Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection — 1987-1991
Ponder this word: ZOT! It sounds like a fizzy candy, no?
Yet it’s also the name of the hero of Scott McCloud’s 1980s comic book, all the colorless adventures of which have now been rounded up for ZOT!: THE COMPLETE BLACK AND WHITE COLLECTION — 1987-1991. Apparently, it was quite the hit among a small cult in its day, but I had never heard of it until now, which is too bad, considering it’s a remarkable body of work.
This massive anthology collects issues #11 to the final #36, ignoring the initial 10 full-color efforts. You’ll need no backstory, however, to get right in on the action, which concerns the teenage superhero Zot visiting our world from his futuristic, alternate-dimension one. He may fight space pirates in his, but he falls in love in ours.
With McCloud’s inspiration from manga quite clear — minus those damned big eyes — many issues are heavy on the action and sci-fi derring-do, with Zot squaring off against a host of bad guys ranging from a Chester Gould-esuqe capitalist corporate slimeball named The Blotch to the psychotic robot Dekko and an electrical current known as 9-Jack-9. Given the series’ intentionally innocent, lighthearted tone, Zot never seems to be in true danger; we’re even told he’s invincible as long as he thinks he is.
But somewhere along the way, the entire title took a turn for the better, dialing down the daring to focus on its high school-aged characters. The story then tackles real-life issues of angst, loneliness, first love, divorce and so on, and just happens to have a superhero in it, even if he doesn’t demonstrate his might all that often.
This is where Zot’s continuing platonic relationship with fresh-faced good girl Jenny is explored. Clearly, they hold great affection for one another, even if they’re incapable of expressing that fully. Thus, Jenny can’t wait around forever — not even for a boyfriend with superpowers — and a love triangle develops when a once-nerdy nice boy at school enters the picture.
All of this feels very real, and makes the book very good. In dealing with relatable feelings and issues with brave honesty and palpable emotion, ZOT! is an absolute charmer, with infinite imagination on display. My only complaint is the occasional appearance of a talking monkey, jolting me out of the proceedings.
McCloud offers commentary after every story arc, further enhancing the reader’s perspective and enjoyment. He’s open about his intentions, his successes and his failures, but he sells himself short in referring to his artistic gifts as a “limited skillset.” Not a single panel is drawn without care and precision, and his main cast members aren’t so cartoony that it damages the depth of the story. In fact, Jenny is a character you can — will — fall head over heels for.
For this book, McCloud has made a few corrections here, a handful of updates there, but kept the issues largely intact, as they were a generation ago (witness now nearly archaic references to Edie Brickell and ROBOCOP 2). One thing he didn’t tinker with was the overall story. After reading through these two dozen and some odd issues, you’ll be so invested in it that the last page will tug at your heart, making you aware of the tiny little hole that’s been left behind. —Rod Lott
You mean someone actually sold b&w comic books and made money at it? And I quit doing them when I graduated from high school. At a nickle a book, I figured there were better ways to make a living. Who knew?
I’m one of the original fans of ZOT! in both of its incarnations (I lucked upon most of the original color run at a hobby store in now-defunct Shepherd Mall in the early ’80s). I recommend this book without question, and suggest anyone who reads it also track down a copy of the collected color run (last published by the also now-defunct Kitchen Sink, I believe). It’s a damn shame that McCloud has mostly turned his back on narrative comics, though his last non-academic book, involving Abraham Lincoln coming to life in the ’90s, left a LOT to be desired (and featured McCloud’s clumsy attempts to weave Photoshop work into his art). But ZOT! will always be one of my top 10 books of all time.
I remember that hobby store! Does McCloud have a woody for all things Abe Lincoln? I recall someone dressed as him in some party scene in ZOT!