Holey Crullers! #1-6
plus the Pin-Up Special
[Avernus Comics B&W]
Written by Troy Hickman / Art by Jerry Smith
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Holey Crullers! is a series of digest-sized comics about super-heroes. But it’s not about super-heroes bashing one another and posing ad nauseum. The stories in Holey Crullers! all take place in or near a chain of donut shops called, Holey Crullers. It was founded by an ex-super-hero as a tribute to his dead son (also a former super-hero). He conceived of Holy Crullers as a place where heroes and villains could take a break from all of the fighting and just relax and maybe talk. To enforce this no-fighting policy Holey Crullers employs some pretty powerful bouncers. But both sides honor the “holy” ground of Holey Crullers and true to their word do not engage in fighting while on the premises.

Each issue is complete with usually two stories per. In them you’ll meet characters such as The Acidic Jew who can excrete an acidic substance through his hands thereby dissolving whatever he touches; Strangeness and Charm, a brother/sister duo who fight crime to make up for their villainous father; American Pi, a genius super-heroine who loves her country; Man-witch a villain who uses magic as his criminal tool of choice; and many others. The stories are sometimes funny but more often touching as Troy Hickman explores the downside of being a super-powered individual in a normal world.

Jerry Smith’s art is simplistic but I can’t fault his story-telling. Doing this is obviously a labor of love for Smith and Hickman but in issue #6, Larry Blake inks one of the stories and it really pulls Smith’s artwork together and gives it some polish. However, I realize in the world of self-published comics it’s going to be difficult to get someone to commit to being a permanent inker.

Each issue of Holey Crullers! is packed with entertaining stories that read more clearly than a lot of full-color, full-sized comics being published today. If you are a fan of the super-hero genre you owe it to yourself to give Holey Crullers! a try.

Holey Crullers! can be had for $1.50 each for issues #1-5 and $2.00 each for issue #6 and the Pin-Up Special. Include at least 50¢ if you’re ordering one issue and I’d say a $1.00 if you’re ordering more than one issue and send it to: Troy Hickman, 3200-A South 9th Street, Lafayette, IN 47905.