DEEP FRIED #4

Sick, twisted, pervertedand absolutely brilliant

By Tony Whitt     December 28, 2001

Jason Yungbluth may be one of the sickest individuals out therebut he's also one of the funniest, if DEEP FRIED #4 is anything to go by. This issue is a special tribute to superheroes, but it's the sort of "tribute" that we used to see in celebrity roasts, with just as many sick jokes that in any other context would be hugely offensive. No one gets off easily here: this issue takes on gays and lesbians, Jews, Mormons, liberals, African-Americans, and...er, PEANUTS fans. Since I fit into at least two of those categoriesand don't ask, 'cause I won't tellI should have been doubly offended. Instead, I was laughing twice as hard. In fact, the only thing that offended me about this issue was that someone brilliant enough to do a spoof of WAITING FOR GODOT by Samuel Beckett could consistently use "it's" as a possessivewhich says more about my anal-retentiveness than about Yungbluth's abilities.

And speaking of "Waiting for Planetary," it's probably the most hugely hilarious spoof in the whole book, especially for anyone who's ever read the famous existentialist play or had to wait for PLANETARY to come out. "A Peanut Scorned" is even better, actually: in a spoof that never would have been printed while Schultz was still aliveor perhaps it would have, but Yungbluth would be several thousand dollars poorer if it hadCharlie Brown and Linus are creations of Project Peanuts, a twisted experiment that makes Brown into a one-man army called Weapon Brown and Linus into a megalomaniac capable of psychically controlling a quasi-sentient, polymer based lifeform called Blanket. No, really. Linus has kidnapped the little red-haired girl, and he plans to bring the Great Pumpkin into being to wreak havoc over the Earth. I'm frankly amazed by this spoofYungbluth manages to do the typical indie post-apocalyptic artistic style you'd associate with this sort of story while still bringing in touches from the trademark PEANUTS style. Schultz has probably drilled his way to China with how fast his coffin must be spinning right now.

The Salt Lake City Avengers spoof will probably have nearly the entire state of Utah up in arms, and at least ten percent of it cheering. The Mormon superheroes fight the unnatural perverting power of Barney Frankenberry, who corrupts young upstanding boys and makes them covet each other's bods. Heavens! I'd suggest Yungbluth avoid the Olympics this year, and he should probably steer clear of any Gay Pride parades in the future too. In the meantime, he should continue to produce such twisted talesthis is great stuff. And then there's the brief "No Justice, No League" feature in which Black Vulcan visits the JLA set to complain about being left out of the roster in favor of Green Lantern. Hell, someone had to say something about that, didn't they?

The only thing not so great in this issue is the story featuring Yungbluth's own characters, Beepo and Roadkill, but only because they don't quite fit into the superhero vein. Otherwise, it's just as funny on its own as the rest of the book. And just when you think it's all over, there's the WATCHMEN/Hostess Twinkies spoof on the back cover. Like I said: great stuff. This one's a keeper.

DEEP FRIED

Grade: B+

Issue: No. 4

Author(s): Jason Yungbluth

Publisher: Death Ray Graphics

Price: $2.99