Cosmic Lion Productions has announced a new, hardcover collection of autobiographical comics from award-winning creators Gideon Kendall (Heavy Metal, MAD Magazine) and Doug Latino (Bottoms Up, Tales from the Wolf).
Slated for release in March, Wait It Gets Worse… If Only We Knew presents 270 pages of the original comic’s greatest hits, as well as 10 new stories and 50 pages of never-before-seen material, with a mix of full color and black-and-white art. In addition to a foreword by Denis Kitchen, the collection also features thematic chapter art from a variety of creators, including Josh Neufeld (American Splendor).
“The rogue’s gallery of auto-bio comics authors is replete with some truly messed-up personalities. Crumb, Pekar, Wilson, Eichhorn, Joe Matt… the list goes on,” Kendall said in a statement. “Do these incredible creators embellish and play up their foibles for dramatic and comic effect? Sure. But to varying degrees, these are all people with problems. The funny thing about Doug is he’s actually pretty sane. Stable, even! Once you get past his drug-soaked early years, he’s a wholesome dude. But no amount of wholesomeness or stability can withstand the slaps and slights that life throws at you, and that’s what these stories are about.”
He added, “Now that my midlife crisis is over, the crisis of old age and eventual oblivion is just beginning. But at least I can take comfort in the fact that we, to the best of our abilities, have turned — and continue to turn — our struggles and embarrassments into ‘art’, or at least some bastardized version thereof. The only difference is that instead of telling our problems to a therapist, we’re telling them to you!”
Latino said, “We have nothing but reverence for the Underground comix pioneers who came before us, and we’ve taken a ‘hi-lo’ approach to the production of the book. In a sense it’s all done in a high manner, using a ‘fancy hardcover’ to showcase stories that are silly, self-deprecating, embarrassing, and full of our foibles. It’s a very straightforward, almost academic, presentation of this irreverent, low-brow material — and some of our biggest inspirations have said we did a pretty good job of it, which to us is the highest form of praise.”
The Beat can present a smattering of exclusive preview pages from Wait It Gets Worse… If Only We Knew, seen below.
Wait It Gets Worse… If We Only Knew is available for pre-order from Cosmic Lion Productions for $30 and will begin shipping in March.
