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Tales Designed to Thrizzle #1
posted July 21, 2005
 



Creator: Michael Kupperman
Publishing Information: Fantagraphics, 2005, 32 pages, $4.50
Ordering Numbers:

Michael Kupperman originally made a name in comics as P. Revess, the author of the 1990s alt-weekly staple "Up All Night." That furiously drawn strip contained such killer features as "Snake 'n' Bacon," "Robot Grandpa," and my personal favorite, "Black Godfather of the Ants." The humor was mostly conceptual, the thought that such a stupid strip could exist added to the laugh at the concept. The fact that it was filled with lines and shading made the feature even more funny. Along with some comic book page work from places like Zero Zero, the Up All Night strips were collected in 2000's Snake 'n' Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret, which did either well enough or poorly enough for its publisher that at one point during a Small Press Expo Kupperman was giving away copies.

This latest effort is still conceptually solid, with features like "Uncle Billy's Drunken, Bitter Guide to the Animal Kingdom" and "Picasso: His Astonishing Life Narrated by a Hamburger." Promisingly, Kupperman mixes the styles and presentational formats here, bringing back old favorites (the Mannister, sex blimps, and so on) but also shaking up the proceedings with recurring bits. That guy at the top of this page, for instance, is Pagus, Jesus' brother that celebrates all things pagan like someone had just dropped a weight on his head. What can I say? I think Kupperman is really funny, and I hope this new comic stays on the twice-yearly schedule planned for it. Please buy five copies and leave the other four in the back seat for people to read when you drive them to Wal-Mart.