Despite the freedom that comics can offer to creatives, the industry is dominated by tales of supermen in tights who fight villains and save civilians. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the popularity of such stories, but the overabundance of costumed drama, unfortunately, lends the idea that the comics medium is uninspired.
Though the comics’ industry is oversaturated with formulaic superhero drama, some properties take risks and attempt to do bizarre things with the medium. Not all of these books are good, but they do contain concepts that Redditors would call strange.
Seven Soldiers
From the trippy mind of Grant Morrison, Seven Soldiers is a team book where the individual team members don’t meet for much of the run. It’s a bold artistic choice, and one that vyruz32 described as “pretty wonky since each character/comic had a varying story.”
Outside the team book angle, Seven Soldiers is known for its metafictional commentary on the production of superhero comics. Each issue takes on a different tone that is meant to represent a certain style and decade of comics, with the overall series acting as a reboot for the Golden Age superheroes, the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
Ant Colony
According to pjl1701, Michael DeForge’s Ant Colony is among “the most bizarre books [they’ve] ever read.” It’s not hard to see why considering the graphic novel focuses on the plight of a group of black ants as they grapple with the war the red ants are staging against their colony.
While the idea of ants going to war with one another isn’t the most out of their premise, Ant Colony’s utilization of the conflict is unique. It largely uses the war as a backdrop for personal drama centered on individual tales of faith, love, loneliness, and the dangers of false prophets.
King City
Comics that incorporate cats into the main plot are not uncommon, especially in a slice of life stories. King City is not one of those stories. Instead, it follows a man named Joe, who feeds his cat different things to give it different powers.
In addition to Joe, King City also features characters like Pete, who falls in love with an enslaved alien, and Anna, who witnesses her boyfriend transform into a drug. Throw in tertiary information, such as a zombie war, and you have a book which Redditor plagues138 wasn’t “100% sure what it was about.”
The Bulletproof Coffin
According to orbison3000, “The Bulletproof Coffin by David Hine and Shakey Kane” is one of the weirdest comics to have ever been produced. A cursory glance at the premise confirms this, as the book chronicles the tales of a garbage man who collects old comic books that come to life.
While there have been many comics that have tackled the superhero genre in a metafictional fashion, The Bulletproof Coffin is unique in that it celebrates the diverse nature of the medium’s golden age. It gives equal weight to the silly super heroics of heroes like Superman and Namor, as it does the pulpy noir of vigilantes like the Shadow.
Moonshadow
Created by one of Spider-Man’s best writers, Moonshadow is a coming-of-age story about the titular character who is the son of a hippy girl and an absentee alien father who happens to be a glowing orb of light with a human face. This background, along with the framing device, is why Redditor dontyieldbackshield deemed the comic to be “pretty weird.”
What makes Moonshadow an especially engaging read is the artwork. The book was one of the first comics to be painted rather than illustrated using pencil and ink, and the lush colors and brush strokes lend each issue an appropriately ironic fairy tale vibe.
The Invisibles
One of many bizarre comics from writer Grant Morrison, The Invisibles follows the activities of a secret organization called The Invisible College, a group that protects reality from physical and psychic oppression. Because of the book’s trippy plot, Redditor breakermw “Couldn’t even try to summarize what happened” after reading the first 18 issues.
What makes The Invisibles an especially strange series is the cast of characters. The protagonists include a transgender Brazilian shaman, a former horror writer turned revolutionary, and a young hoodlum from Liverpool who is destined to reshape the world using his psychic powers.
The Metabarons
One of the most famous comics to be written in Spanish, The Metabarons is the story of Incal, the greatest warrior in history, as told by android Tonto. The simple framing device is made complicated by the fact that Tonto is the servant of Incal, and that the story spans multiple generations.
Because of the series’ multigenerational approach, Redditor pjl1701 cited The Metabarons as one of the three “most bizarre books I’ve ever read.” It’s also an acquired taste considering the length, gore, traditional characterization of men, and marriage of Greek tragedy with science-fiction.
Sex Criminals
From the mind of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky, Sex Criminals is the story of Suzie, a librarian, and Jon, an aspiring actor, who discover that time freezes when they sleep together. Inspired by their newfound powers, the duo decide to rob the bank Jon works at to put money in Suzie’s endangered Library.
Due to the book’s central premise, certain users felt “like the whole book is kind of a prank.” Despite these mixed feelings and attempts to ban Sex Criminals from libraries, it’s often considered one of artist Chip Zdarksy’s finest comics.
Chew
The tale of an FDA agent who solves crimes using psychic impressions he obtains from food, Chew has frequently been cited as one of the funniest comic books from Image. Beyond that, “chew comes to mind, but only in concept” as one of the weirdest comics Redditor someweirddud has read.
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Chew is how colorful the world is. The comic is littered with people who have powers related to food, chicken is outlawed due to a catastrophic strain of bird flu that wiped out a large chunk of the populace, and nearly every major storyline involves stopping people from committing literal food crimes.
The Maxx
In the eyes of AdamSMessinger, not many comics are like “the Maxx by Sam Kieth.” It’s a book that chronicles the adventures of the titular hero as he inhabits two distinct worlds; one real, and one that is metaphysical.
Because of the multidimensional storytelling that takes place, The Maxx can be a rather difficult book to read. Half the time, the comic focuses on super-herosuperheroics other half, the story examines the interpersonal relationships between the characters and how one’s subconscious can be an escape from trauma.
