Supernatural Law: Grandfathered In

The Counselors of the Macabre are hired to assist with a family dispute. The heirs of an old house are ready to sell. But the ghost of the grandfather who passed away just isn't willing to let go of the home yet. 

Meanwhile, back at the law firm of Wolff & Byrd, things are not going so well. Most of their accounts are in arrears despite a glut of billable hours. The museum that purchases many of the relics that are used as payment by the firm''s clients has put a moratorium on sales. And Byrd's mother needs expensive life saving treatments after a collapse at home. 

If this all sounds like the last hurrah for Supernatural Law, you're not wrong. Sadly, just a few short months after this graphic novel length story was published, Batton Lash lost his battle with cancer. Grandfathered In does have that 'close the book' feel. But the very last page seems to promise a return of Wolff & Byrd. It could very well be that Batton Lash was working on another volume before his death. So we might see his widow Jackie Estrada and Exhibit A Press running a Kickstarter for that work. Or things could be done. I really hope that's not the case.

Supernatural Law is such a fun series. It's funny. It's nostalgic. It's smart. I really enjoyed doing a deep dive back into the complete comic book run. And when I read this book, things were bittersweet. But in the back of the book, Batton Lash discusses all of the appearances of Wolff & Byrd in print and there's about half a dozen books out there to find. So my experience with Supernatural Law is far from over! (There's also 3 collections of the newspaper strips. I'll re-read those the closer we get to Halloween, I think).

A very nice closer to a favorite franchise. The art was rough. I chalk that up to the illness Lash was battling. But the storytelling was stronger than ever!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Zombie Wife: And Other Tales of Supernatural Law

Zombie Wife continues the adventures of Wolff & Byrd: The Counselors of the Macabre. Though the comic book series Supernatural Law is no more, Batton Lash kept the fun going with a web comic. With a web comic, Lash got to use color, he wasn't restrained by deadlines, page limits or finances. You might think owning your own publishing company would be cookies and cream. But Exhibit A Press had a major cash flow problem despite a loyal following. 

Almost a whole year transpired between the penultimate and final issues!

The main story is titled 'Zombie Wife'. In it, a man is acquitted for the death of his loving bride. As a result, the spouse has not just rolled in her grave, she crawled out and filed a wrongful death civil suit! 

Then the Gorgon Medusa obtains the services of Wolff & Byrd. At first it was to review the contract of her latest tell-all biography. Now it's to defend her from a lawsuit from a rogue cartoonist who has gotten under Medusa's scales! (See what I did there! I said scales not skin because she has snakes for hair!) This one is a longer romp that examines freedom of speech. But it's also a prime example of how Batton Lash would draw characters differently to represent an art form or style instead of being consistent. And I'm finally okay with it!

Then we've got a story about a wiccan who is offended by Halloween. She claims that All Hallow's Eve has been watered-down the legitimacy of true witches. In what is the second holiday themed story of the franchise, I'm kicking myself that I didn't wait for Halloween to read this one!

Zombie Wife is wrapped up with four-color reprints of the Vampire of Hollywood issues. Not sure why Batton Lash decided to reprint those issues. They had just been published in the volume prior. I would have liked to seen a couple of the earliest issues remastered.

The whole book was great. There are hints of the OJ trial, Scott Peterson, Charlie Hebdo, and Madalyn Murray O'Hare. I'm a little disappointed in the choice of floppy reprints (mostly because of how recently I had read them). But I really enjoyed this book!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Werewolf of New York: A Supernatural Law Book (A Madman Re-Read)

The Werewolf of New York is the first Supernatural Law original graphic novel. It's also the first full-color story! In the reading order of things, yes, you do skip in-between the individual Supernatural Law issues. At another review post, I'll explain why. But for now, it's all about lycanthropy. 

Leon Reed has a chance encounter with some wolfsbane and turns into a werewolf as a result. During one of Leon's monthly changes, he attacks a man with a gun. Leon claims it was all in self defense. But it's election time and both the New York District Attorney and the judge proceeding over the case are up for re-election. Still, to throw Leon behind bars for a first offense wouldn't be just. So probation and rehab are ordered.

In the 28 days leading up to his next transformation, Leon attends a 13-step program to curb his animalistic urges. Meanwhile, a shape-shifters rights group is in the wings mucking things up. They believe that Wolff & Byrd aren't doing enough for Leon. These activists believe Leon should be encouraged to embrace his wild side and run free. And they're not afraid to flood the airwaves with their message!

Many of the stories of Supernatural Law appear to be parodies of monster flicks. But underneath, a ton of these stories are satire of important social debates of the day. Batton Lash has done stories on the First Amendment, divorce, abortion and many other issues that seem to grace the floor of our higher courts. The Werewolf of New York is a little bit about animal rights as well as gender rights and identity. But the overall message of this graphic novel is about the overly pervasive role of media in our lives. 

Batton Lash's storytelling isn't an issue. It's amazing. And I really liked that Wolff and Byrd's personal lives take a backseat here for a change. But I did think that the artwork was uneven. I've complained in the past about how Mavis looks like she's from Riverdale and different from everyone else. I've gotten over that as I see that Lash likes to incorporate from different art styles. But when Leon changes to a werewolf, Batton Lash for some reason can't draw him consistently. 

There have been other werewolves in this series before. And they've looked amazing. Mostly, because Lash draws upon 100 years of cinema's most iconic lycanthropes. I think when needing to create a changeling from scratch, Lash had some difficulties.

I also want to point out that I recently learned that during this time Batton Lash was having some severe health issues. If the entire book was at a lower level of quality, I would be graceful towards the Supernatural Law creator. But really, it's just the werewolf artwork that is not up to snuff. So, I hope with this re-read, I am being fairer than fair on this. 

I really enjoyed re-reading this one. I really don't seem to remember it all that much from before. That was 8 years ago and it kinda scares me that I seemed to have blanked out on about 80% of this book. But I guess it was fun to feel like I was reading an all-new Supernatural Law story. maybe...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Monsters Meet on Court Street and Other Tales of Supernatural Law

Nope. This one's not a re-read. The Monsters Meet on Court Street was one of about 4 volumes I recently purchased in order to fill my run on Supernatural Law. (FYI- turns out there's still some uncollected stuff out there too!)

Wolff & Byrd: The Counselors of the Macabre, have their work cut out for them in this, the 6th volume in the Supernatural Law collected series. In this volume, the lawyers defend a mafioso who turned into a giant gorilla. In Vol. 5, the mobster, stuck in the body of a 600lb gorilla thanks to an experimental surgery, eventually de-evolved and was sent to live out his days in the Bronx Zoo. Now he's back cognitively and he wants his day in court!

Then Wolff & Byrd help an imaginary friend sue his former best friend, now a wealthy and unscrupulous tycoon who has been blaming the plaintiff for all his company's shysty ways.

My favorite story is about a lonely scientist who discovers a way to communicate with another dimension. Via a sort of television link-up of sorts, the scientist meets another inventor and they fall in love. Add amazing artwork from a pair of comic book legends, a wrongful termination, a restraining order and a twist ending that I knew was coming- I just didn't know what the twist would be- and you have what might be my favorite story of the series so far!

Plus, the world's greatest secretary, Mavis, comes to grips with the fact that her ex-boyfriend, Toby, has moved on. But new love may be in the cards for Mavis, if she can survive the rampaging robot runny rampant in Brooklyn!

A fantastically fun volume that I just couldn't put down. I'm a bit mad at myself as I read this way too fast!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Mister Negativity and Other Tales of Supernatural Law (A Madman Re-read)

This is the volume that got me started on Supernatural Law. I don't know why but for some reason my local library has only had volume 5 in it's stacks. It's been like 10 years since I read the book and my library still refuses to add any other Supernatural Law books to the graphic novel shelving units. 

The main story is about a man with the ability to turn even the brightest of situations into a real bummer. Mister Negativity isn't being sued. Instead, he's suing for damages due to his now permanent sour disposition, which in a word is repelling! 

Paralleling this case is a suit filed against a medium. Seems that a fortuneteller promised a man a long life. Only the guy gets hit by a bus or something right after. As a result, he keeps digging himself up feeling misled about the fortune he was issued. 

The connection between the two stories is kinda telegraphed. But the ending was still pretty powerful. 

Another story I enjoyed a bunch involves a demon. No, I haven't started warming up to the darker sides of horror. I just really appreciated the Dave Sims tribute to the aardvark Cerebus in this story. Yeah, I know I've never read a Cerebus story before. But I still appreciated it. 

One tale that I wasn't a fan of takes place in the dream world. A horror writer is in a coma as a result of a mysterious hit and run. As death creeps even closer, the author reaches out to Wolff & Byrd through their slumber. It's a rare episode where Mavis gets to save the day for once. But I felt that this take on Stephen King's near-death experience was full of parodies that just weren't funny. It just was too serious. This poses the questions: can a parody be serious?

I like it better when Batton Lash is light-hearted and this story was far from being happy-go-lucky. A good volume of Supernatural Law. Not the best one of the bunch. But still fun to read!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Sonovawitch! and Other Tales of Supernatural Law (A Madman Re-Read)

The comic book stories of Wolff & Byrd, counselors of the macabre, become even more complex in the pages of Sonovawitch! While story arcs aren't anything new to creator Batton Lash, every issue up to this point has been self contained. For example, it took 13 issues before the lawyers went to trial for Sodd, the Thing that was an It. But the story of a young man accused of hexual harassment due to the meddlings of his witch mom was one in which if you missed an issue, you would be completely lost.

Along with the title story, there's a lot going on in the after hours lives of the employees of the firm. Wolff has taken a break with her beau, the hot shot attorney Chase Hawkins. Jeff Byrd sees his dreams of a love life with model Dawn Devine fly away when she elopes with a Hollywood producer. And the World's Greatest Secretary, Mavis, has a decision to make when boyfriend Toby gets on one knee. 

Don't think that this has turned into a romance series. There's still plenty of supernatural law to be practiced. There's the demon that gets possessed by a human who is being sued for deserting a petty thief in his time of dastardly need. Plus we jump into the future to witness a trio of supernatural law students debate that time a kaiju attacked the Big Apple. 

Another enjoyable read. I must say that even though I've now read this book twice now, the twist ending of the Sonovawitch story still shocked the heck out of me. Wow, was it sad and powerful! But yes- there is a little too much of the mushy stuff floating around as well.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Soddyssey, and Other Tales of Supernatural Law (A Madman Re-Read)

The trial of the man turned swamp thing, Sodd, finally begins. And it ends just about as quick as it starts as Sodd, under the influence of environmentalists, and maybe Cupid's arrow, goes rogue. 

As the man-thing hunt for Sodd is underway, Wolff and Byrd must head down to the Big Easy in order to unravel a snafu with one of Count Dracula's many real estate properties. 

Plus the counselors of the macabre investigate a supposed alien abduction of a small child. Their client is accused of kidnapping the girl in opposition to the custody agreement. Bring in a team of FBI agents investigating paranormal happenings and you've got a X-Files level parody.

Throw in a case involving a neglectful guardian angel, an artist who only paints werewolves, and an IRS case involving a literal dead man and you've got a full case docket. 

There's also a case in which a young woman is impregnated by the devil. The woman is against abortion. But she also doesn't want to give birth to the son of Satan either. This story is actually pretty philosophical as both fundamentalists and occultists join forces on both sides of the debate! With what just happened with the Supreme Court leak, this part of my re-read became unexpectedly topical.

I really wish I could rate this book with an 11 or higher. I feel that even though volume 1 of stories was perfect, this book was superior. That's because any growing pains Batton Lash might have faced in starting a regular comic book series was ironed out. There are added layers of inside jokes, even more complex Easter eggs, and dual sides of the aisle debates in this volume.

 It just keeps getting better from the late Batton Lash. Just another reason I wanted to complete my Supernatural Law run and to re-read the ones I have in my collection.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Tales of Supernatural Law (A Madman Re-Read)

I'm not sure what possessed me but I decided it was finally time to complete my run of Supernatural Law books. As I'm waiting for those gap fillers to come in the mail, I've decided to re-read from the very beginning. 

Okay- not the very, very beginning. See prior to Batton Lash turning his creations of Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre into a self published comic book, the pair were the stars of a weekly comic strip in a local New York paper before moving over to a prestigious law journal. I've read the 3 collections of strips and I must say they are a totally different animal from the comic book. 

Most of the action takes place in the courtroom. Main character Mavis is non-existent. As are Toby, Chase Hawkins and members of the Wolff Family. And while the comic strip is humorous, it lacks the campy nature of the comic book. While I may very well re-read those editions, I wanted to start with issue #1 and go all the way through the series, the Mavis spin-offs, the Wolff & Byrd college years one-shot and the couple of graphic novel length stories. 

Re-reading these books is a big deal for me. I feel like life is too short to re-read books. Plus, my collection is just too gosh darn big! There has only been one or two books that I've ever re-read on purpose. I often read stuff over again having forgotten I've read it in the first place. Another reason why I need this blog!

CRISIS and To Kill A Mockingbird. Now add a good portion of Supernatural Law to that list. Very exclusive company. 

How did the first volume do? I enjoyed it very much. It held up quite well. I think I got more of the jokes now that I am a little more in depth within the kitsch horror/sci-fi community. Tons of Easter Eggs, tributes and puns. Fun, fun, fun!

No, seriously! No objections here!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.