Well, as many of you may know, William McCarty a.k.a. Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Pat Garret, or at least you thought you know. Oddities is the story of Billy the Kid after he was supposedly shot and killed on July 14, 1881. It seems that Billy’s friend was actually the one that died and that the Kid himself managed to escape and disappear, see’n as how he was took fer dead. In Oddities, Billy is forced to team up with a man known as “Spoule the Human Spider” who runs a freak show. Spoule and his unusual companions are in search of a huge jewel known as the “Golem’s Heart” and are in need of a gunslinger to help protect their interests and their bizarre butts. The cast of characters is a strange one indeed, ranging from Spoule himself (who has hands for feet), a dog-man, the alligator man, a tattooed lady, and an ancient lady prognosticator with an enormous head. Luckily, getting the jewel should be no problem as it is in the hands of one Victor Frankenstein.

Eric Powell (writer) has got to be one of the funniest comic writers there is. The dialogue is just great. The gruff and rude Billy is so in contrast with the “freaks” that it seems that just about everything he says is hilarious. Powell’s story itself is excellently executed and hints at so much more under the surface of these obscure entertainers. Kyle Hotz (art) uses a very cool old style that fits perfectly with the story. Though many of the cells have far too much going on and can get confusing and distracting, especially for someone like me who can barely read. (My secretary types everything for me.) Still the characters are 100 percent unique. (And that includes in this comic and out of it). Which is often hard to find, but very exciting.

This is going to be a good one, trust me. Those of you who enjoy non mainstream stuff or noir comics will especially like this series for its unusual characters and story. Not to mention that it is just fun to read. Please, I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore. So just go get the comic before I have to do something… something I’ll regret. Like put a flaming bag of dog poo on your porch, ring your bell, and giggle as you stomp it out and get doo doo all over your Scooby Doo slippers.

-Fumanchu