Let’s say, and why not, that you’re a Johnny Ryan fan and enjoy his lampooning of various comics icons. But they only happen here and there, for a panel or maybe a page at a time, and then it’s back to the business of his usual comic. Well, fret no more, as this collection has all you could ask for in terms of making fun of every sacred cow in comics. The book is broken up into four parts: daily comic strips, superheroes, independent icons, and… various, I guess. I didn’t recognize half the things in that last category. These are all one page strips, and look one tiny notch above sketchbook level at some points. When text is scribbled out there are just ugly black marks in the word balloons. But what, you’re reading Johnny Ryan comics for their neatness? There’s no sense debating the quality of the work either; as I’ve mentioned on this page you’re either a fan or you’re not. I have to admit though, as a fan, this was a bit much for me at times. Somebody with more time on their hands should total up how many of these strips don’t have gag involving shit, piss, boobs or dicks, although it does have to be said that nobody does it better. As for what specifically is in here, picture every strip in the newspaper, every superhero worth a damn, pretty much all the big names in the small press field, and all the assorted stuff in the last chapter. Or, put another way, what do Garfield, Silver Surfer, Art Spiegelman and Star Trek have in common? There’s that plus about another 120 pages of this for $10 and again, you already know if you want this or not. I’m just here pointing it out in case you missed it when it came out a couple of years ago…
