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The Tick: The Complete Edlund
(The Tick Comics)
by
All 12 issues of Ben Edlund's original classic comic book series are collected in The Tick: The Complete Edlund, plus as a bonus the 13th Pseudo-Tick, "what-might-have-been" final issue! Extra materials include the first Tick story from the NEC Newsletter, rarely-seen backup stories, pin-ups, and original commentary by Edlund!
...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
2008
by New England Comics Press
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Start your review of The Tick: The Complete Edlund

Apr 05, 2010
Michael
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Comic book readers
Shelves:
comics,
comics-superheroes
The Tick is awesome. I've felt that way since I first saw the now classic '90's cartoon. The cartoon was written by none other than Ben Edlund. This first volume was also written by Ben Edlund. The Tick is Ben's creation. The comic is what can be considered the greatest black and white indy book from the late 80's early 90's. This comic takes humor and superheroes to a level that could be in league with Justice League International.
This classic looks at so many different styles. You got ninja's ...more
This classic looks at so many different styles. You got ninja's ...more

It feels like I've been watching adaptations of The Tick all my life. Not only was the a Fox cartoon and blissful live action show, but its influences are obvious on other series, like Venture Bros. and Middleman. It's set in that wacky world of self-acknowledged tropes, where cynicism is corrupted by cheesiness. It's a world where almost everyone takes themselves deathly seriously despite the most rational man living in a moth costume and bemoaning his boring life (thus, he must sidekick for an
...more

This book is about a very stupid superhero called The Tick and a very intelligent man called Arthur, who is his sidekick. The Tick and Arthur have many adventures. I had already watch the series that came from this book. I liked it because in the book they have some different adventures than in the series. I also enjoyed it because it has my 2 favorite genres, it is a comic book and it has crime.

The perfect collection of silly superhero satire! It's classic Tick and Arthur at their finest.
"Laugh-out-loud funny!" ...more
"Laugh-out-loud funny!" ...more

Jun 02, 2019
Jessica
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
format-graphic,
genre-superhero
silly and great fun! although some tropes that would be tired today

Hilarious comic collection that remains one of the best satires of the genre to date. Ben Edlund has a blast with the Tick, a character so dumb but endearing you can't help but root for him, even when he's ridiculing your favorite characters, from Superman to Elektra. Some gags are a bit on the nose but never not funny, and even pokes fun at itself more than once (the fact the Tick puts a tuxedo over his costume is a disguise is hilarious). It's matched excellently by Edlund's cartoony art (whic
...more

A truly great parody comic. Ben Edlund cheerfully skewers ninjas, Superman, superheroes in general, Elektra and Dick Tracy. Some of it hasn't aged entirely well — a lot of the Elektra jokes seem to depend on knowing her 1980s adventures (I don't) — but the Dick Tracy parody is so bizarre it stands on its own.
I was surprised not to see some of the cartoon superheroes (American Maid, Sewer Urchin) here, but they weren't really needed. ...more
I was surprised not to see some of the cartoon superheroes (American Maid, Sewer Urchin) here, but they weren't really needed. ...more

Some of this is really funny, some of it's just chuckle worthy. I enjoyed it, but kept wishing I was watching the show, where the delivery is perfect and really sells the material.
...more

Before the Tick became a popular Saturday morning cartoon character, he was a popular Independent comic book character created by Ben Edlund. Here we get to basque in the glory of this wacky superhero parody through its initial run by its creator.
The Complete Edlund collects The Tick Issues 1-12, Pseudo Tick #13, and a bunch of bonus Edlund material.
Edlund began working on the tick when he was when he was high school with a cartoon and character profile in New England Comics news letter #14. Th ...more
The Complete Edlund collects The Tick Issues 1-12, Pseudo Tick #13, and a bunch of bonus Edlund material.
Edlund began working on the tick when he was when he was high school with a cartoon and character profile in New England Comics news letter #14. Th ...more

A fun, relaxing read with beautiful illustrations and a couple of refreshingly serious moments. I like the works that these comics inspired more (especially if I can count The Venture Bros. as a spiritual successor), but this is a nice piece of independent comics history and was exactly what I needed to read.

I haven't read a Tick comic since college and I was a little worried, because I have low tolerance for superhero satire, but this is really funny stuff. I wish NEC put the money into a better edition of it; this is basically just a cheap Essential/Showcase-style compendium of all the Tick stories by Edlund, plus issue 13, which was by others but concluded his issue 12 cliffhanger. Edlund keeps it lively, I think, by genuinely loving superhero stuff, rather than the mean-spirited parody exercised
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TL;DR: A great comic, and perhaps one of the funniest I've read. Leaves out a section that many readers felt was racist.
This was the first comic book to make me laugh out loud. I picked up the first issue at my local comic shop back in the 90s and I laughed so hard at one of the sight gags that I literally had to set the comic down and walk away for a few minutes. Ben Edlund's offbeat sense of humor isn't for everyone, but if you "get him," you love him.
My only disappointment with this edition w ...more
This was the first comic book to make me laugh out loud. I picked up the first issue at my local comic shop back in the 90s and I laughed so hard at one of the sight gags that I literally had to set the comic down and walk away for a few minutes. Ben Edlund's offbeat sense of humor isn't for everyone, but if you "get him," you love him.
My only disappointment with this edition w ...more

Ben Edlund's uproarious superhero spoof is chock full of wonderfully absurd humor. The Tick is a mysterious, nigh-invulnerable muscleman who breaks out of an asylum and makes his way to The City, thirsting for injustice in need of rectifying. He makes life hell for mild-manner reporter/ secret alien superbeing Clark Oppenheimer, tangles with hapless theme-park ninjas alongside ninjette heiress Oedipus, and finally finds a consistent foil (and sidekick) in office drone Arthur, who begins to crack
...more

One of the first independent comic series to
garner widespread acclaim
if not widespread success
The original run of
The Tick!
from New England Comics (NEC)
was fraught with hardship
the book could never seem to come out on
anything the resembled
a regular schedule.
But for those fans who stuck with it
it was amazing
A unique look at super heroes
and the often ludicrous world they live in.
The Tick never did have much success in print
but it spawned not only 1 live action series
with another on the way from ...more
garner widespread acclaim
if not widespread success
The original run of
The Tick!
from New England Comics (NEC)
was fraught with hardship
the book could never seem to come out on
anything the resembled
a regular schedule.
But for those fans who stuck with it
it was amazing
A unique look at super heroes
and the often ludicrous world they live in.
The Tick never did have much success in print
but it spawned not only 1 live action series
with another on the way from ...more

I love The Tick! Ben Edlund's creation is a work of crazy genius. There are 13 issues in this complete volume. The first 12 are amazing, but unfortunately, the final one doesn't seem to feature the same quality of art and the writing feels like a rough first draft. It's a rather drab conclusion for what is otherwise a stellar series! I'm still rating this 5 stars because the previous 12 issues are so damn good!
...more

It occurs to me that the term 'Gonzo' applies to the 'Tickverse'. Indeed, take the superhero trope and set Hunter S. Thompson to the task of tackling a comic book. Surreal, weird and just plain funny the Tick goes right after the fact that superheroes would pretty much all be one flavour of insane with the Tick himself leading the charge. Fun stuff, and based on the multiple iterations of the Tick that have appeared in 'media', weirdly compelling.
...more

An all time classic. The original Tick comics are some of the best super-hero parodies ever made. Edlund's ridiculous humor and fantastic art really shines in this complete collection of his run on the series he created. If you are a fan of the Tick, this a must own collection, especially if you loved the animated series, which drew a number of episodes from this original run. Filled a lot of laugh out loud moments.
...more

I like The Tick. However, I probably should not have read this all at once.
I do not have a lot of sense. Neither does The Tick. That is fine.
Besides: bovine intervention. The whole thing is worth it for bovine intervention.
Overall, I prefer to see The Tick on TV, mostly because it doesn't feel like it's trying to cram everything into the smallest space possible. The Tick and Arthur need a little room to breathe. ...more
I do not have a lot of sense. Neither does The Tick. That is fine.
Besides: bovine intervention. The whole thing is worth it for bovine intervention.
Overall, I prefer to see The Tick on TV, mostly because it doesn't feel like it's trying to cram everything into the smallest space possible. The Tick and Arthur need a little room to breathe. ...more

The Tick is one of my favorite comic book characters; if you've only seen the live action or animated shows, you haven't had the FULL experience. This particular book compiles creator Ben Edlund's original 13-issue run. It's a must-read for anyone jonesing for a good super hero satire. Trigger warning: book contains lots of puns.
...more

What fun! Love the Tic. And Arthur. Good to see the Tic's misadventures getting a classy rerelease. Spoon!
...more
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In 1988, Ben Edlund launched the comic book that would make his name known to many comic and cartoon fans across the nation. It was the tale of a 300 lb., 7ft tall big blue insect named "The Tick". It was a character that Ben created a few years before in high school. The original series, drawn and written by Ben and published by New England Comics, only lasted 12 issues, but became quite popular
...more
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