Typhon Vol. 1

Danny Hellman is a terrific illustrator who contributed a lot of work to bOING bOING, the print zine. He recently set me a copy of a comic anthology he edited and published called Typhon and I'm impressed by the quality of the large cast of contributors.

The stories in Typhon focus on some heavy themes, and aren't for the squeamish. On of my favorite stories is a near the front of this fat anthology, called "Hail Jeffrey" by Hans Rickheit. The seven-page comic is about a child dictator who takes pleasure in destroying the lives of everyone around him, and nobody dares stop him. In fact, they assist help him in his efforts to make others miserable. It's like an NC-17 version of The Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life," only the Billy Mumy character gets all his power from the fear of everyone around him.

Of course, Hellman's contribution to the book is one of the best. Here's a sample page. (Click for full size). I have always loved his clean line work.

Typhon, Vol. 1

[#1 posted by Darren Garrison, October 24, 2008 10:37 PM]

"It's like an NC-17 version of The Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life""

You mean Jerome Bixby's "It's a Good Life".

http://www.lucifera-shadow.com/inanna_cornfield.html

[#2 posted by Joel Johnson, October 25, 2008 7:12 AM]

That is one badass cover. (It doesn't hurt that I'm really into myth and iconography at the moment.)

[#3 posted by Teresa Sue, October 25, 2008 7:59 AM]

Thank you for featuring Danny's work.
I haven't seen him in years and it's awfully nice to "hear" from him.

[#4 posted by Anonymous, October 25, 2008 9:01 AM]

Why hasn't the author sued George Lucas???

Look at the lower right corner: Jar Jar Binks!!!

[#5 posted by Anonymous, October 25, 2008 12:34 PM]

lol except Jar Jar didn't eat BRAAAAAINS
Sorry, have zombies on my mind.

But thinking back to Star Wars... Jar Jar would have been much cooler if he had eaten them.

[#6 posted by Noelegy, October 25, 2008 1:29 PM]

I love Danny Hellman! I have all of the Factoid Press "Big Book Of" series, and always love his contributions.

[#7 posted by Ted Slaughter, October 25, 2008 1:32 PM]

There is also a story by Todd Alcott in this book. If that means anything to you, you should take a look.

[#8 posted by Guesstimate Jones, October 25, 2008 7:11 PM]

Nice...but there are two glaring omissions from the "Typhon" illustration: Milk & Cheese, Dairy Products Gone Bad...

[#9 posted by wylkyn, October 27, 2008 11:49 AM]

@#1

Thanks for the link! I can remember reading that story in a collection of Best SF stories when I was a kid. It really scared the crap out of me. Nice to revisit those childhood shivers.

[#10 posted by Danny Hellman, November 9, 2008 6:20 PM]

@#4

I don't know where they stole Jar Jar Binks from, but I stole my alien critter from Max Ernst's "Temptation of Saint Anthony."

http://www.staratel.com/pictures/surreal/ernst_max/pic52.jpg