The Worst of Boiled Angel

by Mike Diana

This collects the 8 issues of his now-infamous Boiled Angel, as well as an issue of the earlier Angelfuck and some supplemental material (including legal documents from the court case that made him a household name among comic geeks and 1st Amendment defenders). Strictly for adults only!

Genres: Comics, Comic Book, Graphic Novels

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[João · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disgusting comic by all standards. Most stories envolve necrophilia, pedophilia, rape, satanism, etc. Perhaps the usual shock roll-call. Like it says in the introduction, Mike Diana was forbidden to draw and told to stay away from teenagers, among other punishments for publishing this comic. It looks like he was vying for it; at some point there's a letter of a "concerned supporter" telling him what he's doing is dangerous, but even then it looks like a criminal protecting another criminal, as if you're reading a maximum security prison's internal fanzine. In a way, this shouldn't be an object of concern. Pictures are just pictures, and christianity, the most obvious target of Diana's bilis, has given us the most horrific representations of Christ, His mutilations, and its main dessert, Hell. On the other hand, there's a very limited scope of things split bodies and a collage of interviews with murderers and other felons can do for you. It's as if childhood is being puked out, following the argument that "if children are beautiful and innocent, why do they sometimes wish to die?". A series of news boxes about kids' lives gone wrong next to the story of a church rape is ambiguous on who to blame. Most characters in these mini-stories are burning with desire to burn, maim, and fuck each other, with newborns at the end of the end of the flaming carnival. On the question of humor in hell, doesn't it always look like the devil and his minions are laughing, but the joke has no setup and no punchline? There's laughter in hell, but no comedy whatsoever.

[D.M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read alot of bizarre, offensive, horrible stuff in my time, from Ivan Brunetti to the Marquis de Sade, but Mike Diana puts them all to shame. His zine went to absolute extremes to offend and alarm, and I have to say it works. I find myself mentally cringing at most of what goes on in this book, and worrying about what would happen should it be read by one of the thousands of people who are unable to distance themselves from the subject material.
Seriously, the only reason I can see to own this (aside from being a twisted bastard who enjoys this sort of thing) is in the historical interest of the court case surrounding him. I'm a bit embarrassed to even own this, but can't bring myself to get rid of it solely for the aforesaid reason (and my natural resistance to burning a book!).
This book should, as far as I'm concerned, be owned only by sound-minded collectors of the obscure, legal libraries and seriously-grounded comic collectors. Really, just...messed up. And it should go without saying that this is strictly ADULTS ONLY!
Having said all that, I'm glad Diana lives in a country where he was able to produce it, and not be killed for the effort.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

mike diana is an artist of a fiercely moral vision, frankly this is only let down by the other contributors who aren't up to the same standard. yes this is horrible and disgusting and painful, but infinitely less so than the news stories that accompany his material, which are real and senseless.