Written and drawn as dead-on homages to the styles of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Dick Ayers, these 20 stories recount Doris's encounters with such monsters as "Ner-Nee-Nah," "Spwum," "Ho-Chee-Cha," "X, Son of XI," and many more.
But this is parody on a meta-level, as "editor" Rob Oder takes you behind the scenes and reveals the secrets behind these comics -- the chaos, the "faster-faster/cheaper-cheaper" mentality, the never-ending deadlines, the despicable treatment of writers and artists, the contempt for fans, the blithe disregard for quality -- all presented with an unctuous, sunny veneer of jocular "sophistication" to readers.
And that's not all. Doris Danger: Giant Monsters Amok mixes its faux giant monster history with illustrations ("pin-ups!") of giant monsters by actual comic book artists who wanted in on the fun: Arthur Adams, Mike Allred, Mark Bode, Tim Bradstreet, Jeffrey Brown, Sal Buscema, Geof Darrow, Colleen Doran, Michael Golden, Irwin Hasen, Gilbert Hernandez, Mario Hernandez, Peter Kuper, Michael Lark, Jae Lee, David Mack, Dean Motter, Bill Plympton, Esad Ribic, Steve Rude, Bill Sienkiewicz, Chris Sprouse, William Stout, Herb Trimpe, and Thomas Yeates.
We'll let Stan Lee have the last word: "Chris Wisnia has performed the amazing feat of taking the minor masterpieces that Jack Kirby and I had done and looking at them through a carnival's distorting mirror."
Ayers, Dick: - Dick Ayers (1924-2014) began inking the giant monster horror comics of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the late 1950s. The team then went on to create the bulk of the Marvel Universe. Chris met Dick at the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con, which inspired Chris to create his own giant monster comics. Dick showed his support by inking the earliest Doris Danger stories and contributing pinups of giant monsters.
Sprague, Ricky: - Ricky Sprague is a writer and cartoonist whose work has appeared in various magazines and anthologies including Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mysterical-E, Mad, Cracked, Shartboom, Asinine Assassins, Crimeucopia: As in Funny Ha-Ha, and Jacked. He also scripted a graphic novel, Gut-Shot, based on the short story "Stalker" by Ed Gorman and illustrated by Jussi Piironen, which is forthcoming from Short, Scary Tales. More at rickysprague.com.
Wisnia, Chris: - Chris Wisnia is a comics creator and musician living in Davis, California, with his long-suffering wife and unruly dogs and sons. He self-published his first comic in 2004, a pseudo-tabloid anthology that introduced Doris Danger as a back-up feature. He then produced three Doris Danger books for SLG Publishing. More at www.ChrisWisniaArts.com.
