Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, HRL

IDW to Publish Rick Veitch's Brat Pack Hardcover in September

Published Mon, 15 Jan 2018 15:30:17 -0600

Once upon a time, a couple of decades and more ago, Rick Veitch wrote and drew a comic book called Brat Pack, published by Tundra. It was a story about the sidekicks of very familiar superheroes with a strong sexual undercurrent (or overcurrent). It was amazing. In June, Veitch posted:

2018 will also see a new hardcover edition of BRAT PACK from IDW. Editor Scott Dunbier has asked me to remain vague on details at this point but I'm hoping we can get some extra pages to run the many promotional illustrations, t-shirt advertisements, unused art and more.

Besides the original mini-series, BRAT PACK has been through four previous King Hell collections, all of which are currently sold out and only available on the used book market.

Here is the original advertisement for the series that ran in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles circa 1990.

Well, it has just hit Amazon. Amazon Canada, admittedly, but still Amazon. With this listing for September 2018:

Just as Moore's Watchmen dissected the notion of superheroes, this underground classic deconstructs the implausible comic book mainstay that is the kid sidekick.

Both darkly comic and just plain dark, Rick Veitch's Bratpack has been considered a must-read almost since the release of its first issue in 1990. Now, fifteen years after it's last printing, it's back in a new hardcover edition.

Welcome to Slumburg, Pennsylvania, where the superpowered team called Black October is as bad as the villains they bring in. Now they want to train a new generation to follow in their footsteps. First, though, they'll need to find some new recruits, as they suddenly find themselves facing a distinct shortage of sidekicks.

Subversively subtle yet completely over the top, Bratpack is uncomprising, uncomfortable, and unforgettable. It's also an essential for every graphic novel collection. This black and white hardcover edition includes Neil Gaiman's introduction, as well as a new essay by Rick, extra art, and the original 23-page series proposal.