Alanna Wolff & Jeff Byrd are Counselors of the Macabre, and their latest clients are a Zombie Wife (more specifically, the Medusa), a Vampire in Hollywood, and more spooky clients than you can shake a stick at. Yep, that’s right, Wolff and Byrd have a very unusual law practice, defending monsters and the supernaturally afflicted, so beware the creatures of the night —they have very competent lawyers. Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre is a comic that is produced by the very talented cartoonist Batton Lash, and he is now seeking funding for this 160-page fully four-color trade paperback that contains seven stories featuring the attorneys and some of their most bizarre clients.
The lead story, Zombie Wife (aka: My Husband Killed Me and Now He Must Pay . . . Damages!) focuses on Mary Lou Henderson, who has come back from the dead to sue her husband for “wrongful death” (he thinks he’s gotten away with murder!). See how “Gracie Nance” covers the case on “Trial TV.” (The story was originally serialized online.) Next up is Werewolves . . . and the Women Who Love Them. In a segment of The Dr. Fill Show, a woman calling herself Diana X talks about her desires for a werewolf, “Larry T,” a client of Wolff & Byrd. (This story appeared in black and white in Supernatural Law #42.)
Also from issue #42 is Stakeout, in which the attorneys are at a home on Long Island trying to protect Christopher Leach, who has been “outed” as a vampire and is now being hounded by the press. That segues into A Vampire in Hollywood, as Leach decides to accept his vampire heritage and has gone off to LaLa Land to seek fame as the star of his own biopic. Wolff & Byrd tag along to negotiate his contract, but then end up having to defend Leach when he’s accused of murder! (This story appeared in black and white in issue #43.) That is followed by The Gods Must Be Litigious, the longest story in the book. The Immortal Medusa has come to Earth and written a bestselling book, How to Talk to a Mortal (If You Must). During an author appearance, a detractor targets her with a pie, and she turns him to stone. He recovers but he sues, and Wolff & Byrd take her case. They must also deal with cartoonist Red Thrall, who has been skewering The Medusa in his newspaper strip. Lawsuits fly — will Zeus have to descend from Mount Olympus to intervene? (This story originally appeared online; it was reprinted in black and white in paperback form, which is now out of print.)
The last two stories feature a demon and a witch. In This Man, This Demon? mild-mannered Corman Ferly is accused of turning into a demon on a subway train and injuring dozens of people. And in Something Wiccan this way comes, Wiccan Winter Thyme wants to stop the local Halloween parade because of its stereotypical treatment of witches. (The demon story originally appeared in black and white in The National Law Journal; the Wiccan story originally appeared online.)
If you are a fan of Batton Lash, Wolff and Byrd, or just good, fun horror stories, then this book is the only way to get all of these stories in color, and the color work on these stories has received high praise. Zombie Wife is a companion book to The Werewolf of New York, using the same cover and paper stock, and is the same size as the other Supernatural Law trades. The money raised for the project will go toward the costs of printing and production of 1,000 copies of the book; production of premiums such as the trading cards, mousepad, calendar, T-shirt, pinup booklet, and Supernatural Law Companion; shipping; and Kickstarter and Amazon costs. The idea is to have the book out in July, in time for Comic-Con in San Diego. That way many backers will be able to pick up their copies at the show.
There are very cool backer rewards and stretch goals, so check out what Batton has in store for you with this very cool Kickstarter!
This project will only be funded if at least $10,000 is pledged by Wednesday, May 14 2014
Robert J. Sodaro is a noted comicbook historian and journalist. He began reading “Funnybooks” while sitting on the newsstand in his Uncle’s “Mom & Pop” grocery store, and has been writing about them for so long that he’s become his own grandfather (we don’t really know what that means, we just like saying it). These days, he is just as likely to be writing comics, as writing about them.