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For reasons unknown—but probably just for the good of society—Kyle Baker (Deadpool, Plasic Man) has put most of his creator-owned body of work online for FREE including early classics, THE COWBOY WALLY SHOW and WHY I HATE SATURN, and later works I Die at Midnight, King David, The Bakers, Special Forces, Nat Turner and more. This is a treasure trove of reading (although some of the scans are a bit small—but who cares: it’s free.)

Wally and Why I Hate Saturn were among the first standalone graphic novels of the post-Maus era and remain as biting and hilarious as when they were written. Cowboy Wally is a behind-the-music look at a kids entertainer, from his early years to his production of Hamlet behind bars. It’s also one of the funniest comics of al times. Saturn is just as funny, a social satire about dating in the 90s that exists in a world long gone by—a long ago place where sexting and OK Cupid didn’t exist—but still hilarious.

Consider these two must reads—both for content and the influence they had on the emerging graphic novel genre—but don’t miss the rest either:

YOU ARE HERE—a man with the perfect life has to figure out how to tell his fiancee about his secret past as a criminal. 
I DIE AT MIDNIGHT—a mad who has taken poison has to find the antidote before midnight in this Y2K thriller.
SPECIAL FORCES—savage satire about the our wars in the Middle East as the Army employs special needs troops.
NAT TURNER—the history of the rebel slave
KING DAVID—a retelling of the biblical tale
THE BAKERS—family humor
HOW TO DRAW STUPID —drawing tips for the intelligent

There’s much more at Baker’s website if you poke around.

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14 COMMENTS

  1. King David wasn’t so talked about – but my favorite of Kyle’s work. Too bad Baker didn’t continue w/ biblical stuff, as his slant was (surprisingly) more interesting than Crumb’s.

  2. Anyone that has never read Kyle Baker go now and rectify that. He is such an amazing artist and writer and definitely an influence on my own work. His knack for comic timing in comics is without fail always amazing. I could wax poetic all day. Instead go read some comics by a true comics master.
    peace,
    Herc

  3. I always felt Why I Hate Saturn to kind of foretell shows like Seinfeld. Haven’t read it in ages, but that’s what I thought at the time

  4. I already own almost all of Baker’s work, but this announcement makes me want to go back and reread them all. So awesome.

  5. I thought I remembered there being a way to download these from the site earlier this week, but now I’m not having any luck. Was I just crazy?

  6. I’m an artist who has been making free online graphic novels for years on fantazine.net. It’s been a long thank-less artistic journey, but I feel encouraged to stumble upon Kyle Baker’s work online for free and it makes me think I’m not just wasting my time, and maybe I’m not on a fools journey wasting a life. Gotta admit I only remember Plasticman comics as a kid. Thanks for giving your art to the world. This part of the world is grateful.

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