WTF Wednesday: Zango has food ... for thought!

Scholars around the world agree that most of the machinations and secret plots of the legendary super-villain Lord Zango are — at best — shrouded in mystery. Indeed, it's common wisdom that, "You only know what Zango wants you to know."

However, there is one thing Zango has made very clear:


Glad we got that cleared up.

If you have yet to be introduced to the world's laziest super-villain, do yourself a favor and pick up The Nearly Infamous Zango #1, a quick-paced and quick-witted funny book about family, recapturing past glory and a cyborg gorilla assassin. Writer/artist Rob Osborne brings the funny in all the right ways with this title, poking fun at classic scenery-chewing villains with dialogue that breezes from overwrought to petulant, and artwork that combines a classic visual like a killer gorilla with a skinny would-be overlord in bunny slippers.

And while there are genuine laugh-out-loud moments in the book, it does it without slipping into flat-out farce; there's an actual story building here. Reading Zango, it's pretty obvious Osborne was enjoying himself when he put this together, and why wouldn't he — it's funny stuff. Hopefully, the plot and character development will keep pace with the jokes and help the title avoid becoming a one-note story.

I had a chance to talk to Osborne briefly at the Staple! expo, and he said one of the things that draws him to humor comics (he also did the endearingly silly 1000 Steps to World Domination) is the fact that there just aren't many humor comics out there. The Nearly Infamous Zango should help fill the gap.

And if you thought I was kidding about that cyborg gorilla assassin, check out the preview (there's a preview of the second issue, too!).

Panel from The Nearly Infamous Zango #1
Rob Osborne, writer/artist