I was supposed to write a column on Vertigo this week, but everything I tried to write was sucky, so I wrote a column on my top-five weirdest comics instead! Hooray!
I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space (2008)
Issues: 1-6 • Writer & Artist: Megan Gedris • Publisher: Platinum Studios
Back in 2006, Megan Gedris entered the Platinum Studios Comic Book Challenge, and won a limited-run publishing deal with her story I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space. As soon as I saw the first issue at ABC Comics, I was all over it like Nuv on Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. The art is a super cool, 50’s style benday dot throwback, and the story is tacky and adorable at the same time (the title says it all). It doesn’t look like much more of Gedris’ stuff is going to get published in the near future, but fear not. She continues to produce the ongoing comic on her website. The completed six-issue arc (which was like pulling teeth to collect), is one of the stranger, and more fun, runs in my collection.
Wolverine & Doop (2003)
Issues: 1-2 • Writer: Peter Milligan • Artists: Darwyn Cooke & J. Bone • Publisher: Marvel
There are two things that are guaranteed to get a chuckle out of THIS GUY. One is the thought of Nuv falling off a ferris wheel, and the other is this Doop & Wolverine series by Milligan and Cooke and Bone. I don’t really know anything about X-Statix, and I tend to stay away from Wolverine unless something unique is going on, but this little buddy-comedy/mystery is a must have. Doop, as it turns out, is one of the weirder creations in the Marvel universe, and Wolverine is awesome as the straight-man on their quest to track down the mysterious Pink Lady. The story is funny and the art – as always with Cooke and Bone – is awesome.
The Snake Pit Book (2001 – Present)
Trade Paperbacks • Writer & Artist: Ben Snakepit • Publisher: Microcosm Press
Back in 2003, Texas punk-rocker Ben Snakepit decided that he was going to write and illustrate a three-panel journal entry every day of his life. For anyone else, this project would have ended within a week or two. For Snakepit, it’s been almost eleven years and he’s still rocking crappy jobs and getting drunk and stoned with his friends. I’ve lost count of how many bands he’s been a member of, but one thing is for sure: Ben Snakepit is a good guy who tends to break his foot off in life’s ass. They’re roughly drawn comics that everyone can relate to. Somewhere around the time he “takes a shit in a frat-boy’s Jeep” after a particularly lame party, you’ll decide that he’s your friend for life too. Now, where did Nuv park his car again?
Hello, I’m Johnny Cash (1976)
One-Shot • Writer: Billy Zeoli • Artist: Al Hartley • Publisher: Spire Christian Comics
Okay, this is the weirdest comic book I own hands down. Written by Johnny Cash and Billy Zeoli – the unofficial chaplain to Gerald Ford’s White House – and drawn by Al Hartley, a guy who gave up drawing “nudie cutie” comics to follow the Lord(?!) Make no mistake, this is about as goofy as Christian propaganda gets, but it still stays fairly true to Johnny Cash’s actual story. And Hartley’s classic art is actually very good as well. As a big fan of Johnny Cash and his music, I find the comic funny and kitschy, but it’s probably not for everyone.
The Man Who Loved Breasts (2008)
One-Shot • Writer & Artist: Robert Goodin • Publisher: Top Shelf
It takes a lot of skill to create a comic book based on one man’s obsession with breasts, and have it turn out cute and fun (as opposed to creepy and somewhat misogynistic), but Robert Goodin really nailed it! For anyone who doesn’t know Goodin’s work, a quick visit to his website will give you a pretty good idea of what his stuff is all about. While his style is somewhat reminiscent of illustrators I’m not particularly fond of (Robert Crumb, for example), in Goodin’s case it’s a comfortable weird that I really enjoy. And he has that amazing line work that I’ve really come to love through the works of Adrian Tomine and Seth. Hopefully, he’ll put out some more independent stuff soon.
Bonus!
Zombie King (2005)
One-Shot • Writer & Artist: Frank Cho • Publisher: Image
Ever want to see a zombie have sex with a cow in fairly graphic detail? Well look no further! Frank Cho must have been having a mental breakdown when he came up with this series, and that’s probably why it never made it past the preview #0, despite his intentions to go 20+ issues. I’m not sure why I keep this comic book in my collection because it’s so messed up.
Put one in the air…
– Ian
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Crumb and his adoration of fat-bottomed girls = SO TERRIBLE. But a cow effing a zombie? Right up Ian’s alley.