Misery A Go Go #1 Review

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Reviewer: Mathan Erhardt
Story Title: N/A

Written by: Mark Crnolatas & Douglas Paszkiewicz
Illustrated by: Randy Crider
Published by: AAA Milwaukee Publishing

I was lucky enough to receive a preview copy of Misery A Go Go. Sure it was addressed to “Martha Ernhardt” but the point is I got it.

The comic is composed of short stories that are usually distasteful, morally bereft, and more often than not, laugh out loud funny. This book eyes the line of decency and boldly crosses it. Every story.

Take the lead in about a pedophile merman with a penchant for necrophilia. I guess that one describes itself. The account of Ken Davis, a cub reporter who dreams of big time stories, only to be saddled with filler human-interest stories. He finally gets a story that could break him to the majors, an uplifting story about a double amputee. The problem is that the amputee is anything but uplifting. He is downright bitter. We then watch as Ben tries to make lemonade out of lemons, only to find that the lemons are infested with hate filled bile.

We are also treated to the humorously informative “So You’ve ‘Accidentally’ Killed a Whore…Now What?” It gives you plenty of different scenarios on how to handle a situation that, no doubt many famous politicians have found themselves in numerous times. Hitler is alive and well on these pages, and apparently living in the suburbs. He’s also up to his old shtick, that rascal.

A downsized Joe Llama finds new work through tobacco subsidiaries. And we get a peep into the familiar (at least to those who read Arsenic Lullabies”) U.S. Department of Things Not Yet Tried, where they are still trying to reform Dan the pedophile.

Crnolatas and Paszkiewicz have twisted senses of humor. The jokes are on un PC material, and can be very offensive and funny at the same time. They tread a fine line, but tread it perfectly. They aren’t offensive without being funny. The humor is dark, but it is always “on.” I did think the Ben Davis story went on a tad too long. But aside from that the writing is sharp.

The art is even sharper. Everything is so crisp and clear. Crider’s art is a joy to look at. The facial expressions are always on point. And his use of eyebrows is amazing. Black and white art doesn’t always work, but Crider’s line work makes it look as vivid as color.