Product of Society is an indie publication created by John Michael Lennon of CheeseLord Comics. Each book is a stand alone anthology, and each story contained within a special variation of weird and unusual. What originally piqued my interest in this was B. Alan Hubbard, one of the contributing writers to Monocyte #2, but after digging into it I found so much more to tickle me. Since there are so many, very different stories in this collection, I will give you a little taste of what you can expect.
Re: Salvation is the first story (written by B. Alan Hubbard, art by John Michael Lennon) and it’s a trippy, creepy stroll down coma lane. A man comes face to face with his failures and those failures are merciless. While his family and ‘loved ones’ watch over his motionless body, David struggles to free himself from the prison of his own mind. It’s not a happy story, but also doesn’t lack a certain self deprecating humor. The art in this one isn’t so much my favorite in the book, but it’s a style I think some will appreciate for it’s no-frills, clean look.
The short Brain Hungry, by Don Hills, Kyle Lawler and Donovan Klingel is quick and sweet. And by sweet I mean not so sweet. It is the Wizard of Oz’s Tinman meets Jigsaw. The art was pretty great in this; a dark, shadowy, sketchy style that clearly creates a mood of danger and death to come.
The 19th Circle of Hell, a goofy story about a kid trying to wrangle a demon to come and sweep him away from his boring, suburban life takes a fun, if predictable, turn for the worst. At first glance, the art felt a tad ‘young’ to me, but I must admit before I was halfway through the story it really grew on me, quickly filling out and growing into a more substantial presence in the story. This kid inadvertently invites a nasty guest into his neighborhood and finds himself battling one of the most historically bad ass demons a naive Satanist could hope to conjure.
This book is a little fucked up and a lot silly. But it’s also very enjoyable and a hell of a deal, offering eight stories for the price of a single issue. CheeseLord Comics is a small, indie group of creators in Chicago, so Product of Society will be available starting March 4, at DanCon, at limited local comic stores and possibly digital in the near future. It appears the quickest way to get your hands on this little gem is through the CheeseLord ebay store. You all know how I feel about supporting creator owned work, so do it. This one is well worth a read and the group of artists and writers involved in it are well worth supporting.
