It seems obvious that the easiest way to approach very tough and unsettling material is to produce in a light and whimsical medium or manner. South Park wouldn't be nearly as funny if the kids looked like realistic 10-year olds. But cardboard cutouts makes it palatable and actually transcends the manner in which it's presented.

Michel Gagné's Zed, volume one, does the same thing when dealing with planetary genocide and intergalactic carnage.

Zed is a friendly cutesy alien who has come to Xandria, an intergalactic United Nations, to showcase his invention, along with other scientists and inventors.

In the midst of showing his alternative energy source, an accident happens and causes a ripple effect that destroys the entire planet. In a ship made by one of the inventors, Zed escapes the planetary destruction. He goes home to try and figure out what happened.

In the meantime, a power hungry general puts together an armada to find Zed and destroy him. The rest you'll have to read.

And you should. Gagné's writing and drawing is fun and fluid. It's the perfect mix of cutesy and serious to draw in someone from 6 to 60. While it feels at times, he's writing for a Saturday morning cartoon audience (a profession he's tried his hand at), it's not for long as something else blows up.

The art is simple, but that really isn't a deterrent. It works perfectly for all the strange and interesting alien races and locales he puts in the story. It's perfect really. Also, the grayscale shading he uses doesn't detract. He uses to make good contrasts that don't take away from the story or the art.

All in all, a nice story with a fun package.

Shop Reorders for Zed are available through Diamond, Last Gasp, FM International. Cold Cut Distributors, and Ingram. It is also available through their website http://www.gagneint.com/

- by Michael Thomas

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