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Hotwire Comix

    (Fantagraphics, 2006, 2008)
™ and © Fantagraphics Books, Inc.

If anyone wondered what underground comix would have been like had they been born in this decade, this volume contains more than 30 examples that dare to try to answer that question.

Matt Madden’s “F*** Freely and without Fear!” reads like a clever and modern version of a Twilight Zone episode told in sequential form, R. Sikoryak’s “Mephistofield” is a hilarious Garfield-as-a-demon spoof, and Michael Kupperman’s “The Scaredy Kids” features his own usual nonsensical dry wit. In other words, these efforts affirm that undergrounds are actually alive and well; we just now call them “independents.”

On the other hand, Johnny Ryan’s “My Mother the Idiot” is an unremarkable example of his usual tasteless and so-not-funny array of toilet humor. Doug Allen’s “Hot Rod Hillbillies” condenses all the well-trodden stereotypes into two pages. And Rick Altergott closes things out with another annoying, pointless installment of “Doofus.” These entries do their best to ensure that this book never sees the outside of a head shop.

In between are stories from creators like Sam Henderson, Ivan Brunetti, and Tony Millionaire that put this volume as a whole into the black. Black light, that is.

— Jim Johnson
Jump to issue:
  • 1
    #1
    Cover: $19.95
    W: Max Andersson, Johnny Ryan, Glenn Head, Tim Lane, Judith McNicol, Matt Madden, David Paleo, Mike Wartella, Robert Siegel, Larry Sikoryak, Doug Allen, Lauren Weinstein, David Lasky, Tony Millionaire, Jeremy Onsmith, J. Bradley Johnson, Mats, Carol Swain, Sam Henderson, Christian Northeast, Michael Kupperman, Craig Yoe, Ivan Brunetti, Danny Hellman, Mack White, Rick Altergott  ·  A: Max Andersson, Johnny Ryan, Glenn Head, Tim Lane, Judith McNicol, Matt Madden, David Paleo, Mike Wartella, Robert Siegel, Larry Sikoryak, Doug Allen, Lauren Weinstein, David Lasky, Tony Millionaire, Jeremy Onsmith, J. Bradley Johnson, Mats, Carol Swain, Sam Henderson, Christian Northeast, Michael Kupperman, Craig Yoe, Ivan Brunetti, Danny Hellman, Mack White, Rick Altergott
    ca. 2006
    No copies available
  • 2
    #2
    Jan 2008
    Cover: $22.99
    W: David Paleo, Tim Lane, Matti Hagelberg, Glenn Head, Sam Henderson, Craig Yoe, Mark Newgarden, Robert Siegel, Jonathan Rosen, Ivan Brunetti, Carol Swain, Tobias Tak, David Sandlin, Mary Fleener, Mark Dean Veca, Stéphane Blanquet, Mack White, Johnny Ryan, Jeremy Onsmith, Lorna Miller, Christian Northeast, Chadwick Whitehead, Danny Hellman, Doug Allen, David Laskey  ·  A: Tim Lane, Matti Hagelberg, Glenn Head, Sam Henderson, Craig Yoe, Simon Munnery, Robert Siegel, Jonathan Rosen, Ivan Brunetti, Carol Swain, Tobias Tak, David Sandlin, Mary Fleener, Mark Dean Veca, Stéphane Blanquet, Mack White, Johnny Ryan, Jeremy Onsmith, Lorna Miller, Christian Northeast, Chadwick Whitehead, Danny Hellman, Doug Allen, Chris Estey
    1 copy for $19.00
  • 3
    #3
    Cover: $22.99
    W: Glenn Head
    No copies available