Slow Death 01-11 (Last Gasp) (1970-1992)

Unlike most underground titles of the period, Slow Death has stories which are mostly grim or blackly humorous. Although the early creative lineup boasts Jaxon, Sheridan, Corben and Irons, it’s all rather primitive, derivative stuff. By issue #8, a Greenpeace special, the series had turned into a political and satirical title. The covers, by William Stout and Rand Holmes, encapsulate the militancy of the book’s stance. Subsequent issues continued to mix didactic stories, documentary-style strips and information pages. Atomic power was the theme for #9, while #10 and #11 were cheery compilations of info on cancer and energy respectively. In #10 and #11 there’s particularly good work from the late Greg Irons, one of the few creators who worked consistently on the title, including a Donald Duck strip based on the Kurtzman/Elder Disney parody (from Mad Magazine). Otherwise most of the work in the later issues rarely rises above the preachiness of the scripts. The exceptions to this are Guy Colwell’s “Herpes Is A Virus” in #10 (don’t read it if you’re squeamish) and Alan Moore and Bryan Talbot’s “Cold Snap,” reprinted in #11 from Food for Thought. ~NF
(atomicavenue.com)

MANY THANKS TO ALL THE SCANNERS WHO MADE THIS COLLECTION POSSIBLE!