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UNTAMED HIGHWAY #1
by Shawn Dickinson and Noah Snodgrass
(32pp b&w comic; $3.95 from Untamed Comics / PO Box 246 / Littlerock, CA / 93543 USA. Web:
www.untamedhighway.com)
Reviewed by Alan RankinI’m glad Ricko invited me to review this:
Untamed Highway was an unexpected treat. It’s one of those stories that defies comparison. While it’s tempting to describe it as “the secret love child of Harvey Kurtzman and David Lynch” or some such, that downplays the book’s originality. In a similar vein, I would liken the art style to British cartoonist Hunt Emerson, but that’s just because it reminds me more of Emerson than anybody else.
The indicia doesn’t make clear how Dickinson and Snodgrass divide the writing and art chores. But they seem to have a smooth working relationship: story and art are equally nutty. The basic plot will be familiar to fans of hard-boiled fiction: A likable loser gets mixed up with a gang of weirdos, who coerce him into doing their dirty work; intrigue and danger immediately follow. In execution, though, it’s closer to
The Big Lebowski than a Jim Thompson novel. And like
Lebowski,
Untamed made me laugh out loud several times. Shawn and Noah have a great, wacked-out sense of humor.
Our “hero” is Syd Drake, a bespectacled schmo in a cheap suit and Elvis pompadour. He’s on the run from “Bananas” Barofski, a gangster who wears a permanently-affixed gorilla mask, and who faked his own death in a bowling accident. Drake is recruited by a Shriner-like secret society of wackos, “The Eye in the Wasteland,” who wear the craziest headgear since Fred Flintstone’s Royal Order of Water Buffaloes. The Eye gang, who are obsessed with roadside attractions, have their own beef with Barofski — but Drake learns too late that they’re just as dangerous.
Add to this a bar decorated in tiki masks and Easter Island heads; a gruesome sideshow exhibit that turns out to be the “McGuffin” everybody’s after; some hilarious dialogue exchanges; and an unexpected cameo by Ed Wood performer Tor Johnson. Issue #1 ends on a cliffhanger, but it’s well worth your four bucks; there’s a lot of comedy and oddball action crammed into these 32 pages.
My only complaint is that the print values sometimes aren’t up to matching the artwork. In certain panels, such as the first shot of the “Idol Hans” bar, many fine details are all but lost to the background. The original art must have looked terrific by comparison. (You can see some sample page art on the website.) Maybe if lots of people buy issue 1, the guys can get better printing for future issues. Anyway, that's a minor caveat; I highly recommend Untamed Highway. If you’re a fan of comedy in the style of Kurtzman’s
Mad, check this one out.
[ Link to this review ]
