Review by Ian Keogh
Due to a succession of dubious deaths over the past 150 years what was founded as Muderberg on an island off the Maine coast has become known colloquially as Murderburg. And not without good reason. If you’re among the criminal community many known faces appear in tourist pages online, although mayor Leo Scazzo is smart enough to ensure he’s never seen by the world outside. He and equally resourceful wife Antonia had to move there in a hurry, although sixteen year old daughter Isabella and the younger twins aren’t entirely aware of the family business.
The set up of the unpalatable in ordinary surroundings and the loving relationship between husband and wife is very reminiscent of The Addams Family, but Carol Lay’s plots are even funnier. She is, of course, an old hand at exquisitely plotted comedy shorts with macabre elements, a talent mastered long before she began working on Simpsons material, and Murderburg is a real treat on that score. Leo and Antonia face numerous threats over a succession of stories, and while it’s touch and go at times, they overcome them all from gangster Vinnie Scapula to the invasion of the Snobunquits. Background to both the town and population are expanded in the newspaper page inserts separating the stories, Isabella doubling as the local journalist and Lay having her offer a cheerier interpretation of the events just read.
While most stories concern criminal activities Lay’s imagination is too fertile to be restricted to the single topic, so while the same cast populate every strip they adapt to the likes of the spooky old lady who wails like a banshee if her knitting wool ever runs out. The criminal capers are neatly defined, and the methods of telling each story gradually begin to differ, such as the Lobster Day celebrations narrated by the lighthouse keeper, but with a Brooklyn wise guy’s accent. They’re all drawn in Lay’s excellent neat style.
It’s puzzling how a creator this good for so long isn’t as acclaimed as she ought to be, but Murderburg is yet another laugh riot bursting with intelligence.
