The Possum by Blair Kitchen!

Here's a cool comic I discovered only a few months ago (my girlfriend lent me her copy and I fell in love with the book instantly!). I wrote the creator, Blair Kitchen, and ordered my own copy of issue #1 and his more recent #2. And here's what I think about THE POSSUM...

This is a great book! The hero, a teenage comic book geek/comic book creator by the name of Stuart Spankly (hmmm...who says they don't make comics I can't relate to anymore...Um...except the teenage part!!) gains zombie powers through a foolish mishap and becomes The Possum! Actually, 'the Possum' is the name of Stuart's comic book character, and in fact dresses up as his own character at comic cons as he tries selling his book! Hats off to Blair for coming up with such a great idea.


Stuart is a good-hearted kid, just not the most athletic hero around! Blair's artwork and writing are perfectly in tune with the story he wants to tell. His animation background definitely comes into play with the manic action and expressiveness he evokes in his drawings. A humor book that actually delivers on the humor. Tons of great visual gags abound in both issues. The first book, at a whopping 72 pages, covers the origin of the Possum, while the second book features a battle royal with a team of masked, midget Mexican wrestlers, Los 7 Deadly Dwarfs! Issue #2 even has a car chase that lasts for about 18 pages...out of a 23 pg. book! Not since a late 1960s Gene Colan drawn issue of DAREDEVIL have I seen a car chase that exciting!



If you read his blog, you'll discover that Blair is a very hardworking publisher as well. He's got quite a lot of comic book conventions under his utility belt (in fact he travelled from Toronto, Canada to the APE in San Francisco this past year...and I missed him!!). He's generous about creating for the fans free Possum sketches. That's a great guy, and a nice way to build a rapport with the fans. As a publisher myself, I always appreciate seeing how others conduct themselves with the public. Sometimes I even steal some of their tricks!

I hope Blair continues to create more Possum comics, as his love for his comic is very evident. THE POSSUM is a professionally crafted book, with a refreshing good-natured sense of fun. In a perfect world, independent artists who love creating their comics would never have to worry about making ends meet. But, an imperfect world filled with creative, energetic cartoonist doing what they do for the shear love of their art ain't a bad world to live in. Do all of us a favor and order your own copies!

Oh yeah, and along with my comics, I recieved this little gem from Blair. Very cool, no?!

Thanks Blair!