This book caught my eye because of the cover: cartoonish Mightyguy flies above a realistic city skyline all set out in a black and white and red color scheme. Various hyperbolic descriptions (The World's Funniest Comic Magazine!; Knee-Breaking Original Issue!!) make clear that frivolous fun is the goal.

Migtyguy is a cartoon-style, meta, satirical, super-hero book by Tim Corrigan that was published in 1987 by C&T Graphics. According to the introductory message from Corrigan, prior to getting his own book, the character had previously appeared in other titles by C&T Graphics, but also other publishers.

Mightyguy's origin story is quite meta, wherein Mike McZiltcho gets a job at a comic book publisher named C&T Graphics. (I feel like there is a way to use the work "eponymous" here, but I can't quite figure it out.) He is hired to be a super-hero so C&T can publish his exploits. His first enemies are quite random and ridiculous: the Bubble Master, the only bonafide psychopath in town, and Captain Cucumber, poor Arnold Blik, who upon eating a radioactive cucumber turns into a maniacal giant cucumber with telekinetic powers over all cucumbers.

Though I enjoyed the issue and look forward to running across more, I think what is most amazing to me is C&T itself (I assume that Corrigan is either both C&T or there is a T to his C.) Mightyguy first appeared in Small Press Comics Explosion #6, C&T Graphics' magazine devoted to small press publications. It is amazing to me to think how dedicated one had to be in 1987 to not only be publishing small press comics, but to produce a magazine about small press comics. And all from my home town, as it turns out. I really appreciate what a labor of love this was. I think that is likely to be a running theme here at the Institute.