Wait, It Gets Worse… (or should that be Better?) – a new collection from Cosmic Lion!

By John Freeman on January 16, 2024

Wait It Gets Worse… If We Only Knew (Cosmic Lion Productions, 2024)

After self-publishing their work for the last decade, alternative comics creators Gideon Kendall (Heavy Metal, MAD Magazine) and Doug Latino (Bottoms Up, Tales From The Wolf) bring their visionary series to an unsuspecting audience with the hardcover collection of Wait It Gets Worse… If We Only Knew from Cosmic Lion Productions.

Warning – some adult language in some of the strip examples ahead!

Described as “Ferris Bueller meets MAD” – or “Timothy Leary meets MAD” “depending on what generation you’re from – Wait It Gets Worse… wears its underground comix influence on its sleeve. Not only have the creators paid homage to some of the industry’s greats, but they’ve received praise from those same luminaries they so admire. That includes a foreword from the legendary Denis Kitchen, alongside quotes from Drew Friedman (Heavy Metal, RAW), Gary Dumm (American Splendor, Dr. Wirtham’s Comix & Stories), David Collier (Mineshaft, Weirdo), and Ron Turner (the long-standing publisher of Last Gasp).

“The rogue’s gallery of auto-bio comics authors is replete with some truly messed-up personalities. Crumb, Pekar, Wilson, Eichhorn, Joe Matt… the list goes on,” says Eisner Award winner, Gideon Kendall. “Do these incredible creators embellish and play up their foibles for dramatic and comic effect? Sure. But to varying degrees these are all people with problems. The funny thing about Doug is he’s actually pretty sane. Stable, even! Once you get past his drug-soaked early years, he’s a wholesome dude. But no amount of wholesomeness or stability can withstand the slaps and slights that life throws at you, and that’s what these stories are about.”

Weighing in at 270 pages and due for release in March 2024 (but on pre-order now), Wait It Gets Worse… If Only We Knew collects the best of the original series in one lush hardcover edition, along with 10 new stories and almost 50 pages of new material. Featuring both colour and black and white segments, it continues the rich tradition established by the let-it-all-hang-out, autobiographical misfits of the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s underground movement.

“We have nothing but reverence for the Underground comix pioneers who came before us,’ adds co-creator Doug Latino, “and we’ve taken a ‘hi-lo’ approach to the production of the book. In a sense it’s all done in a high manner, using a ‘fancy hardcover’ to showcase stories that are silly, self-deprecating, embarrassing, and full of our foibles. It’s a very straightforward, almost academic, presentation of this irreverent, low-brow material – and some of our biggest inspirations have said we did a pretty good job of it, which to us is the highest form of praise.”

In addition to collecting the best of Kendall and Latino’s work with new material and a foreword by Underground great Denis Kitchen, the book also features thematic chapter art for each section from an array of acclaimed talent – including Knight-Wallace Fellow and Xeric Award winner, Josh Neufeld (American Splendor, Keyhole), who drew the pair in a police line-up for the offence of ‘too much information’.

Kendall sums it up by saying, “Now that my midlife crisis is over, the crisis of old age and eventual oblivion is just beginning. But at least I can take comfort in the fact that we, to the best of our abilities, have turned – and continue to turn – our struggles and embarrassments into ‘art’, or at least some bastardized version thereof. The only difference is that instead of telling our problems to a therapist, we’re telling them to you!”

• Wait It Gets Worse… If We Only Knew is available to pre-order now from the Cosmic Lion Productions website and will start shipping in March – check out the web site for this and other amazing indie titles, like Space Knights and the aforementioned Tales From The Wolf!

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.