New England Comics Press; $1.75

Ben Edlund’s June 1988 cover-dated The Tick #1 debuted from New England Comics, very few knew what to expect (with the possible exception of the customers who got the company’s newsletter and had met The Tick in two issues). From ninjas to sidekicks to superhero gadgets, what readers got was a hysterical send-up of comic book tropes surrounding a well-intentioned, nigh-invulnerable idiot of a superhero.

The result is comic book magic.

Edlund’s art and story tapped into much of what was going on in comics at the time – it’s still mostly true now – and poked serious fun at it without doing so meanly. The comic would not only kick off a healthy run of the original title, but it would also spawn a number of spin-offs, reprints, collected editions, a cartoon series, and two TV series.

However, it all starts with this one. It’s well worth seeking out.

– J.C. Vaughn