Tales From The Outer Boroughs #1 [1991] (Random Comics Theatre)

Random Comics Theatre

Tales From The Outer Boroughs #1 [1991]

This was a comic created by Douglas Michael, published in 1991 by Fantagraphics.  Until today I assumed it was a one-shot, never having seen another issue, but it turns out that there were five issues of the series published between 1991 and 1992.

Prior to this I had read Michael's one-shot THE ELVIS MANDIBLE, published by Piranha Press, and liked that. His work reminds me a bit of Rick Geary's work, which I'm quite fond of, and I'm not surprised in searching right now that both of them did work for NATIONAL LAMPOON magazine.

This issue has a 32-page story called "Mister Seebring".  It's told in a series of single-page scenes, each with a separate title, which makes me think this might have been serialized somewhere before this publication.  The title character is a mysterious individual who talks to a photo of his dead dog, which sends him out to the suburbs and an old acquaintance. We gradually find out the details of a murder plot, complicated by a snooping neighbour.  Pretty well told little story with a lot of twists in just a few pages, feels a lot like something you'd see as a subplot of a David Lynch project.

Might have to track down the other issues, though I'm unclear if anything from this issue continues in those.  Doesn't look like there was ever a reprint of the series.

Lex Luthor - The Unauthorized Biography [1989] (Random Comics Theatre)

Random Comics Theatre

Lex Luthor - The Unauthorized Biography [1989]

This is a prestige format one-shot published drawn by Eduardo Barreto and written by James Hudnall published by DC in 1989. The cover, painted by Eric Peterson, takes a bit of design influence from Tony Schwartz and Donald Trump's then-recent book THE ART OF THE DEAL.

Lex Luthor is of course the long-time arch-villain of Superman, created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel.  For most of his history portrayed as a mad scientist, in and out of jail between having his schemes foiled by Superman. He was modified in the 1986 revamp of Superman (by Marv Wolfman, John Byrne and others) to be a businessman whose criminal activities were largely unknown. Eventually a lot of aspects of his previous history were added back.

This story features a down-and-out reporter named Peter Sands who decides to write a biography of Luthor. He digs up a lot of secrets and rumours, attracting the attention of Luthor, and getting Clark Kent caught up in a murder investigation.

A pretty decent story that seems to build well on what I know of some of the backstory that had been developed for this version of Luthor.  I'm not really well read enough in the next few years to know if anything established in here led to other stories, or was just ignored or contradicted.

But the real reason to get this is as a showcase for the work of Eduardo Barreto. Always a solid artist for DC in the 1980s, on books like ATARI FORCE and NEW TEEN TITANS, he does a great job with what's mostly a straight-ahead crime story (there's only one brief obscured panel of Clark Kent as Superman).

Looks like this was only reprinted once, in a 2018 book SUPERMAN- PRESIDENT LUTHOR with some chapters of a later storyline where Luthor enters politics.  A corrupt billionaire running for President, where do they get their crazy ideas...