HO-DADDY'S BIG ADVENTURE

HO-DADDY'S BIG ADVENTURE

28-page (= 24-pages + covers) digest with color covers
Published by Thru Black Holes Comix
Copyright © 2005
$5.95

When I first starting seeing pages from this comix twenty years ago (really!) I knew that this was going to be one of the best Thru Black Holes books ever. Well, it took two decades to complete, but it was worth the wait. And I was right. Not since the color-cover Crazy Men books has there been anything like this! As with those classic Crazy Men titles, MIKE RODEN has gathered together a truly astonishing cast of comix buddies and assembled their diverse work into an amazing visual journey that simply has to be seen to be believed.

Where else will you find hot rod cars, Rat Fink, and The Junkyard Kid (drawn by ED BIG DADDY ROTH! - these images were contributed back in the 1980s), classic BOB X craziness, some of the best JEFF GAITHER stuff I've seen in years (and that's saying a lot!), BRAD FOSTER and WAYNO (in the same panel), ARIEL BORDEAUX (making her first-ever appearance in a Thru Black Holes Comix), ROY TOMPKINS (looking as crazed as ever), ANDY NUKES (three wacky images), and long-time TBH friend TOM BRINKMANN - all woven together via the magic of MICHAEL RODEN.

As was the case with the previous great Crazy Men books, MR takes Ho-Daddy (a wonderful character!) on a surreal trip where he meets all sorts of kooks and weirdos and then hooks up with Deep Girl for a tour of the Crazy Hotel Food Court. The whole thing is held together by a series of surreal backgrounds (by MR) and a fun trippy story.

The back cover shows us a bit of the "new" MICHAEL RODEN in the form of a color photograph of his amazing Crazy Hotel model. That's right - the Crazy Hotel on the back cover is a rather large (4' X 5') model complete with lights and both stand-up and 3-D Crazy Man characters. Various MR models and puppets have been gradually making their way into his recent comix and, hopefully, the trend will continue. This is some cool stuff!

It is always risky for a great artist to "return" after years in retirement. In the case of MIKE RODEN, it's like he never left - except for a break to catch up on the latest technology. These days, he does everything himself - from buying the paper to printing and stapling the finished comix. The process has changed dramatically (note, for example, the computer-generated lettering), but the old MICHAEL RODEN magic is still alive and well. See for yourself in this truly astonishing comix. It's a treat for your eyes!

Note: There are three different versions of this comix. The first printing (a test printing consisting of just a few copies) is distinguishable by the glossy cover and imperfectly scanned interior pages. The second printing (again, just a few copies) also has the glossy cover but the interior pages have been re-scanned. The third printing has covers on a thinner (non-glossy) stock (the glossy covers wouldn't hold the ink well enough and had to be replaced).

Resource Note:
Thanks to MR for sending me the first two copies of this long-awaited classic as well as copies of both of the subsequent printings!
Information about the Crazy Hotel model per MR: email to DLC dated Oct 5, 2005.

Available From:
Thru Black Holes Comix & Collectibles eBay Store

History:
Page posted to the online MICHAEL RODEN CATALOG 3 April 2006.