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Sometimes when you go digging through a bargain bin you find something. . .different. There, among all the Valiant and early Image comics you find something that just catches your eye. Something you've never seen before. Something that quietly whispers that you need to pay a buck and rescue it from the bargain bin prison.
This is one of those comics.
I've never heard of this series. I've never seen another issue of it. Information online about it is EXTREMELY sparse. Basically cover scans and a bit of creator information.
I'm willing to bet a dollar that this will literally be the first and only full review of this comic that has ever been done and ever will BE done.
But this is Longbox Junk. And that's what we DO here!
So, let's do it.
THE SKUNK #1
Entity Comics (1996)
COVER: Bill Maus
THE COVER:
So this cover made me buy this comic book. It's 90s-Tastic in every way! The colors are great, the title font is cool, and it's just really eye-catching. Is it the greatest cover in my collection? Not even close, but there's just something about it that I like a lot.
Let's get inside this thing!
THE STORY:
Uno
SCRIPT: Bill Maus
PENCILS: Bill Maus
INKS: Bill Maus
We begin our tale in New York City, where two garbage collectors discover a giant man wearing a strange costume laying in the trash in the back of their truck. . .
The mysterious figure is weak and disoriented for some unknown reason. He doesn't remember who he is, where he is, or what day it is. But it begins to slowly come back to him. . .
IN THE MEANTIME. . .
We shift scenes to a beautiful young woman whose car has been stolen while she was returning overdue video tapes (Welcome back to 1996, folks!). All that's left is the steering wheel with her anti-theft device still attached.
Unfortunately for the thieves, they crashed the car a few blocks down the street. . .because it had no steering wheel. Now they've returned to steal whatever else the girl has. She informs the idiot thieves that her wallet is still in the car.
It turns out that she's in the clutches of the Sticky Boys! They grab the girl and tape her to the wall, planning on letting her die of embarrassment. . .
And THAT'S when our mysterious hero arrives on the scene!
He leaps into action, easily defeating the Sticky Boys. He saves his mightiest attack for last. . .a blast of foul gas from his, er. . .behind! He declares that Justice has a new smell, the smell of THE SKUNK!
After the girl is rescued, we learn her name is Macy. She takes The Skunk to her apartment. On the way, they run into her creepy landlord. Ever since he was struck by lightning on the rooftop of the building, he doesn't take off his sunglasses.
WE see that the landlord's sunglasses actually give him the ability to see people without their clothes. . .BUCK NEKKED!
A week later, Macy and The Skunk have become a couple. Between her kindness toward him and her art, The Skunk feels that he's found the connection he's been looking for. He now knows what he must do. . .
Later, The Skunk begs Marcy to become his. . .partner in fighting crime! His side-kick! She agrees!
A quick costume change and the two of them begin to patrol the city together, a new force for Justice!
EPILOGUE. . .
In Macy's building, the Landlord with the strange glasses goes to do his laundry in the basement.
He's confronted by a terrible creature. . .barely human and wrapped in strips of cloth. He tells the Landlord he's out for revenge because he was evicted.
He's been hiding in the dryer and has been tumble-dried so many times, he has become. . .THE ROLL!
DUN-DUN-DUNNNN!!
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
Okay, there it is. The Skunk #1. Let's break it on down!
So. . .it's not great. Let's just get that out of the way. That said, I often say a comic doesn't always NEED to be great. Sometimes you just want to read something fun. This comic IS sort of fun, but it tries a little too hard to squeeze that bit of fun out.
It's basically a parody of grim-n-gritty 90s comics, which a bit of research shows me that both Bill Maus (the guy wearing all the creative hats here) and Entity Comics were known for. But like I said just above, it tries a little TOO hard to be clever.
The story is extremely light and very abbreviated. This comic is LITERALLY half advertisements for Entity back issues and upcoming titles. I see that there are actually six issues of this series out there, but truthfully, there's probably only enough story for three, based on this first issue.
So, those of you who have been reading Longbox Junk for a while know that I base my opinion of a first issue on TWO questions. . .and if you are a new reader, WELCOME! And by the way, I base my opinion of first issues on these TWO questions:
First. . .Does it introduce the characters and their situation in a new reader-friendly way? Well, that would be a no. There's hardly any actual introduction or explanation of anything. This story is so short that it just sort of slams from one thing to another and it's over before you know it.
Second. . .Does it make me want to read more? That would also be a no. Although this comic is sort of 90s-Tastic fun, it's SO light and forgettable that I think I can do without looking for any other issues of the series.
Two for two on the wrong side of the dial. Not good.
CONCLUSION
They can't all be winners, right? And The Skunk isn't a winner. It's barely okay. It just tries TOO hard to be a parody of the grim-n-gritty 90s. It comes off as smug and sort of full of itself. Like someone who laughs hardest at their own joke.
This is the only issue I've seen of this series, but I see that there are six of them out there. The Skunk also made some guest appearances in other Entity comics. The one I see mostly mentioned is "Fart Wars", a parody of Star Wars. You can find issues of both The Skunk and Fart Wars for sale online.
Bill Maus is probably better known to con-o-sewers of black and white indie comics as the guy behind Zen, The Intergalactic Ninja. So if you dig the exaggerated art style in the pages I scanned above, finding some Zen might be a bit easier. I see them pretty often in the bargain bins.
Overall, this comic is so light on story and so heavy on forced humor and ads that I can't recommend it to anyone other than fans of Bill Maus. There's better stuff to find in the bargain bins.
That's it for this one.
Stick around for more Longbox Junk, and until next time, remember that comics are worth more than money!
