Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991 - Softcover

"[A] wonderful collection...highly recommended." -- Library Journal "Thoroughly charming...the series's thoughtful joy spills over into its airy, bouncy design sense." -- Washington Post Book World "McCloud is one of the major talents in the comics world." -- Sacramento Book Review "Essential...a stunning revelation...the packaging alone is fantastic...It's long past time for a critical re-appraisal of these tender, delicate, overwhelmingly ambitious early stories, and what they tried to accomplish as well as what they actually did accomplish." -- The Onion A.V. Club "A brilliant superhero series that still holds up to the test of time 20 years later." -- Daily News "[S]ure to be a treasure trove for McCloud fans or lovers of intelligent retro comics action." -- Publishers Weekly "[D]elightful...Zot! has aged surprisingly well, and now it seems prescient in being strongly influenced by Japanese comics well before manga was common in America." -- Booklist "Shows that [McCloud] is not only an avid student and chronicler of comics, but an incredibly talented cartoonist...illuminates McCloud's genius as he blends Eastern and Western comics influences into a mesmerizing superhero tale." -- David Gutowski for Largehearted Boy "Honestly, comics just don't get any better than this." -- Gary Tyrrell for Fleen.com "One of comics' best written, and most overlooked, titles...a stylish, often light-hearted, and yet dramatically compelling comic." -- Edge Boston "With a smart-looking trim size and a sharp design that includes cover flaps and a stark-but-beautiful cover, Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection is an admirable addition to one's bookshelf." -- Comic Book Resources.com "To suggest I was enthralled by McCloud's pop commentary about hope and beauty in the world would be to embrace understatement...well crafted, entertaining and even challenging...9 out of 10." -- Don MacPherson for Eye on Comics.com "The classic retrofit of the post-war comics gestalt." -- William Gibson, author of Spook Country "Zot! is refreshing, lively, and truly entertaining." -- Samuel R. Delany, author of Dark Reflections "Zot! is wonderful...and should please readers of all ages. -- Greg Bear, author of Quantico "Zot! is a remarkable graphic narrative. " -- Richard A. Lupoff

Greatly influenced by the work of "Astro Boy" creator and 'God of Manga' Osamu Tezuka, McLoud created "Zot!" more than two decades ago at the tender age of 23, making it the first manga-inspired American comics ever. Zachary T. Paleozogt, popularly known as Zot is a blond haired, blue eyed teenage hero from an alternate Earth - this alternate reality is a retro-futuristic technological utopia where flying cars, robots and interplanetary travel are common and nearly all of its inhabitants benefit from peace, prosperity and a marked lack of conventional social ills. Jaunting back and forth between the two worlds seems exciting for Zot at first, but there are subtle differences in the essential nature of the two planets that take some getting used to. On Zot's world, events naturally favor the 'good guys' in any conflict, while on Earth, Zot is a less successful hero, reflecting the fact that our world clearly does not conform to the same rules as his. Nevertheless, Zot eagerly takes on Earth's challenges with the most amusing outcomes. The series is particularly notable for its imagery which is reminiscent of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, its energetic visual design and its meta-fictional underpinning. This newly revised cult classic is not to be missed!