The Secret Voice and Dr Galapagos

 I have a problem. No, not that problem. The tablets keep me on a level and no one has been dipped in a vat of cold custard since 2015.  Now I've forgotten where I was...sigh. NO, I know that I am i9n Bristol, UK, Planet Earth and Earth Parallel 664....hang on..... STILL the same Prime Minister after 3 weeks? 

Breath.

Right, there is a subject for this post and my "problem" as some might see it. I have quite a collection of Independe4nt comics that never got past issue 1 or issue 2 and in fact some got to issue 5 then entered the comics limbo. These comics are in blacki and white or colour but all have one thing in common; they feature super heroes or costumed adventurers. Some of those from the UK that are very obscure I have highlighted on CBO before (just search "Obsure British Super Heroes").

These have all been the personal creations of people who have created their own personal universes and dreamt of seeing their characters in a comic -and they have achieved this. In the UK we have John Short and Kult creations and chareacters such as Helga Frankenstein, Reverend Cross, Jungle Princess and so on. There is also the genius publishing Black Tower Comics (lovely man but completely whacked in the head).

If the comics I pick up fall into the obscure bu8t fun category I keep them closeby on a shelf so that I can occasionally pick them up for a read.  One of these is The Secret Voice by Zack Soto and published under the Adhouse Books imprint of Richmond, Virginia in 2005 (Fall or Autumn to be exact.

This book has high quality printing and, to those who care about these things, a nice thick, glossy cover and sturdy interior pages. Where did I get it from? I have absolutely no idea. I normnally pick things like this up on visits to Area 51 (the comic and gaming store in Gloucester Roads, Bristol not the secret federal facility in Nevada... ) and they certainly never made their way into Forbidden Planets or that other shop in Bristol.  Or..it may have been on a table at a comic event but those stopped in Bristol over a decade ago. I like to think the comic just appeared somehow. My grasp on reality is that slim (its why I was an artist).

The story7 starts with the reader looking at some old shack (or outhouse) and then we see a cloaked hooded figure homing in on a strange noise coming from a water well. The figure then leaps in and down. This is Dr Galapagos.  Just why he is following the sounde is not explained but he comes across a stone troll funeral and things get a tad weird. 

You see, Dr Galapagos leaps down onto the funeral procession and cuts the arm off the dead troll. Dr Galapagos is obviously neither British nor a gentleman: that sort of thing is just not on. However, these cloak and smoke types....

One supposes that the chap had a reason

One has to also assume that the Troll chappies were somewhat miffed by this as a bit of a fracas then follows and Dalapagos uses some magic to make the dead trolls arm a weapon. I mean, really, this fella is NOT invited to my funeral. 

As it goes the battle gets somewhat bloody as Galapagos continues on his quest (I assume that he has one and is just not simply a trouble maker who likes a good fight at a funeral). We finally see our funerary agitator fall into the inky blackness..... That was it. 

I do know that I searched for issue 2 as there is a note insider the comic that after 5 years (so 2010) of searching there seemed to be no issue 2.  Do I really want to see an issue 2? Damn right I do. I mean...I WANT to see this guy... 

 Not to mention this fella...

I know what some of you are thinking: "Not very DC/Marvel is it?"  And my response to that is that there is some bad artwork at those companies and awful writing.  I was once told, in front of other customers at the "other" Bristol comic store (by the owner no less) that if I just ordered Marvel and DC titles I would not be missing titles or issues (complete crap as I missed more than a few issues thanks to their incompetence). If you love comics you will try most things and some may not be very good while others are hits.  I have said before that when I did reviews for Comics World magazine the best review I gave was to one of the mnost badly drawn Small Press(Zine) comics I had seen. Why? Well, because you could tell that the creator was enjoying the comic and the fun (yes FUN) came through and that was why I enjoyed it.  

And never use the excuse "But its not in English" to not check out a comic...I never did and that is why I have a huge foreign section in my collection.

If I really enjoy a comic then I tend to draw a few pages in my own style -it is why the late Adrian Kermode passed on Dr Sorrow to my "capable hands" and I drew two pages of Dr Galapagos but never forwarded them to Soto.

Dammit I want to find outr what was going on and I definitely want to see Smog Emperor and Soft Moth up against Dr Galapagos.  

There was an email in the comic but after two emaails went with no response I assumed they were defunct. I would like to think that Zack Soto is still drawing Dr Galapagos or at least is still in comics.  If you know him tell me.