Posted in: Comics, Image | Tagged: butcher baker, image comics, joe casey, Mike Huddleston, Ryan Quackenbush

Butcher Baker Returns With Ryan Quackenbush But Not Mike Huddleston

Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker was published from Image by Joe Casey & Mike Huddleston in 2011. 12 years later, it's back with a sequel.

Published Tue, 13 Jun 2023 11:56:12 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker was published by Image Comics from Joe Casey and Mike Huddleston in 2011. Now twelve years later, it's back with a sequel, written by Joe Casey and now drawn by Ryan Quackenbush for a sequel series titled, Junior Baker the Righteous Faker, as a dark, five-issue 30-page issue miniseries beginning this September from Image Comics.

The original series concluded with #8, ten months after #7, with Joe Casey stating "it actually has nothing to do with the interminable wait between "Butcher Baker" #7 and #8. The fact is, Huddleston found himself in a tough spot, having over-committed himself beyond the point of rational thought. He fell way behind and there was nothing I could do about it. It's frustrating as hell and, in my opinion, supremely embarrassing. It's not helping the cause of creator-owned comic books when creators can't keep their shit together. Going into this, I thought it would be a fun, breezy ride that I could kick back and get my rocks off doing every month. Turns out, I've had to learn some harsh lessons from the experience."

Mike Huddleston replied "After taking a moment to dump on me, Joe Casey talks Butcher Baker #8- which arrives tomorrow!.. Not to take a personal conflict public (although Joe wasn't shy about giving his opinion via interview), but for the record: "overcommitment" was not the issue with Butcher's schedule. As much as I love Butcher Baker it was a project that just didn't make enough money for me to live on. I had to take other work to keep the lights on and work on Butcher when I could. I've apologized to fans and to Joe for the delay… Yeah, I think that answers any questions about future collaborations…. it's too bad… Yep, that's the end. We haven't been able to communicate on the trade either, so I think we are going to have the extra art, covers and pinups appear only in the European versions."

And it is now it is continuing without Huddleston… or even mentioning hm.

In Junior Baker the Righteous Faker, readers will meet Daniel "Dizzy" Baker, a gonzo journalist chasing superhuman news items in a world that's left superheroes behind. Stumbling onto the ultimate story, Baker embarks on a personal vision quest where his past and his future will inevitably and violently collide.

"Lately, I've been asking myself a lot of questions about my own relationship with the superhero genre, something I've been associated with professionally for over twenty-five years," said Casey. "Did it still speak to me? Did it still hold the same kind of relevance as it did when I was just a fan? How many other readers of my generation were feeling this ambivalence to something that meant so much to us since we were kids? Doing this kind of sequel series confronts some those questions. So both conceptually and narratively, it's a really big swing we're taking here. Not to mention, Ryan is a brave, new talent and his art on this alone is worth the price of admission."

Quackenbush added: "I'm very excited for people to read this. Creatively, Joe and I have been on the same page since the very start, although I never knew what I was going to draw as each script came to me. As I found myself in the middle of drawing this book, going down Joe's crazy paths with him, meeting these unpredictable characters, I could relate to Dizzy. Always looking for answers and trying to make the best of things. Messing things up in the process. No matter how weird it got, or where we took it, there were very human emotions at the heart of it and I hope everyone feels that in the midst of all the bizarre."

Junior Baker the Righteous Faker #1 will be available at comic book shops on the 20th of September from Image Comics through Lunar Distributors.