Badger (comics) - Overview

Overview

The series was a madcap combination of genres; something of a spoof on superheroes, with plenty of magic/fantasy and Mike Baron's in-depth knowledge of martial arts thrown in. The book was a black comedy, unusual for comics of its time. Some stories were light-hearted and off the wall, while others featured highly realistic crimes and acts of violence. Some objected to the series' use of the mentally ill as subjects for comedy. Others regard The Badger as one of the funniest superhero comic series of all time.

The Badger was mostly set in Madison, Wisconsin, where Capital Comics was situated, and where Baron actually lived. The city in general, and State Street in particular, were very faithfully depicted. In one case, the Badger had a duel with a close analogue of locally noted real-life gourmet chef Herb Ng over Ng's use of a snake's poison-bladder in a special soup.

Along with Mike Baron's other pet project Nexus, The Badger had an interesting publishing history. It was initially released by Capital Comics, but Capital went under financially after four issues of The Badger. The series found a new publisher in First Comics, which continued the series with issue #5.

Notable artists who worked on The Badger in its 1980s run included Jeff Butler, Steven Butler, Bill Reinhold, Chas Truog, Jackson Guice, Mike Mignola and Ron Lim.