The story here was "Second Coming"
Copyright 1993 C.F. Roberts, 2019 Molotov Editions. Comic by William Landsburg, published in DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY, 1994.
As I'm going through a lot of old writings trying to pull things together for collections this one is tentatively falling into the "near miss" category. Maybe that'll change, I don't know. Originally run in mine & Alfred Vitale's maxi-chap, "Fairy Tales from the Urban Holocaust", it was picked up, shortly thereafter, by this William Landsburg cat who wanted to run it in his zine, DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY, as a comic. It kind of bears the whole standard Rhett and Link query, "will it comic?" Apparently so, much to my surprise. I like it. My favorite part is on the last page, where the mob attack Jesus and he goes into a karate pose. It cracks me up that the one guy jumping him looks like some kind of mutant potato monster. Nice that some dude thought enough of my story to turn it into a comic. The overall tone of the zine is very anti-religion....Landsburg asked me if I was a big atheist---I told him not necessarily, I just disliked organized religion. Still do, obviously.
The genesis of the story for me happened at some point in the late 60s or early 70s when my Dad and I were in a car one night and I heard a newscast on the radio telling a story about some guy entering a church during a service and smashing up statuary and causing a ruckus, claiming he was Jesus Christ. Obviously the story stuck with me.
The ending ties directly into my from-the-ground-up mess of a forthcoming novel, HOME. So I guess at some point you're going to see "Mr. Jesus" turn up at the asylum. What happens after that, God knows. But I guess I ought not dismiss it out-of-hand. Anyway, for now, there it is, "Second Coming".
THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST:
THE CLASH-Clash on Broadway
THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS-Independent Worm Saloon
HEAVY MEAT-(comp, various artists)
