"Lightin' Up the Sky", in Creature Tech, by Doug Tennapel (writer/artist), Jennifer Barker (letterer)
Creature Tech was the second of Doug Tennapel's OGNs I bought, after Iron West, and it's easily my favorite. There's just so much stuff going on in it. You have Dr. Ong running a government research institute for weird shit in Turlock. The ghost of a 19th century looney who plans to steal the Shroud of Turin to resurrect himself, then use powers he got from selling his soul to a hellcat to keep everyone busy while he puts his larger plan in motion.
Ong gets badly wounded and ends up with an alien symbiont grafted onto him, which doesn't exactly improve his standing with the Turlock locals. Not that his opinion of them is very high, either. Which is another thing he has to learn to adjust his perspective on, gain a little more appreciation for the sense of community. A couple of mechanics teach his giant mantis security guard the joys of fishing and monster truck rallies, for example. Also friendship or whatever, I guess.
There's also a whole thing about how Ong's father was a scientist who eventually became a pastor, while Ong thinks religion's a crutch or excuse people use to avoid seeking scientific explanations. This is Doug Tennapel's work, so that's not going to hold. And there's a bit of a love story between Dr. Ong and a lady named Katie. Like I said, a lot going on.
There's a variety of humorous bits. Even during the quieter moments, Tennapel finds the time to have some goofing around. Puns, wordplay, physical humor, general nonsense. You want to see a giant mantis looking at a pin-up magazine while sitting on the john? This is your comic. Jameson, the 19th Century Englishman, is a bit odd. Focused on his goal, but gleeful about the chaos he can cause, and still interested in other things he finds along the way.
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