There's a gap in satire comics and we intend to fill it, flashing back to the days of early MAD and Marvel's Not Brand Echh! Something you can really have fun with while still being intelligent!

The first issue of Spaced Out is available for pre-order now and will be in shops March 31. For our opening salvo, Lou Mougin and Brian Dunphy offer up Enemy Ass (the funny-animal ace of World War 1), Prisonerd (a takeoff on the famous cult TV show of the 60's), and Sgt. Crock (a satirical take on guess who?). It's time for satire that doesn't try to convert you politically (frankly, we wouldn't even know how!) but whonks you entertainingly!

See what Artist Brian Dunphy has to say about it!

What is "Spaced Out?"

Spaced Out is a comic one-shot featuring three satirical short stories written by Lou Mougin, drawn by me and colored by James Couts. The three featured stories are send-ups of the 1960s pop culture mainstays Enemy Ace (published by DC Comics,) The Prisoner (a popular BBC show) and Sgt. Rock (also published by DC Comics.) We were lucky enough to not only have Source Point Press pick up the book for publishing, but then further flattered to have Josh Werner from the SPP team crank out a killer cover.
What inspired "Spaced Out?"
Well, I can only speak for myself here, but I spent most of my childhood engrossed in Mort Drucker and Jack Davis pages; marveling at their effortless lines and trying to emulate their work. Plus, I was raised in a house full of smart humor, musical diversity, story telling and dad jokes so understandably MAD Magazine felt like it was published specifically for me. Devastated by the disappearance of MAD and wanting to fill that void, I was delighted when Lou Mougin came along with a batch of funny little stories that felt very much like what I had read growing up. I sketched up a few concept pages, Lou approved and we were off to work.
How did the creative team come together for this project?
I like to think of the team on "Spaced Out" as a comic book version of the Spice Girls (with slightly less spandex.) We're all different sorts of people, with different tastes, from all different backgrounds who were brought together by a love for the medium and working toward the singular goal of producing a product that ultimately everyone will laugh at. But really, I was introduced to Lou and James by my very good friend and mentor, cartoonist Dan Gorman, who I refer to as the hardest working man in comics. The innocent and nostalgic tone of Lou's writing had me hooked and once James put his touch on my lines I knew we had a stellar team in place.
Who is this book for?
Everyone and us. When I say everyone what I mean is, I think we put together a little book that can be appreciated by casual comic book fans of all ages; fans of satire, pop culture aficionados, people of different backgrounds and political leanings can all hopefully find something to laugh about in these stories. And when I say us what I mean is, Lou's writing truly made me laugh out loud while James's and my artwork helped bring the zingers and corny one-liners to life. So even if we were going to be the only three people to ever lay eyes on this thing I'd do it again in a heartbeat... for us.
What's next?
That all depends. Lou has another batch of stories in the bag and I'm sketching concepts on one of them as we speak. If people want more "Spaced Out," we can certainly deliver. Personally, I've just finished illustrating a short graphic novel for David C. Hayes that will be in print around Thanksgiving of 2021. I've also contributed two short comics to David's anthology book he has planned for next year, Dan Gorman and I are working on an exciting pet project and I'm toiling away at my own passion project that I'm writing, illustrating, coloring and lettering. And, who knows what else might come along...
I love making comics. So does Lou and so does James. I hope that shows in the work. We all could use a good laugh right now, and I'll be interested to see if this little project leaves a positive mark in some way. For now, for all three of us and for the good folks at Source Point Press, I'm inviting readers to come with us and get "Spaced Out." Thanks.
February 19, 2021 — Deep Water Games distribution

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