Don't miss your chance to own the entire run of John MacLeod's The Mundane Adventures of Dishman. We’re going back to press in both hardcover and paperback editions!

This edition reprints the material from the 2022 hardcover edition (Dishman mini-comic issues 1–12) including the 6-page bonus Dishman story originally published as a backup story in Topps Comics Satan's Six #3, carefully converted to black and white. Plus, backers will receive the digital edition of The Cheese Heads #5 featuring the jam between Nick Craine and John MacLeod.

Dishman launched as an 8-page minicomic in 1985, near the crest of the eighties small-press comics boom. It was one of the top-selling minis of the time, a proverbial big fish in a small pond. Ten issues were published between 1985 and 1990, and Eclipse Comics released a collection of the first six in 1988. Two more issues were published digitally in 2018.

A combination slice-of-life character/superhero study, Dishman is the story of Paul Mahler, a schoolteacher who—after years of washing radioactive Fiestaware—suddenly gains the power of instantly cleaning dishes and putting them away by telekinesis, and his attempts to launch a career as a costumed crimefighter. It’s the superhero comic for people who don’t like superheroes. And in true Canadian fashion, Dishman’s satirical absurdity comes from playing everything absolutely straight.

This limited edition Dishman collection is unapologetically black and white from cover to cover. But don't be mistaken, this is no photocopied pamphlet—this is prestige black and white, with a matte laminated cover, and deep inky blacks on high-quality uncoated paper inside.

108 pages! (Softcover) Matte laminated trade paperback, 5.5" x 8.5", black and white on uncoated paper interior. (Hardcover) Matte laminated printed laminated cover, glued binding, 5.5" x 8.5, black and white on uncoated paper. For mature readers.

Anticipated shipping March-April 2023. 

EU Backers: If you're shipping to the European Union, please visit go.blackeye.ca/etsy and send a message with your desired rewards and a custom order will be built for you, VAT will be collected at the time of purchase and you will avoid costly import fees.

Local Backers: If you're in the GTA and want to save on shipping, you can now choose 'pick up' and pick up your reward. (Black Eye Books is in the East End of Toronto, near Greektown).

Rewards

• The Trade Paperback and Hardcover pledge levels include a single copy of Dishman, the digital edition, and a digital copy of The Cheese Heads No. 5.
• The Postcard Sets level includes everything in the Trade Paperback and Hardcover pledge levels, with a set of 4x6" postcards printed on high quality cardstock, drawn by John MacLeod and fellow Guelph cartoonists Nick Craine and Jay Stephens, and a new postcard by London, Ontario cartoonist Diana Tamblyn.

Dishman postcard by John MacLeod 

Dishman postcard by Diana Tamblyn

Dishman postcard by Nick Craine

Dishman postcard by Jay Stephens

“I never exactly thought of Dishman as a superhero satire. I felt like it wasn’t so much that I was satirizing superheroes, but more like by treating them as rigidly realistic as I could, I gave them the opportunity to satirize themselves if people wanted to read it that way. I wasn’t trying to say that superheroes are ridiculous. I just wanted to say they weren’t realistic.” —John MacLeod from an interview with Mel Taylor.

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“Great! Brilliant! Hilarious! Dishman is definitely one of the best [...] (and I don't just mean one of the best small press books…).” — Chester Brown , Louis Riel , Paying For It

“An exceedingly clever mini-comic… Dishman was an intelligent send-up of the whole super hero genre, yet managed to employ many of the best elements of that genre to good effect. It made me want to read more…” — Tom Brevoort ,  VP of Publishing, Marvel Comics

“Dishman offered a brilliant send-up of the superhero genre.” — John Bell , from his book Invaders from the North: How Canada Conquered the Comic Book Universe

“Not all small press artists aspire to the ‘big time.’ Some have characters and series that are perfect for the minicomic format, like John MacLeod‘s Dishman.”— Tom Palmer , “Minicomics, Maxireads Part 1” Wizard No. 32, www.palmerspicks.com

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About John MacLeod:

John MacLeod was born in Brantford, Ontario in 1957, relocating to Guelph, Ontario in 1975. He drew his first comic book at age seven and never changed his mind about making them. Dishman remains his best-known work. He has contributed other short works to a number of indie and minicomic publishers. He also created the webcomics Space Kid! (2010-2018) and Not That Magic (2020-present). He further distracts himself by writing novels and learning to paint.

About Black Eye Books :

From 1993–1998, Black Eye Books published such notable cartoonists as Jay Stephens ( Dwellings , Jetcat & Friends , The Land of Nod , Atomic City Tales ), Nick Craine ( Dance Me Outside ), Jason Lutes ( Jar of Fools , Berlin ), Tom Hart ( The Sands ), Jeremy Eaton ( World of Trouble ), Matt Madden ( Black Candy ), James Kochalka ( Quit Your Job ), Ed Brubaker ( Lowlife ), Brian Biggs ( Dear Julia ), and New Zealand's Dylan Horrocks ( Pickle , Hicksville ).

Relaunched in 2019 by publisher Michel Vrana, Black Eye Books continues its pursuit of publishing eclectic and engaging stories told in the form of words and pictures.