Slow Death

(Last Gasp, 1970-1992)
™ and ©1970 Last Gasp Publishing

(From the Slings & Arrows Comic Guide)

Unlike most underground titles of the period, Slow Death has stories which are mostly grim or blackly humorous. Although the early creative lineup boasts Jaxon, Sheridan, Corben and Irons, it’s all rather primitive, derivative stuff. By issue #8, a Greenpeace special, the series had turned into a political and satirical title. The covers, by William Stout and Rand Holmes, encapsulate the militancy of the book’s stance. Subsequent issues continued to mix didactic stories, documentary-style strips and information pages. Atomic power was the theme for #9, while #10 and #11 were cheery compilations of info on cancer and energy respectively. In #10 and #11 there’s particularly good work from the late Greg Irons, one of the few creators who worked consistently on the title, including a Donald Duck strip based on the Kurtzman/Elder Disney parody (from Mad Magazine). Otherwise most of the work in the later issues rarely rises above the preachiness of the scripts. The exceptions to this are Guy Colwell’s “Herpes Is A Virus” in #10 (don’t read it if you’re squeamish) and Alan Moore and Bryan Talbot’s “Cold Snap,” reprinted in #11 from Food for Thought. ~NF

Recommended: #8, 10

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Notes

Writer

Artist

#3 (Pentagram Press logo on front cover by Richard Corben and Greg Irons (Back Cover))

November, 1971
Cover Price: $0.50
1 copy available for $1.50

Dave Sheridan, Richard Corben, Jim Osborne, Jack Jackson, Larry Welz

#5

April, 1973
Cover Price: $0.50
2 copies available from $5.20

Dave Sheridan, Tom Veitch, Charles Dallas, Rand Holmes, Richard Corben

Dave Sheridan, Greg Irons, Charles Dallas, Rand Holmes, Richard Corben

#8

July, 1977
Cover Price: $1.00
1 copy available for $6.50

Greg Irons, Mike Becker, William Stout, Doug Hansen, Michael T. Gilbert, Sam Wray, Roger Brand, Shelby Sampson, Dennis Ellefson, Tim Boxell

Brenda Bernu, Mike Becker, William Stout, Doug Hansen, Michael T. Gilbert, Sam Wray, Roger Brand, Shelby Sampson, Dennis Ellefson, Tim Boxell

#9

August, 1978
Cover Price: $0.00
2 copies available from $6.50

Greg Irons, Mike Becker, Dennis Ellefson, Errol McCarthy, Tim Boxell

#11

January, 1992
Cover Price: $2.95
2 copies available from $24.98

Tom Veitch, Alan Moore, Greg Irons, Graham Manley, John Edgar, Warren Greenwood, Wallace Wood

Greg Irons, Bryan Talbot, Graham Manley, John Edgar, Warren Greenwood, Wallace Wood