Review by Win Wiacek

Here’s a spectacularly cool and probably dangerously litigation-prone slice of 1980’s satire that still delivers a breathtaking punch for modern readers and art-fans. Rod Kierkegaard Jr’s parody strips were a mainstay of the early monthly Heavy Metal, and his contributions were some of the very few not originating in Europe. His selection of short spoofs and pastiches presages the modern obsession with celebrity and scandal by lampooning major music icons in grotesque murder-and-monster yarns, many featuring the fab, hip and cool Rock Detective Rockfort.

‘Killer!’ features that king of Pop Michael Rockson in a sex-and-blood teen-slasher tale featuring the marvellously crafted likenesses of that boy who never grew up, but also such notables as Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and a host of others. ‘Doctor Boy And Mr. Gore’ stars Boy Gorgeous, the gender-bending Marilyn and Vanessa Williams (nee “Willing”) in a truly macabre tale of steroid abuse, whilst ‘Prance’ features too many stars to list in a Mary Shelley riff that sees Baron Von Funkestein build the perfect performer from the remains of dead rock stars.

This wicked, graphically sexy and devilishly funny book concludes with ‘Like a Holy Virgin’ as Rockfort is hired by superstar Madollar. It seems she’s lost her virginity and only a great detective can recover it for her! The cameos here range from Sting to Sean Penn and once again the surreal, sardonic and supremely talented Kierkegaard Jr. hits the parody bullseye over and over again.

Beautifully painted, flamboyant and incisive, this trenchant, biting slice of Sex & Drugs and Rock‘n’Roll is still a great treat for adult readers, especially as his targets have stayed the course as well.