Honky Tonk & the Mad Parasite

Honky Tonk & the Mad Parasite is a 16-page, combo comic with black ink on cream card stock created by Ryan “Waldo” Homsley (title, story, and art) and Billy McKay (concept, story, and editing).

A truck driver named Honky Tonk has a parasitic worm living in his head named “Mad.” Mad tells Honky Tonk stories and shows him cartoons to help pass the time during long cross country hauls. The stories, as you might expect coming from a worm in a guy’s head, are strange. They kind of remind me of songs and videos from The Residents.

The artwork is neatly done with plenty of hatching, cross hatching and attention given to detail. The cream colored paper also contributes to making the line work pop. Photos are incorporated into some of the panels along with the drawings and the combinations work flawlessly. The layout makes great use of the wider than tall format, stretching the action of the stories horizontally. The lettering is clear, easy to read, and placed so as to carry the story forward without obscuring the art or confusing the reader.

This is a really neat comic and the creators collaborated on four more issues of the series. Unfortunately the talented artist, Ryan “Waldo” Homsley, was incarcerated during their collaboration (and still is). Hopefully things will work out so he can continue making comics.

To get “Mad,” the parasitic worm, into your head contact Billy at: 

Billy McKay 
PO Box 542 
N. Olmsted, OH 44070

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