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Arsenic Lullaby Review
-by Andrew Goletz
Rating: 10 out of 10
I could probably go to hell for just reading this comic.
My chances are increased considerably by
the fact that I enjoy it so much.
Created, written and illustrated by Douglas Paszkiewicz (the name is murder on
my spell check), Arsenic Lullaby is a comic book like no other
I had the
good fortune to meet Mr.P during the Motor City Convention earlier this year and
that is where I was first introduced to his work. Needless to say, after I
laughed my ass of and promptly hid the comic from wandering eyes I went and
purchased all the issues that I was missing. What can I write about this book
that would do it justice? To say that it’s ‘out there’ sounds trite. To
say that no one under the age of 25 should be able to read it could scare people
off unjustly. And to speak about the gags would spoil the fun for everyone.
I’ll do my
best to emphasize the kick ass-take no prisoners-balls to the wall coolness of
the book without giving too much away. Arsenic Lullaby is an anthology embracing
cynicism, sarcasm, wit and irreverence. In each issue there are one or two short
features. The topics always change. One issue that comes to mind had a short
story with two flies sitting on a couch and having a conversation about how
great life would be in Ethiopia where they could sit on people without being
swatted at.
There are
also continuing installments. One ongoing story features Joe (who wears a mask
after being turned into a witch doctor awhile before). Joe must constantly
inflict revenge on other people to keep the curse from getting worse. Believe
me, Garth Ennis may have found some competition in the creative ways to maim and
torture contest.
Another
popular feature (well, it’s ongoing, I don’t really know how popular it is)
stars the US Census Agent. The best way to explain this is to swipe some of the
opening lines from an older issue. This
is from the May ’99 edition. “My name is Edgar Bryers. I am a US Census
Agent. We worked very hard to count every man, woman and child. When we were
done this country had a perfect census. This data could have been used to divide
up the tax dollars, make laws, and set up quotas. It could have, until selfish
fascists go and have a baby. Just one baby after the census throws the whole
thing off balance.” And that’s
all you’re going to get without reading the book. Suffice to say, there are
reasons (besides spoiling the fun) that I don’t go into the solution Bryers
has.
Humor and
deciding what is appropriate or not appropriate to laugh at is such a touch
subject nowadays that it’s refreshing to see a book like Arsenic Lullaby come
out and just not give a damn. Douglas P. is setting out simply to make some
people laugh about things they normally wouldn’t admit to finding funny and
whether he likes to admit it or not, I think he’s making us think, too. The
humor is there to shock, yes, but it also makes fun of our own ignorance as
people to deal with these issues in an appropriate way. I think part of the fun
that comes from reading this book is in trying to figure out what the real
target of joke is.
The rest of
the book is as impressive as the writing. The art is done surprisingly well. In
my experience with books of this nature, the art is the weaker part of the
overall comic book, but Douglas P. manages to give each story its own separate
look, which is welcome. Arsenic Lullaby contains the right amount of reader
feedback, contests and commentary from the creator to give it a good balance.
Any title in which every issue is dedicated to Ronald Reagan has to be good.
My only
complaint (you knew there had to be something) is that I wish the story-lines
weren’t spread out within the individual issues so much. What I mean is that
the US Census Agent story for this particular issue could be spread out with
pages 2-6, 12-14 and 20-22. I think it would come together a bit more sharply if
it was put together in each issue.
So should
you get Arsenic Lullaby? Absolutely. I don’t think there is any reason why you
should not try the book out. The humor probably won’t be with everyone’s
tastes, but you owe it to yourselves to at least take a chance on it. Douglas P.
is doing his best to put out a title that doesn’t tone itself down in its
attempts to make you crack a smile. He should get some sort of recognition for
that. It’s pretty much a safe bet that you’ll be reading something the likes
of which you’ve never read before.
Available
through A.Silent Comics Inc
1619 W.
Whitaker Avenue
Milwaukee,
WI 53221
Copyright©2000 Andrew Goletz