'Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre' #12.
Batton Lash was an American comic writer and artist, whose career was characterized by creative individuality and perseverance. Throughout his career, he promoted his work personally and by using every possible media platform. He co-founded his own publishing company, Exhibit A, and produced comics in print as well as online. Lash managed to keep his firm running outside of the mainstream comic industry for almost 40 years. His signature series was the witty horror comic 'Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre' (1979, renamed 'Supernatural Law' in 1999). Centering around a law firm defending ghouls and monsters, 'Supernatural Law' satirized both horror stories and the justice system. Lash also wrote narratives for established franchises, such as 'Archie Comics' and 'The Simpsons' comics. Later in his career, he created several web comics expressing his libertarian viewpoints and criticizing the Obama administration. His work has often been awarded.
Early life and career
Batton Lash was born in 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City, as Vito Marangi. He studied cartooning and graphic arts at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, where among his teachers were Harvey Kurtzman and Will Eisner, whom he regarded as major influences. Other graphic influences were Steve Ditko and later Paul Pope, Alex Grecian, Kyle Baker, Frank Miller, Chris Powell, Rick Smith, Bosch Fawstin, Pat Lewis and James Hudnall. In terms of coloring, he was fascinated by Tatjana Wood's work on 'Witching Hour' and 'House of Mystery'. After graduation, Lash worked a daytime job in advertising for five years at a small Brooklyn-based agency until he felt confident enough to become a freelance cartoonist. Among his early jobs was making illustrations for Garbage magazine and Penny Stallings' book 'Rock 'n' Roll Confidential' (1983). In the Spring of 1977, he became an assistant to Howard Chaykin on the graphic novel 'Empire' (1978), scripted by Samuel Delaney. For several years, he shared his studio with fellow artist Bob Smith.
'Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre'.
Wolff & Byrd/Supernatural Law
In 1979, the 25-year old Lash went to the weekly newspaper The Brooklyn Paper, because they lacked a comic strip and he felt he could fill that need. Since the publication circulated in many streets and boroughs, among them Court Street, Lash decided to set his comic in Court Street. And given the fact that Court Street harboured a lot of law firms, Lash built his series around the legal profession. His main characters are the lawyers Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd, who were aided by their secretary Mavis Munro. Mavis was inspired by actress Jessica Harper in the film 'My Favorite Year' (1982). However, Lash had no legal background or knowledge, so he made his protagonist's clients supernatural beings, such as werewolves, vampires, witches, ghouls and other monsters. Wolff and Byrd specialized in defending these misunderstood creatures and acting as their legal representatives. On 19 September 1979, the first episode of 'Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre' appeared in The Brooklyn Paper, subtitled "an offbeat courtroom drama." Initially, Lash wrote and drew all stories on his own, and he later received assistance from Trevor Nielson and Melissa Uran.
Graphically, 'Wolff & Byrd' was a throwback to 1950s comics like Archie Comics and the E.C. horror title 'Tales From the Crypt'. Lash enjoyed referencing old horror stories and throwing in puns. At the same time, the series was also a witty satire of the justice system. The contrast between the seriousness of the legal profession and the outlandish nature of these horror creatures proved a masterstroke. Situations are often driven to their absurd extremes. In 'Zombie Wife', a man kills his wife, but she turns into a zombie and sues him for murder. It turns into a tough case, since the legal defense questions whether an undead person can claim to have been "murdered". In 'I'm Carrying Satan's Baby', a woman wants to perform an abortion, but without consent of her husband, since he is no longer able to think for himself, having sold his soul to the devil. 'Wolff & Byrd' invited to repeated reading, as many background gags and double layers are sprinkled along the series.
'Supernatural Law' #24 (Exhibit A Press).
Documentation
Like Lash expected, many lawyers and judges enjoyed 'Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre'. Thanks to the humorous fantasy setting, he could get away with unrealistic plotlines and details. But he soon realized this limited the creative possibilities, rather than open them. He often got stuck with plotlines, because he had no clue how realistic certain legal situations were. He felt obligated to his readers to educate himself on the matter, and read many books about law and real-life cases. He attended as many trials as he could, observing the proceedings and taking down notes. In 1980, for instance, he was a courtroom sketch artist during the trial against maffiosi John Gotti. Lash preferred non-fiction sources, because crime novelists often take liberties with real-world institutions to make their tales more exciting.
Lash also talked with real lawyers, one of them his college friend Mitch Berger. Apart from real-life legal experience, Berger also published in an editorial cartoon magazine, Bullseye, and often helped cartoonists with financial deals. As such, he was a perfect creative consultant: knowledgeable in juridical jargon and able to envision everything in a comic script. From 1989 on, Lash and Berger often brainstormed on storylines for his series. Whenever Lash wasn't certain whether a specific idea was legally plausible, or if he needed to know the exact term, he consulted his friend. This gave the comic a reputation for accuracy. Many readers even assumed Lash was a lawyer or a judge himself. He deliberately fed the rumors by dressing up formally during public appearances, giving him the look of a real attorney. Through their conversations, Berger would sometimes mention something that would trigger Lash's imagination into different directions. Lash also credited Berger with sometimes coming up with witty gags.
'Supernatural Law'.
Expansion
While Lash wasn't a real lawyer, he certainly had the same dedication and verbal passion. 'Wolff & Byrd' ran in the Brooklyn Paper until 1996, almost 18 years on end. Between 1983 and 1997, it was picked up by another weekly, National Law Journal, which allowed the series to be published nationally. It finally reached the right readership, but otherwise remained unknown outside this niche. Andrion Books released the first book collection in 1987. Lash went through great lengths to promote his signature series, from introducing it at conventions to hand-selling it in the street. He drew 'Wolff & Byrd' stories for such publications as Polyhedron, American Fantasy, Monster Scene and indie comic books such as 'Satan's Six'(Topps), 'Doc Stearn... Mr. Monster' (Eclipse), 'Munden's Bar' (First Comics), 'Frankie's Frightmare' (Cat's Paw Comics), 'Crack-a-Boom' (Caliber Press), 'The Big Bigfoot Book' (Mojo Press) and 'Panorama' (St. Eve Productions). He took the time to redraw older episodes when he felt they could be improved. Slowly but surely, its readership increased, following Lash's personal motto: "One reader at a time." Many were impressed that Batton Lash managed to keep his black-and-white comic strip running for decades, despite not appearing in mainstream publications, all through pure self-promotion and -publishing.
'Supernatural Law Big 1st Amendment Issue' (2005).
In May 1994, Lash and his wife Jackie Estrada (who was administrator at the Eisner Awards in San Diego since 1990) established the publishing company Exhibit A Press. From that moment on, they releaed 'Wolff & Byrd' as a bi-monthly full-color comic book series. Starting with the 24th issue in 1999, the title was changed into 'Supernatural Law', in part to avoid readers' confusion over how to pronounce "macabre," and to bring it in line with the planned title of a motion picture adaptation. The 45th and final issue appeared in 2008. Between 2005 and 2013, the series also appeared as a webcomic on WebComics Nation. After the site closed down, it moved to Supernatural Law's own website. By taking chances with every possible platform, Lash managed to keep his series financially profitable and constantly reaching new audiences. He was a pioneer of kickstarting campaigns to fund new volumes.
In 2005, Lash created a special issue of 'Supernatural Law' revolving around the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Five hundred copies were donated to the Fund to sell at conventions. In the fall of 1998, a spin-off series was launched around Mavis Munro, which lasted five issues. It featured graphic contributions by Barb Rausch, Terry Moore, Jimmy Robinson, Chris Smigliano, Jon "Bean" Hastings, Dan DeCarlo, Bob Smith, Bill Morrison, Mike Kunkel, Billy Martinez, Alex Robinson, Mary Fleener, Jaime Hernandez and Lea Hernandez.
'Supernatural Law' #26 (Exhibit A Press).
Archie Comics: Archie Meets the Punisher
In 1994, Victor Gorelick, editor of Archie Comics, wanted to create a crossover with a Marvel Comics series. When discussing the idea with Batton Lash and writer David Scroggy, he joked that Marvel's vigilante superhero The Punisher might form a swell team with Bob Montana's teenage Archie characters. What started as a joke, eventually became a real publication. 'Archie Meets the Punisher' (August 1994) was written by Lash, with artwork by Stan Goldberg and John Buscema, while Tom Palmer inked, Jack Morelli lettered and Barry Grossman did the colors. The odd premise got a lot of media attention, particularly since both comics were so vastly different in style. The 'Archie Comics' line was one of the most iconic teenage romance comics, and The Punisher a gritty and violent superhero series. While the violence was toned down in 'Archie Meets the Punisher', the plot still involved the characters fighting against drug dealers, something Archie Comics never addressed before in its entire run. Surprisingly enough, 'Archie Meets the Punisher' was both a critical and commercial success. It opened the doors for more crossovers between Archie and other franchises, such as 'Archie Meets Kiss' (Alex Segura and Dan Parent, 2012), 'Archie vs. Predator' (Alex de Campi, Fernando Ruiz, 2012), 'Archie Meets Glee' (Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Dan Parent, 2013), 'Archie vs. Predator' (Alex de Campi, Fernando Ruiz, 2015) and 'Archie vs. Sharknado' (Anthony C. Ferrante and Dan Parent, 2015).
'Archie Meets The Punisher' and 'Archie Freshman Year'.
Further Archie Comics work
In the fall of 1995, Batton Lash wrote a three-part Archie Comics story, 'The House of Riverdale', illustrated by Stan Goldberg, inked by Henry Scarpelli, colored by Barry Grossman and lettered by Bill Yoshida. The main plotline involved Archie trying to prevent an old house in his home town from being levelled to the ground. In 2008, Lash was asked by Bill Galvan to write stories for a new series within the Archie universe. 'Freshman Year' focused on the first years of high school before the main characters got to know each other. Lash liked the concept, as he had always enjoyed the Archie characters and the premise opened a lot of new creative possibilities. With most established comic series, especially Archie, a writer is somewhat stuck with the characters, since they don't age and have very outlined personalities. By going back to the characters' earlier years, Lash could fantasize about their origins, but also depict them with a different look. And since they are still young, their personalities are still prone to changes. Lash also threw in some autobiographical elements, well aware they would be recognizable to other readers too.
'From Reinmania with Luv, Baby!', script and layouts by Batton Lash, pencils by Dan DeCarlo, inks by Bob Smith (Radioactive Man #3, 2001).
The Simpsons comics
After his stint with Archie Comics, Batton Lash also worked for Matt Groening's Bongo Comics, where he specialized in writing and drawing stories starring the 'Simpsons' superhero parody 'Radioactive Man'. In March 2001, he wrote the story 'No One Gets Over the Underground!', illustrated by Abel Laxamana, and 'From Reinmania with Luv, Baby!' (June 2001), illustrated by Dan DeCarlo. In Radioactive Man #4 (October 2001), he wrote 'The Amazing Radioactive Spider!', 'The Thing in My Head!' (for which he also provided lay-outs), 'The Beauty Queen from the 21st Century!' and the fake advertisement comic 'What's Worse Than Being a Skinny Girl?', all drawn by Mike DeCarlo. In 'Radioactive Man' #575 (actually number #5, May 2002), he wrote 'Don't Look Now, But It's 1984!', which he co-drew with Bob Smith, Art Villanueva and Rick Reese. Lash penned 'Radioactive Man, The Official Movie Adaption' (November 2003), drawn by Jason Ho and Bill Morrison. In 'Radioactive Man #197' (November 2004), he wrote 'Radioactive Man', co-drawn by himself and Dan DeCarlo, while in the same issue 'The Broadcast Buccaneers!' was completely written and drawn by himself.
Lash collaborated with artist Dan Brereton on 'Bongos' in Simpsons Super Spectacular #1 (February 2005). In the same issue, he also wrote and drew 'Let's See It Again! The Origin of Radioactive Man', 'Radioactive Man and Roargo' and 'The Little Boy with the Big Dream' (October 2005). In Simpsons Super Spectacular #3 (July 2006), his story 'The Crimes of the Crazy Cat Lady!', was illustrated by George Broderick, and in the fifth issue of the same series (July 2007) he penned 'Mufelatto, the Aliment Man', drawn by Ramona Fradon. In Simpsons Super Spectacular #4 (January 2007), he wrote 'The Day Radioactive Man Quit!', drawn by George Broderick Jr.
During his stay at Bongo Comics, Lash only wrote one story based on the Simpson family themselves, namely 'Springfieldopolis', published in 'Bart Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror' (September 2015). This parody of Fritz Lang's classic 1927 film 'Metropolis' was illustrated by Bill Galvan.
'Li'l Obama', starring U.S. President Barack Obama.
Li'l Obama
In 2008, U.S. Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama was elected President of the USA. Since Lash was a lifelong libertarian, he didn't like Obama's policies at all. He created the satirical webcomic 'Li'l Obama' (2008), which focused on the so-called childhood of the newly elected president, depicting him as a scheming crook. The comic was posted on the website of Jim Treacher, who was eventually credited as a gag writer too.
Obama Nation
In 2009, comic writer James D. Hudnall ('Espers', 'Alpha Flight', 'Strikeforce: Moritun') teamed up with Lash to create 'Obama Nation' (2009-2012), another webcomic satirizing Barack Obama's presidential administration. On his blog, Hudnall explained his motivation: "Batton was a free thinker like myself and very patriotic. When Andrew Breitbart called me one day and invited me to be part of his new website that was about to launch I asked Batton to join me in a strip mocking the then president who we both we're critics of. No one at the time was willing to make fun of this president. I felt it was disturbing that everyone was afraid to. And Batton agreed that no politician is above reproach."
'Obama Nation' portrayed Obama with Dumbo ears, and First Lady Michelle Obama is depicted as a hypocrite who wants to fight obesity in the USA, despite being food-obsessed herself. 'Obama Nation' received some national media coverage, when the New York Daily News, Media Matters and left-wing TV pundit Lawrence O'Donnell expressed concern over its racial offensiveness. To them, the comic strip reinforced outdated stereotypes about African-American people. Other critics felt 'Obama Nation' wasn't racist at all, only just a disappointing satire, since it targeted the presidential couple's physical features more than their actual policies. A few argued that Michelle Obama wasn't a recognizable caricature either. According to Hudnall, both he and Lash received a lot of criticism and even death threats over 'Obama Nation'. The webcomic ran on BigGovernment.com, a site ran by Republican pundit Andrew Breitbart. When Breitbart died in 2012, the site received new management, and Hudnall and Lash decided to terminate 'Obama Nation'.
'Obama Nation', August 2010.
Gori Lori
Lash was also involved with 'Gori Lori' (Third Nipple Press, 2013), a comic strip created and written by Nick Bodgett (often misspelled as "Blodgett" online, but his name is clearly spelled "Bodgett" on the cover). With Lash and Steve Crompton (inking) providing the artwork, the series could be described as a cross between 'Supernatural Law' and 'Archie' in the sense that the stories take place in a high school set in a post-apocalyptic world, full with mutants. While the protagonist is the young teenager Gori Lori, it's not exactly a family-friendly comic. Many plotlines have a raunchy feel to them, with swearing, bloody violence and gratuitous nudity.
'The First Gentleman of the Apocalypse'.
The First Gentleman of the Apocalypse
Lash continued his political satire with 'The First Gentleman of the Apocalypse' (August 2015) for David Lloyd's international webcomic magazine Aces Weekly. Set in the not-too-distant future, the comic strip takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, ravaged by the U.S. government becoming too intrusive on its citizens. Many people now work for the state, but a few people still keep their own enterprises running. Two of them are the trader Madison Dane and his strong valet Mr. Abraham who travel the country in a double-decker bus. Lash stated that he didn't target any particular presidential administration, since the idea of the comic came to him when president George Bush, Jr. was still in power.
Other graphic contributions.
Batton Lash contributed artwork to Hamilton Comics' short-lived horror comics line ('Grave Tales', 'Dread of Night'), Paradox Press's 'The Big Book of Death', 'The Big Book of Weirdos', 'The Big Book of Urban Legends' and 'The Big Book of Thugs' and Rip Off Press' 'Aesop's Desecrated Fables'. He also wrote and drew a parody of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart' for Neil Hamburger Comic Digest (2012). Together with Scott Franklin, Lash was additionally co-author of the riddle book 'The Penguin's Putdowns' (TOR, 1992), with Howie Post providing the artwork.
Recognition
Batton Lash won the Don Thompson Award twice, in 1996 and 1997, but in different categories, respectively for "Best Achievement by a Cartoonist" (which he shared with Sergio Aragonés) and "Best Achievement by a Writer & Artist", both for his signature series 'Wolff & Byrd'. His 'Radioactive Man' story won the 2002 Eisner Award for "Best Humor Publication", while 'The Soddyssey And Other Tales of Supernatural Law' received the 2009 Independent Book Publishers Association's Benjamin Franklin Award for Graphic Novel. In 2004, Lash was honored with an Inkpot Award too.
Final years and death
The final years of Batton Lash's life were spent in bad health. On 30 August 2017, Lash suffered a seizure and doctors discovered he had a brain tumor. At first, he seemed to recover, but in November 2018 his condition worsened and he passed away in January 2019 from brain cancer. He was 65. His passing was mourned online by fellow comic publishers like Chip Mosher, David Lloyd, Ian Boothby, Rebecca Hicks, Tess Fowler, Rantz A. Hoseley and James D. Hudnall.
Self-portrait.