A cartoonist revives his madcap comic creation in this Ragmop exclusive

As current events keep getting bleaker, the world needs creative voices that want to make people laugh and feel good more than ever. Cartoonist Rob Walton recognizes this need, and he’s revived his comic-book series Ragmop to bring some humor into the lives of readers bombarded by bad news. Walton had a fruitful career in TV animation in the ’90s and early ’00s, working as a designer and storyboard animator for series like Beetlejuice, The NeverEnding Story, and Clone High. In 1995, he created Ragmop, a universe-spanning satire about a leftist super-criminal’s mission to save Earth from annihilation, earning him two Eisner Award nominations for Best Comedy and Talent Deserving Wider Recognition.

Top Shelf Productions collected Ragmop in a hefty graphic novel in 2006, and now, over a decade later, Walton is reviving his passion project as an online series for Vault Comics. The lead character, Alice Hawkings, has a new look, but the manic, over-the-top tone of the comic hasn’t changed at all. This exclusive preview of the first 10 pages of the new Ragmop showcases Walton’s bold animated artwork and pointed sense of humor, and he starts the story off by showing readers a glimpse at the cataclysmic future in store for Earth. Those opening pages have a Jack Kirby-esque sense of grandeur, but after the prologue, Walton switches into a more comedic mode for a Looney Tunes-style ad break (complete with a Skip Ad button at the bottom) and a wave of political satire. Ragmop gives Walton total freedom to follow his creative impulses, and readers can discover where his imagination takes him next by checking out the Vault Comics website each week.