Prison Funnies

    (RAID, 2003)
™ and ©2003 Chip Zdarsky and Steve Murray

OK, so prison can be funny. At least if you’re just reading about it.

Chip Zdarsky’s prior one-shot, The Collected Prison Funnies, was a very unfunny and badly conceived collection of stories and strips featuring his self-created band of hard-nosed inmates and their so-called antics. This time, though, the first issue of Zdarsky’s new series eschews the comic-strip format, opting for a full-length story that’s actually good for a number of laughs.

Zdarsky’s dry and darkly comedic story works much better in this format, because it allows him to develop the characters, the jokes, and just about everything else. In the midst of a brutal prison riot, Diesel Pete, Johnny Arson, and the gang brutalize guards, start fires, and then, in a twisted but amusing move, sit around the fire and trade origin stories. And it works; this time, it’s funny.

It’s not side-splittingly hilarious or anything, but a worthy effort. And a definite improvement. Zdarsky was sentenced to hard labor in a previous review, but his sentence is hereby commuted.

— Jim Johnson
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#1


Cover Price: $3.00
1 copy available for $29.99 		Chip ZdarskyChip Zdarsky
#2


Cover Price: $3.00
1 copy available for $39.99 		Chip ZdarskyChip Zdarsky