Rare J. Michael Leonard STAR WEEVILS Comic Strip! 1977

J. Michael Leonard began his career in the early 1970s, primarily working as an underground cartoonist. Leonard did most of his work for Last Gasp/Rip Off Press, though he also drew his “Annie & Albert” feature for Playboy. Leonard’s best-known work was Star Weevils, a feature he created for Last Gasp/Rip Off Press in 1977, fresh on the heels of the success of Star Wars. A parody of Star Wars, Star Weevils is about a small band of weevil astronauts who fly on a space ship from the dark side of the moon (where their colony lives) to planet Earth, where they intend to attack the human race with laser guns. Things go awry, as they do in most parodies, but the weevils are persistent if nothing else. I’m pleased to be able to offer one of Leonard’s weekly Star Weevils strips, listed as strip #9. We see the intrepid Cort as he explores his new surroundings, only to run across one of earth’s less-than-upstanding citizens. Leonard’s artwork is charming, with an active line, reminiscent of Ted Richards’ work at the time. The strip measure 4½”x 21¾” and is in Fine+ condition. Leonard added some original art paste-overs in the last two panels, in addition to some White-Out. All else is quite nice. Charming and rare underground stuff. $100.00 + 16.00 shipping.