Pageant TPB (2025 FB) Fantagraphics Underground comic books
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Published May 2025 by Fantagraphics.$29.99
$29.99
1st printing. Story and art by Justin Gradin. Ponce Melee is a lonely clock-puncher working for Twin Labs in the cloning dept. When he uses a strand of hair to clone a companion; its successful, but she immediately leaves him for greener pastures. So, he clones another potential companion. And that one leaves. And again. And again. Soon, multiple clones begin causing confusion and havoc around town. Meanwhile, one of the errant clones makes a pact with the devil that goes awry and strands Satan in town, forcing him to get a job. Justin Gradins sophomore graphic novel (after 2023s Mystic Debris) combines keen verbal and visual wit with a host of memorable characters — Mandrake the Soda Jerk, private investigator Butterfly Latté, pop superstar Attilla the Hunny, and many more—to create an anarchic, absurdist comedy about lonely souls and the lonely soulless. Pure comics, Gradins work has echoes of Gary Panter, Gary Leib, Marc Bell, and Mark Beyer (and even some other cartoonists who may or may not be named Gary or Mark) while remaining a singular, sui generis voice in contemporary comics. Softcover, 8 1/2-in. x 10-in., 180 pages, B&W. Mature Readers Cover price $29.99.
