Cartoon Flophouse

(Original Syndicate, 2002)
™ and © Original Syndicate Press

Michael Aushenker’s “Greenblatt the Great” is the star of this anthology of underground-style comics. Greenblatt is a ketchup-guzzling bellhop with a large cast of supporting characters including his invisible dog Shem and Van Dyke, a sort of Geezil minus a Wimpy.

The stories are not typically laugh out loud funny, nor do they contain much insight into or commentary on the human condition, yet they are oddly gripping.
Other strips in the collection, such as “Bloody the Bloodhound,” “Sourpuss the Cat,” “Flambo,” and “Elvis the Elf,” have their moments, but are subsidiary to “Greenblatt.” (The “Fix Cereal” ad is actually pretty funny.)

Rounding out the package is Xeth Feinberg’s “Papü,” an absurdist strip which has garnered praise, but whose appeal can be elusive. “Papü” works better online.

Cartoon Flophouse is a mixed bag that will hold the reader, but often like a car crash rather than a sunset. Fans of underground comix or early Peter Bagge strips like “Girly Girl” and “Goon on the Moon” might enjoy this. Those whose diets consist solely of musclemen in primary colors hitting one another should walk on by.

— Jack Abramowitz

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Cover Price: $5.00
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