger takes the traditional route of boy idolizes girl–and later learns from his miscalculations. Getting back to originality, Hilger has come up with a number of new wrinkles to the classic set-up, stuff that surely Clowes and Burns would approve of.
From what I can tell, Hilger is into pursuing his comics the old school way. Everything appears to be physically drawn, all analog, hand-drawn, including the lettering. Perhaps, as a writer, and I’m assuming he gravitated to drawing while focusing on writing, Hilger took up making comics in much the same way that aspiring cartoonists commonly pursued it in the past, just by setting down some paper and picking up a pen. There’s beauty in simplicity, a more direct approach, I think. If it turns out he uses an iPad and Procreate, hey, I still feel it’s all about the mindset. Looking over his work, I imagine someone excited about crafting a truly sound and coherent story and seriously finding the best ways to combine words and pictures. Comics are a lot of things but they’re not always simple. Often, it is a complex endeavor and it helps to come from a multi-discipline background.
A dream girl epiphany.
When Alvin, aka Treeboy, first sets his eyes on his dream girl, it seems to be the portal into another world he’d always been looking for. By the time he has this epiphany, already pushing thirty, he has all but given up on his ideals. But one fateful visit to a McDonald’s drive-thru sets him on a whole new course. If this beautiful and flawless maiden handing him his greasy purchase would connect with him, then all is not lost. There is suddenly hope in the world and that is exactly what Alvin intends to make his own. That is until things don’t go according to plan. Tragic stuff and Hilger knows how to spin that into wonderful storytelling.
Well, it is a pleasure to share with you an outstanding new comic on the scene. It is literally something new. It recently came out, available through comics festivals, and now set up with an online shop. I’m thrilled about Treeboy with its old soul heart and fresh new spirit. So, just to reiterate, this is a one-shot full story with a full-bodied beginning middle and end. It feels like something totally out of left field and that’s a good thing. As Hilger states on his social media: “Treeboy is an intensely personal journey through my growth rings–from acorn to firewood.” Alright then, that makes total sense!
The Machine is Broken. Jared Sarnie. Fieldmouse Press. 2026. 30pp. $13.95. (release date: May 26, 2026) Available for pre-order at Fieldmouse and Asterism)
How to tackle a sensitive subject? Sometimes, you just have to dive in, honey. That’s the approach that Jared Sarnie has taken with his debut graphic novel about suicide. Sarnie appears to have come out of nowhere with this provocative work. Let’s dive in.
Our focus is a young woman named Lux. She has decided to kill herself. She goes to Zurich which is supposed to have the world’s first fully legal “suicide pod.” Who knew? Lux is bringing along her mom and, rather begrudgingly, her sister. Even if you’re familiar with how suicide has been treated in various media, recently and even throughout the ages, it retains its own particular sense of shock. How successful a work ends up being depends, in large part, on how you work with that sense of shock. We aren’t actually cheering, Lux on, are we? Sarnie leans hard on the provocative throwing in every dark comedy trope he can get his hands on in this over-the-top narrative that careens around in a very free-wheeling, sometimes confusing, sometimes glib, conversational style. The work goes in and out, this way and that way, sometimes comics, sometimes pop art, sometimes an ad promoting itself as the author’s debut graphic novel. At one point, Sarnie states that Alison Bechdel would be rolling in her grave only to then state that, no, Alison Bechdel is certainly not dead. So, quite a fun house effect.
No doubt, this is packed with energy and often has a special quality to it, offering interesting bits and visual treats. What inspired Sarnie to create his first graphic novel about a young woman seeking to end her life would be an interesting question. Often, the question reverts back as to what makes any creator believe they are the person to tell such a story. It’s a very significant question and one that anyone in crisis can make note of. Take this dark comedy for what it is, no more, no less. And then this begs the question: What exactly is this dark comedy? Well, as I suggest: it’s something packed with energy offering some interesting bits and visual treats. It’s an ambitious undertaking and perhaps thirty pages is a good start. Sarnie needs to ask himself why he chose to undertake this work in the first place and then go from there.
Sarnie presents the reader with a portrait of today’s troubled youth as he sees it with Lux as a stand-in. She is dealing with conflicting emotions, and she finds solace a little too often in fast food, especially McDonald’s. But life keeps letting her down. She can’t even rely on some soft serve ice cream from McD’s because, drum roll please, the machine in broken. And then she kisses a girl and that seems to help.
So, sure, I want to see more in the future from Sarnie and I hope my criticism proves constructive. Overall, Sarnie is on the right track and where things fall short is just part of the process. Making really good comics is not a sprint but a marathon. I don’t think anyone wants to leave the bar set at simply checking off boxes to whatever the zeitgeist seems to demand. That way of thinking will never create anything of lasting value.
Big shout out to Emil Ferris!
And, as for cartoonists rolling in their graves, who aren’t really dead, I’ve gotta say, big shout out to Emil Ferris as Sarnie clearly is feelin’ an influence there. And that’s okay, no doubt. I think Sarnie is having a good time as he basically is pushing this and that button, seeing how everything works in the world of comics. Yes, Jared Sarnie, there’s a lot you can do with this amazing comics medium. I look forward to seeing more.
HELP! by Ethan Llewellyn and Francis Todd. 2025. Self-Published. 32pp. £10.00.
Sometimes the obvious choice alludes you. I kept thinking I would probably like this comic and, once I dived into some Instagram posts, I was hooked. Ethan Llewellyn and Francis Todd have created something genuinely fun. They go through a distillation process–not just a simple smash and grab. It’s not cool, or highly ironic, to basically trace over someone else’s work and these guys don’t do that. The creative team of Llewellyn and Todd are honest lads who are equally inspired by the legacy of comix and enjoy creating their own inventive and original work.
From “Nice Tits” by Ethan Llewellyn.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to check out their work on Instagram, for starters. That’s their creative laboratory where stuff has a chance to brew and take hold. The book they have available collects a certain batch of what they’ve been up to on social media and other places. I believe getting a copy of HELP! is a great way to not only support rising talent but an excellent way to keep these guys on your radar. Their latest stuff indicates that they keep getting better and are in it for the long haul. Once a set of characters and whatnot has gotten a chance to settle in, it just keeps moving forward. That’s what’s happening here: the gags get sharper, the art gets sharper and we’re all happy.
From “Skid the Cat” by Ethan Llewellyn.
UK cartoonists Ethan Llewellyn (creator of NAFF) and Francis Todd (Caribou) are the talents behind this anthology showcase drawing inspiration from 80s-2000s North American alternative comics and the UK scene. This comic debuted at London’s prestigious Gosh! Comics late last year. It alternates between Llewellyn channeling Daniel Clowes and Todd channeling Jesse Moynihan. This is a more vulgar version of Clowes; and a more subdued version of Moynihan. You have stuff like Llewyn’s ongoing gag about his alter ego attempting to befriend a heroin junkie. And you’ve got dreamy stuff from Todd about creatures from distant lands and other esoteric content. If I’m in an impatient mood, I could say that I feel like these two lads are creating bits that are more in a developmental stage than being outright compelling. But the funny thing about these sort of anthologies is that they’re true workhorses ready to take a beating, waiting for the reader to reconsider.
From “Clean Slate” by Todd Francis.
I think of all the pieces in this book, I was mostly intrigued with Llewllyn’s “Skid the Cat!” for its audacity and leaning hard into a vulgar itch he needed to scratch. Its very uninhibited approach is notable with its sense of danger and chaos. I also must admit that I enjoyed Todd’s “Clean Slate” about the mysterious outsider who must prove himself to a village within a castle.
What Llewllyn and Todd bring to the table is not only a lot of enthusiasm but a lot of honest hard-working talent. I think this debut issue is a terrific start. These lads are going places. I can see they have the confidence and persistence to keep getting better and keep moving forward. These guys will move mountains, I’m sure of it. This book is easily well worth the price of admission. Buy HELP! now before everyone else.
So Buttons #15. w. Jonathan Baylis. various artists. Alchemy Comics. 36pp. $10.
And so the saga continues. We’re up to Issue 15 in the life and times of one Jonathan Baylis: stories, anecdotes and observations he writes and then various talented comics artists illustrate. As was the case with the great comics trailblazer Harvey Pekar, who was known for relentlessly recounting all aspects of his life, drilling down to all manner of minutiae, so Baylis gives readers his take on things.
The stylings of Jonathan Baylis and Danny Hellman.
These comics are a nice snackable size, a nod to one of the go-to mini-comic formats, the folded copier paper size of 8.5 x 5.5. You can easily travel with it and maybe read it on the train, a bus station or airport. I had it with me in my bag so I sat down at a fairly nice waystation on my journey. I had remembered enjoying a quaint spot at the airport food court and chose to eat my food at an expansive space owned by another restaurant chain. I was not shooed away. Maybe it was because I ordered a beer from them. Or maybe they noticed I was reading So Buttons and knew to leave me alone.
The stylings of Jonathan Baylis and Kari Christian Krumpholz.
The waitress made the right choice to allow me to proceed unhindered. In fact, I was honored. I couldn’t help but notice other people would attempt to do just as I did, bring food from one fine establishment and sit down and use the long luxurious table from another establishment. The waitress would swoop down and reprimand these folks: “This is a restaurant. I’m sorry but you can’t eat here.” Perhaps, if these fine folk had been given a chance to order something, all would have been forgiven. Perhaps if these fine folk were reading So Buttons, like I was, they would have been given a friendly nod and welcomed. Alas, I was favored; they were not.
The stylings of Jonathan Baylis and Bhanu Pratap.
Well, I’ve gotta say that Baylis is groovin’ on what he’s doin’. Based upon my reading his last issue and what he says about his own writing process, involving lively free association and leaping from one subject to another, I think Harvey Pekar would be amused and proud. Put ‘er there friend, you’re a gritty authentic son of a gun.
The stylings of Jonathan Baylis and Noah Van Sciver.
One hightlight that is particularly spot on is the pairing of Baylis with noted humorist and cartoonist Noah Van Sciver. Given the subject of family dynamics, especially dissecting one’s father, this amounts to a dream team combination.
The stylings of Jonathan Baylis and Nathan Gelgud.
Another highlight that’s really on the money is the paring of Baylis with cinephile -activist-cartoonist Nathan Gelgud. The idea here is that film is too precious and vital to only be shared among a select few. Indeed. Power to the People!
You can gain control of your own destiny if you just don’t give up and keep moving forward. This simple act of will power, even defiance in the face of all challenges, is what I see coming from a remarkable comics artist, Alex Newton. Well, Alex’s new book can speak for itself. We cover Artichoke Knight in great detail. It’s what I like to call “pure comics” in the sense that it consistently commands the reader’s attention making full use of comics devices.
Take a look at his artwork and you can’t deny it is tight and spot on. Read his work and you’ll see that there’s a thoughtful balance in plot choice, character exchanges, the whole fabric of the narrative. Alex speaks eloquently and with an easygoing confidence.
Among the topics we chat over is the interesting dynamic between the two main characters in Artichoke Knight: go-getter Cherry, a young woman with a passion to excel; and methodical Charlie, struggling to find his feet. In so many forms of media, there would be a subplot brewing that focused on a promise of romance. But not these two. They’re friends and making the most of that special bond, not an easy one to maintain in real life or in comics.
Another topic we cover is the time-honored storytelling trope of leaving one world and entering another. Alex readily embraces it, carrying forward in the tradition of the hero’s journey. Alex’s approach is done with relish and a healthy sense of wonder.
I recently reviewed Alex’s work and, after our interview, I am spurred to continue spreading word as best I can and keep Alex’s work on my radar. I’m sure, if you enjoy comics, that you will feel the same way.
By all means, dive into our conversation. I welcome your Views, Likes and Comments made directly to the YouTube channel.
I invite you to check out our conversation. It is available to view on YouTube as well as to listen to wherever you get your podcasts.
Gods, like certain politicians, demand nothing less than blind loyalty. And, like certain politicians, will pursue whatever means necessary to stay in power. Because, once power is acquired, it can be very difficult for some people to give it up. Sound at all familiar? Well, as Rod Serling famously observed, sometimes it’s easier to present one’s political views in the form of a fable. Just prior to launching the much lauded television anthology series, The Twilight Zone, he quipped that he had found a way to avoid the wrath of the censors when writing political satire. Instead of lampooning a U.S. senator, he could replace that character with a robot or maybe a monster, in the guise of sci-fi horror. In this spirit, writer Bjorn Klein delivers the goods. Black Ties is a wickedly funny fable about gods scheming to stay in power.
The gods have a major public relations problem with humanity and it will take nothing short of infiltrating human life and altering human reality to win over a commanding number of true believers. One big component is deceiving humans into voluntarily giving up all manner of private information through a software app. If humans can deceive each other via technology, then so should gods.
The gods get it. They understand that humans can’t help but be good consumers so it stands to reason that gods just need to spike the consumer culture more in their favor, juice up the god brand. Oh, and then there’s curtailing free speech. If humans can manipulate the media in order to control the narrative, then so should gods. A free press is so over-rated, right? If humans can be fascists, well, then gods can too.
There’s a moment in the story that has Eldur, a god who has defected to the more promising party to stay in power, limping along a typical day at the office. He’s been tasked with helping out with marketing. All too often, he’s a befuddled mess but today he tries to be a little chipper. He takes a look at the colossal statue of Saint Barbie and the rolling numbers of new consumer true believers displayed on the ticker: over six billion and counting. That steady uptick, along with the beauty and majesty of the sculpture, seems to reassure him. An excellent depiction of the machinations at play.
Lucia Faccini‘s artwork is delightfully droll understatement that compliments and elevates the story. Faccini strikes the right balance with depicting the supernatural world of gods and the mundane, sometimes sinister, world of humans. After all, gods want the same things that humans want–both at massively grand scales–to the point it’s difficult to tell them apart. Our existential crisis went into overdrive after the atomic bomb. Both power hungry gods and humans are pretty scary and dangerous. The creative team of Klein and Faccini stay on course with wicked humor, thoughtful pacing and a healthy sense of dread. Satire, at the end of the day, can be quite amusing while also sounding an alarm. This book delivers on both counts.
So, I hope this advance review has intrigued you. The book is expected to launch as early as next month. As with any project, whether from a small or big publisher, it is best to check in for updates. I’m confident about how Black Ties will be received as it makes its way into the world. I think it’s a shining example of what’s possible from new voices through self-published work. We’ve reached the point when any work has a viable chance at finding readers, regardless of where it is published. At this early stage, reviewers play an important role in spreading the word. So, if you’re a reviewer, or a reader, I highly recommend that you seek this book out.
Sometimes, a comic, by its energy, spirit and style, just grabs you and you know you’ve found a winner. Such is the case with Artichoke Knight by Alex Newton. Let me tell you, this comics artist loves what he does. It is so apparent from every page. I believe this holds true for all of his work since I clearly see an overriding style here. Newton just keeps going; he has a relentless drive to share his vision. With that in mind, I say that Mr. Newton must continue and you must buy his work.
Page after page of fun, inventive and original work.
The book we are looking at collects all the single issues thus far, which appears to be a dozen. Newton manages to completely avoid any continuity of style issues; the whole thing runs quite smoothly, easily passing the flip-through pages test. What instantly catches my eye is Newton’s confident use of wordless passages. If you don’t speak English or, if for some unfortunate reason, reading is just not your thing, there are quite a number of amazing text-free pages. Newton has a career in illustration just waiting for him. Anyway, he’s doing just fine. Clearly, creating comics is his passion. His lettering is outstanding. His color choices are spot on. His light-line style is right on the money.
What a scene!
The story is delightfully straightforward. A couple of friends, Charlie and Cherry, engage in an annual competition. Cherry always wins and has gotten a bit complacent. This could be Charlie’s big year to win big. The plot gets a little more involved as the competition is some sort of “cookery-combat.” Okay, sounds very intriguing–and original. All sorts of opportunities for fun visuals. There’s a road trip to get to this event. The couple are cute and energetic. A hint of romance is in the air. A competitive spirit is also in the bargain. This is a great set-up and Newton makes it pure comics nirvana. Yes, I say this: Artichoke Night is pure comics nirvana!
When pigs fly.
As you can see, Newton delivers page after page with work that is a lot of fun to view. I can see him going into animation if he chose to. Again, it’s all about the comics, that we’ve established. But branching out into related things is definitely an option. At least offering prints, which Newton does. Just go visit his website. However you look at it, Newton is a born storyteller. He writes. He draws. He lays it all out. Talk about auteur creators! This guy is doing it.
And away we go!
Hats off to this book being self-published too. While there are some perks to getting picked up by a publisher (and there are wonderful things to that) there is no getting around the fact that holding onto your intellectual property and getting to call all the shots is very appealing. You’re going to do most, if not all, of the marketing whether or not you have a publisher. If you can stay determined, self-publishing done right is truly the gold standard. Just ask Jeff Smith.
There’s a moment in the story when Charlie is slouched over on his couch trying to take stock of his life. We’ve all been there many times over. And it hits him. He’s been attempting to hang in there all this time. Why not level up? Too often, in various circles, we’re encouraged to just get along and embrace just being a participant. Phone in your effort. Mediocrity is more than okay; it’s the standard; and it’s celebrated. Excellence is not supposed to exist. I say to this killjoy of a concept, that there is such a thing as reaching for the stars! Some people, if they so choose, do get there–and we all benefit when that happens. Ah, you only live once. So, why not do better? You’ll regret the drip, drip, drip of conformity.
A hint of romance.
Getting back to Newton and Artichoke Knight, it’s just a matter now of staying the course, going to comics conventions, engaging in various grassroots marketing and always believing in yourself. I’m sure that Newton is a true believer. We are so lucky to have him around.
The College Try, Vol. 1. w. Olivia Cuartero-Briggs. a. Roberta Ingranata. c. Warnia Sahadewa. l. Jodie Troutman. Mad Cave Studios – Maverick. 120pp. 2026. $9.99 digital. $14.99 print.
I love the time travel theme, and I’m certainly not alone. I’ll admit that it’s not always done right but I tend to give a creator credit for simply stepping up to bat. Sure, some folks will take a stab at it just because it’s a popular genre but I like to believe that a sizable number are attracted to it by a true sense of wonder. That’s what happens with The College Try. I was charmed by it right away.
Meet Rachel. At 42, she’s at the top of her game as a professional comedian but she can’t catch a break when it comes to dating men. After yet another disastrous online date, Rachel retreats to the apartment of, Scout, her former roommate, to dish on her latest flame-out. Scout is not too thrilled about Rachel barging in but reverts back to her younger days for the sake of her pal. And this scene sets us up for what is to follow in more ways than one. Not only is Rachel forcing Scout to revert back to their college days. Through the magic of time travel, Rachel is about to embark upon a journey that Rod Serling would approve of. Rachel will be literally returning to her college days with all the benefits of doing over her life if she so chooses.
Yep, once zapped back to 2003, Rachel is totally okay with making some changes to her life. At the start, the story doesn’t waste any time with the mechanics of time travel, why Rachel is not her 42-year-old self in 2003 but has been transformed into her 20-year-old self or even with details on convincing her 20-year-old pal, Scout, that she’s materialized from twenty-two years in the future. Now, these points would usually be hard to get past but I appreciate that Olivia Cuartero-Briggs’s script is more rom-com than sci-fi. The banter between characters in fun and breezy, akin to what you would expect from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, both the TV show and the subsequent comic book. Fun and breezy says it all. This is the sort of escapist entertainment that is hard to put down once you’ve started.
So, yeah, you had me at time travel—and that’s a double-edged sword because you want to embrace the genre no matter what and yet you won’t be satisfied if it falls short. And sometimes you get something in between (not ideal but not failure either) that ultimately wins out because of its own unique set of features, what it brings to the table. This comic is within that less than perfect fit. That said, what gives it a special oomph is its quick wit and pace. So, Rachel, our main character, has been transported back in time and is inhabiting her twenty-year-old self. She’s after an old flame who was never truly interested in her and, throughout the story, there are massive hints that she was never meant to be with her loverboy, Jason, but was most likely going to find happiness with that girl, her best pal, Scout. This is no spoiler but sets up the premise for what follows. It’s a little more than irritating that Rachel, supposedly such a street smart person, would hold a torch for Jason in any way but maybe that’s part of the fun. In fact, it is! My quibble is that these personal dynamics could be tweaked a bit more early on.
All the great time travel stories are character-driven even if the plot is to kill Hitler or prevent the JFK assassination. It always comes back to a story at a relatable human scale. Perhaps the greatest of them all is a story you don’t think of as a time travel story, the Dickens classic, “A Christmas Story.” Talk about character-driven! Ebenezer Scrooge goes through one of the all-time best known character transformations in the written word. The subplot of the fate of Tiny Tim is right up there. With greater insight after traveling through time, will Ebenezer help save Tiny Tim? Ah, this is one of the greatest short stories ever. This comic shares a more fanciful approach to time travel as the Dickens classic and even has its own Tiny Tim type of subplot. Not too bad for a rom-com. And, let me be clear, a rom-com is fine in my book. This comic turns out to be that and a lot more.
A close look at Snafu suggests what is behind the behindess of popular culture in its pulp-industry glory days, just before professors discovered the paperback market for their prospective (or imagined) best-sellers. A dozen versions of Seventeen or other magazines for adolescent girl-readers; more dozens for the home-bound household drudge, mostly short fiction; Hollywood glamour mags by the dozens; Men’s Magazines with adventures and salacious fiction of semi-nude women, alongside lion-hunting and such-like manly fantasies. Not to mention Hot Rod specials, Wrestling specials, big-selling Sci-Fi magazines with wonderfully crazy covers. All this miles below the respectable (and then still numerous) slicks like the Saturday Evening Post.
MAD #6, 1953.
Mad Comics (1952-55), notoriously the brain child of Harvey Kurtzman, drawn by a handful of the greatest satirical artists of the age and best known for skewering the morals and manners of modern culture was also….a huge hit. So huge that it evoked, as its more hugely popular successor Mad Magazine would evoke, a not-so-small army of imitators. The best of them by a long stretch was Panic (1953-55), using many of the same artists but without the avant-garde “feel” expressed, for instance, in the April, 1955 Mad Comics satire of art history including abstract expressionism, seen through the imagined artistic life of Willie Elder, Kurtzman’s most intimate collaborator. Nobody else would even think to go that deep, although when I asked Kurtzman about this most striking and unusual feature, he responded “it is amazing what you can do if you have pages to fill.” He was joking, I think. Maybe.
PANIC #1, 1954.
Kurtzman, resigning from Mad when his insistence that he own 51% ownership was turned down, famously tried to duplicate his success in Trump, Humbug and the final shot, Help! Simply to name all the other Mad knockoffs during the 1950s-70s would be impossible, but they definitely include Eh!, Snafu, Frenzy, Cracked, Thimk, Loco,Frantic, Grump, Drool and Crazy. Cracked outlasted the rest by winning reader loyalty as a serviceable if second-rate Mad. Sick!, more literary pulp than comic, stands out as a kind of avant-garde response, an imitation Lenny Bruce on the page, easily adopted from the lesser stand-up comics of the day.
Kurtzman, when I pressed him for precursors of Mad Comics, suggested that the college humor magazines, especially in their post-war phase where censorship and political restraint wavered, had offered a model of sorts for what he wanted to do with something new. He and his artists would take on the world. The GI Bill generation that launched campus cinema clubs to see European art films and sometimes protested racial discrimination wanted something more than a handshake from the society that sent them to war. Through the 1950s and a bit further, college magazines continued to appear with issues banned for their sarcastic political commentary as well as overly sexualized prose and cartoons.
SNAFU #3, 1956.
Snafu, like nearly all of the other Mad imitators, had no such ambition, although repeated, not-very-humorous references to violence may indirectly reflect wartime memories and unintentionally express PTSD. “The Funniest Magazine in the World” (an overly ambitious claim, to say the least) lasted two years in the middle 1950s, the normal run for a Mad Comics imitator. And it had several veterans of Kurtzman’s project, mainly artist John Severin and his sister Marie, a letterer who could obviously go beyond her domain to produce parody photo manipulations.
HELP! #12, 1960.
The expansive introduction by Michael J. Vassallo may itself be worth the price of the book to scholars. Both meticulous and incisive, at least when the fannish generosity of appreciation does not get in the way, it tells us what we need to know. We learn that businessman-publisher Martin Goodman, known earlier for the formative Timely Comics, is in charge here, if doubtless preoccupied by the wider scope of his empire. For a while, Stan Lee clocked in as an executive employee and continued in the boom years to reign over dozens of titles with a small army of underpaid contributors. Jim Warren would publish Kurtzman’s Help!. Andkill it for the crime of low revenue.
Goodman, familiar with many of the comic artists and writers who had seen military service—most of them in non-combat roles as educator/editors, identified with the sentiments of the Warner Brothers famed 1946 animated feature, “Private Snafu.” Famously, the phrase “situation normal, all fucked up” was a familiar expression of ordinary soldiers none too fond of the Brass that lorded over them, especially because the overlording so often got in the way of whatever really needed to be done. This movie cartoon had been created by some of the animation greats, including Chuck Jones, Fritz Freeling, Bob Clampett and Frank Tashlin, “voiced” by Mel Blanc, and for millions of GIs, offered a much-needed laugh and some mental solace.
SNAFU #2, 1956.
Then, seven years later, came Mad. As popular among young adults as kids, its readership included plenty of GIs, many of them already familiar with Kurtzman’s bravely realistic, arguably antiwar war comics. It was apparently Stan Lee, still hardly a name outside of the comics industry, who came up with a knockoff of Mad for the growing Goodman empire.
RIOT #1, 1954.
Snafu closely followed teen and funny-animal humor of the same company, published under titles like Millie the Model, Patsy and Her Pals, The Monkey and the Bear, Girls Life, Homer and the Happy Ghost and My Girl Pearl. Among them, Wild, Crazy Comics and Riot all imitated Mad, but none with the energy or success of Snafu. A comics art veteran, Joe Maneely, was chosen along with John Severin to carry the serious artistic weight, issue after issue, with Mad veteran Russ Heath among others on the side.
SNAFU #1, 1955.
Vassallo comments that the humor writing in the comic aspires to be at Mad level, but “unfortuntely, Lee is no Kurtzman,” and “sometimes very funny, but frequently juvenile” (p.xx). This is an understatement of considerable weight. The cover of the volume—a young woman in panty girdle and bra, seen from the back but clearly holding onto a subway loop, with an all male cast in the foreground reading Snafu rather than looking at her— already suggests juvenile humor of boys turning toward sexual interests a little nervously, as funny or strange. Very very Snafu.
THIMK #3, 1958.
The art, numerous steps downward from the EC standard, looks rushed, the gags pretty obvious. Albeit sometimes contemporary: “Good News for Men Over 40…Who are Frequently Tired and Worn Out. You’re Draft Exempt!” A Korean War joke or a memory of WWII? Sometimes the jokes are a bit worse, as in “TV Programs This Week”: “Evelyn runs away from reform school because [her] boy friend is always smacking her with the palm of his hand. She finally finds true love with Jack Gonng, prize-fighter, who hits her only with a closed fist.” (p.15, November 1954.)
WILD #1, 1954.
On the last page of the introduction, Vassallo asks why these highly ephemeral efforts failed and were, so to speak, never heard from again. He reiterates that Mad really was the original, attracting the best artists with the best editors and production, while Snafu and others in the Goodman barn could never, by their nature, be more than imitations.
SNAFU Issues 1-3.
There is much to be said for this interpretation. Yet, as Vassallo insists, the seriously talented Severin obviously labored under rushed conditions and tight deadlines, turning out visual gags. We wince at the Burlesque Show jokes, the “Squaw” gags with pretend-Indians and the assorted gender jokes that would not survive “Me Too” complaints of a later day. Snafu does a lot better, arguably hits a high point, with one repeat feature, well-drawn imitations of famous cartoon artists’ work, from the Saturday Evening Post to the New Yorker, not to mention 1000 Jokes and other low-class pulps that would disappear from the news stands before 1970 or so. The various artists who created these pages obviously did their homework.
Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang, #188, 1934.
Seen from another standpoint, the repetitive sex-joke format of Snafu issues may seem further from Little Annie Fanny (Kurtzman and Elder, later on in Playboy) and closer to the tradition of Captain Billy’s Whizbang of the 1920s-30s. Updated to suburban life and its consumer pleasures with built-in frustrations, it loses the old sex-crazed undergraduates—often male and female alike—of the campus and the sailors, not to mention the naughty talking parrot of the college landlady. Snafu offers, one might say, a last look backward on another time and another world of comic art.
BUNK #1, 1956.
With two issues of Snafu under his belt, Goodman launched Bunk!, made up almost entirely of retouched photos and gag commentaries, as if the butt of the joke is actually Confidential, just then a new hit in the exploitation trade. Then comes Riot, soon dumped and then revisited in short order, itself spun off to monster-satire features like Melvin the Monster. Still other, seemingly endless spinoffs follow until Atlas itself implodes. The lead artists of these efforts evidently go on, but not, I think, to greener pastures. Some made it to advertising, a long-wished goal of comic book artists, at first barred or limited by their Jewishness, and then less so. By then, the golden age of printed satire is over. At least, according to this critic.
Tales of Paranoia. R. Crumb. Fantagraphics. 2025. 36pp. $5.99.
A lot of the public has caught up with cartoonist-provocateur R. Crumb. More people than ever are ready to do some of their own provoking. But don’t count the master out. Fantagraphics is releasing, Tales of Paranoia, Crumb’s first new comic book in 23 years. A show featuring original pages from the book is on view (and for sale) at David Zwirner gallery in Los Angeles thru December 20, 2025. The leading cartoonist of the Sixties underground, one of the greatest ever, Crumb’s influence cannot be overstated. Whenever you see the work of a comics artist that features an alter ego stand-in for the creator, commenting and complaining about life’s foibles, you can thank R. Crumb. He single-handedly invented the one-person comics anthology with the launch of Zap Comix in 1967, a progenitor to the whole “autobio comics” genre that was to evolve into the “alternative comics” scene into the 21st century. Following the Crumb tradition of a Larry David-like anti-hero are countless cartoonists, including such notables as Julie Doucet, Gabrielle Bell, Julia Wertz and Noah Van Sciver. With this in mind, it is no small feat to have R. Crumb yet again hold his own—and at the age of 81!
Everything you could expect in a R. Crumb comic book can be found in this new book. I have read Tales of Paranoia a number of times and I am thoroughly impressed with how well it all holds together, one story blending into the next, not an easy thing to do well with a collection of short works. I’m delighted right away to see that distinctive, and consistent, lively drawing line. Crumb is a sui generis cartoonist: a one-of-a-kind artist who is highly accessible; sort of inviting other cartoonists to join in but most likely leaving them creating lesser replicas of his work. For the reader, Crumb is casually inviting you into his world: creating an illusion that you have entered an inner sanctum, whether it is the human condition, the national psyche or what may or may not be his own mind.
Reading every crumb of Crumb.
It is important to process every crumb of Crumb. He has written and rewritten, formatted and reformatted, to the point that he’s amassed layers of meaning, leaving room for argument and counterargument and further interpretation. Like any artist, he has absorbed the current zeitgeist and reflects it back to the reader. This leaves me wondering about his current batch of rants and riffs, as much expressions of his beliefs as a satire of how we collectively express ourselves: begin with the outrage and go from there, just like one podcaster emulates another podcaster, ad infinitum. Or, if you wish to take a longer view, it’s all about finding a way to tell the most compelling story, going back to the first stories ever told.
Crumb’s hobby horse of choice in this book is the potentially nefarious background attached to the Covid-19 vaccine and the cottage industry that has grown around it. This is not the only subject that Crumb sinks his teeth into but it is definitely at the top and provides a structure for further “ranting.” As any good storyteller knows, it’s all in the pacing. Like a good conversationalist, Crumb eases into this or that fact, gently but firmly citing his sources. Crumb makes his case for Big Pharma’s track record of corruption and encourages the reader to do their own research. Crumb finds nuggets of wisdom from a wide range of books and publications that he dutifully cites. He also includes such controversial figures as Joe Rogan and RFK Jr. which gives me pause. That said, Crumb insists you don’t have to like or agree with them but be open to what is coming from their corners. I conclude, if it is information resonating with the public, then it takes on a value, at the very least, for doing that.
We have gone from a tradition of “serious people” in high office and places of authority (John Kerry, Robert Reich, Hillary Clinton) to this current Trumpian transgressive period of unqualified “unserious people” in places of power (Kash Patel, Kristi Noem, RFK Jr.). Midway through the book, the comic “Deep State Woman,” points out that even a “highly qualified” person isn’t always your best bet. Here, Crumb can ease up on his “paranoid” character and simply focus on presenting a compelling portrait of a dangerous career bureaucrat.
With a nod to the mind-boggling complexity of all the world’s machinations, Crumb, more than once, looks upward and pleads for some words of encouragement from a higher power. Crumb depicts himself asking for some clarification from God and receiving the bare minimum for his efforts. All we can do is try. It’s nice to see that Crumb hasn’t given up.
