Scott Kraynak and Gary Dumm release collaborative, political ‘A-Men’ comic book

Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland's Scott Krynak and Gary Dumm team up with a team of artists to create a collaborative new comic book that includes pages upon pages of political commentary.

   Krenac said the comic was designed in the fashion of Mad Magazine, featuring the work of dozens of comic book creators, including Tim Switelsky, Bruce Worden and Schlepzig.  Styles vary from page to page, giving the project a zen feel.

   Everyone basically had the freedom to create whatever they wanted as long as the story continued, Krenac said.  If so many great artists are not willing to contribute and be a part of it, it certainly won't happen.

   The story in A Men is strange, bringing together villainous characters like corner dumpster Reverend Harden and Colonel Calvin Corn on the same plane.  That plane crashes into a toxic swamp, giving each character superpowers that they plan to use for nefarious purposes.

   The comic explains:

   Some travelers are specially chosen for such a wild adventure by forces beyond human understanding who plot to mercilessly rob, rape and ultimately destroy the world!  And Konald is chosen as the leader

   Although each artist provided their own version of the story, Krenac and Dumm created characters based on real-life celebrities and politicians.

   Unfortunately, Krenac said it wasn't hard to find real-life villains based on these characters.  What they change after their transformation is based on their real life bad qualities and behaviors.

   The leader of the A team, Konald Dumpster, was based on former US President Donald Trump.

   Any opportunity to make fun of the Trump administration's dumpster fire is difficult for me, Dum said.

   Dum is best known for three decades of work with Harvey Pekar on the American Splendor series, as well as other projects such as Shooty Beagle, Dan Turner's Hollywood Detective and Students for Democratic Societies' A Graphic History.  The painter regularly works with his wife, Laura Dumm, to add vibrant shades of color to his creations.

   Krink, an artist and park ranger who has published other books such as The Heart of Cleveland Animal Crackers and 27 Club, said it was an honor to work with Dum.

   He's done a lot of the cool stuff that Crink said.  It was fun to collaborate and we reviewed everything.  It was a really easy collaboration.  The story came naturally and off we went.  We share a lot of thoughts and opinions, so we both had a lot of fun teasing and making fun of these guys.

   Krenac said he and Dumm were inspired by other political comics and graphic novels, including Art Spiegelman's Maus Joe Sacco's Palestine and Marjan Satrapi's Persepolis.

   The creator of the comic book said it was important to experiment with free speech through projects like A Men and hoped the comic book could inspire social and political change in its own way.

   Cryanck said that the characters represented deserve only the harshest and most powerful criticism.  I think that with the current threats to our freedom and personal freedom, especially for women, the LGBTQ community, and people of color, everyone needs to use every means available to fight for equality.

   The comic can be purchased at Cleveland bookstores such as Mac Back, Loganberry, Carroll & John's Comic Shop and more, Krenac said.  It can also be accessed on Gary's website at dummart.com, Crynac's website at clevelandranger.wixsite.com/mysite and through their distributor Last Gasp Books.