Supernatural Law
Exhibit A Press. All written and drawn by Batton Lash.
Case Files 1 (1-4). [From Exhibit A: This
inexpensive trade paperback collects the first four comic book issues, including
the out-of-print first issue. Added feature: A three-page article on the
orgins of Wolff & Byrd, including Batton Lash's very first sketches
of the characters from 1979.] 
Case Files 2 (5-8). [From Exhibit A: This
trade paperback collects issues 5 through 8 of Wolff & Byrd, Counselors
of the Macabre. Among the cases tackled by attorneys Alanna Wolff and Jeff
Byrd: supermodel Dawn DeVine's lawsuit against her Svengali-like agency
owner; the disputed ownership of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the
wolfman; the ongoing legal troubles of Sodd, the Thing Called It; and the
purging of an obnoxious, obsequious ghost. Bonus material includes a 3-page
Halloween story.] 
Case Files 3 (9-12). [From Exhibit A: This
volume collects some of the most popular issues of W&B: Issue #9, the
X-Files parody ("The * Files); #10, the Rosemary's Baby parody, done
in romance comics style ("I'm Carrying Satan's Baby!"); #11, three
short stories on the theme of "Strange Bedfellows"; and "Guardian
Angels and Personal Injuries," a must for Jack Benny fans (we can say
no more).] 
Case Files 4 (13-16). [From Exhibit A:
This trade paperback collects issues 13 through 16 of the comic book series.
In unlucky issue 13, longtime Wolff & Byrd client Sodd, The Thing Called
It, finally goes to trial, with disastrous results. The whole "Soddyssey"
wraps up in issue 16, which contains guest art by Steve Bissette, Bernie
Wrightson, Jeff Smith, Shawn McManus, Phil Hester, and Charles Vess. In
between, Wolff & Byrd encounter vampires and mysterious horror writer
Ayn Wrice in her New Orleans stomping grounds (issue 14), and zombies, werewolves,
and statues that come to life (issue 15)] 
Sonovawitch! (17-22, Mavis 1). [From Exhibit
A: This 176-page trade paperback contains issues 17-22 of Wolff &
Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre, along with the first issue of Mavis. The
main story in the book, "Sonovawitch!", concerns a lonely single
guy who is sued for “hexual harassment” after his mom (a witch),
puts a spell on one of his employees to make her fall in love with him.
The original comic book issues were nominated for a Bram Stoker Award, given
by the Horror Writers of America. Lash was also nominated for a Will Eisner
Comic Industry Award as Best Writer/Artist–Humor for the Sonovawitch
issues. The attractively produced trade paperback contains several other
cases from the files of Wolff & Byrd, featuring such clients as a physician
who specializes in reviving the dead; a hunchback accused of teaching Satanism
to preschoolers; a vampire henchman for the Nosferatu crime cartel; a Japanese
priest who guards a jewel that can unleash the power of a giant reptilian
monster; and a nice guy whose soul has accidentally possessed the body of
a demon.] 
4 The Vampire Brat (23-29, Mavis 2). [From
Exhibit A: A brand-new trade paperback, collecting Mavis #2, Wolff &
Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre #23, and Supernatural Law #24-29. Wolff
& Byrd’s clients in these issues include Buford, the teenage vampire
brat who fears "Myrtle, the Vampire Slayer"; the ex-wife of a
Vincent Price-type mad scientist ("Black Market Souls"); a time
traveler who literally crashes Wolff & Byrd's holiday party ("Fashionably
Late"); and a young boy who seems to be the only one who can control
a rampaging purple monster ("H—k Smash, Lawyers Sue!"). In
the same deluxe format as Sonovawitch!] 
5 Mister Negativity (31-36, Mavis 3). [From
Exhibit A: At last! The first Supernatural Law collection in two years!
This companion volume to Sonovawitch! and The Vampire Brat contains SL issues
31-36 and (the now out-of-print) Mavis #3. The clients represented in this
collection include the title character (he’s got such a bad attitude
that he actually turns negative and begins to repel everything around him),
Huberis the Dybuk (a misogynistic demon who sues to be accepted for church
membership), and “Steven Gink” (a horror author in a coma). Batton
was nominated for the 2003 Harvey Special Award for Humor for the issues
in this collection, and Supernatural Law #35 (which features the critically
acclaimed silent story “Words Can’t Do IT Justice”) was nominated
for Best Single Issue.] 
1 Supernatural Law. [From Exhibit A: This
book collects 14 stories from the long-running weekly newspaper strip. Among
those included: "The Rock 'N' Holy Roller," in which a rock star
and an evangelist switch minds; "Wonky, The Wonderful Widdle Cat,"
the tale of a popular cartoon cat who escapes from the TV screen into the
three diminsional world; "The Boogeyman," who, says teenager Prima
Donner, is the cause of all her misbehavior; "The Once and Future Lawsuit,"
in which Merlin's secrets are invoked to bring forth a demon of commerce;
"Lawyers in Hell," referring to when Wolff and Byrd must literally
go to hell to confer with a client; "Wolff Goes Home," in which
Alanna encounters romance as well as a mysterious town not unlike Lake Woebegon;
and "Beauty and the Breach," an irreverent poke at TV's Beauty
and the Beast TV show.] 
2 Fright Court. [From Exhibit A: A second
collection of comic strip stories that originally appeared in The National
Law Journal. Among the stories included: a haunted house on wheels, children
who may or may not be possessed, a baseball team that can't lose, an updated
Hamlet, and encounters with the Green-Eyed Monster, Frankenstein's Monster,
and the Monster Under the Bed. Plus: Mavis (W&B's secretary) quits,
a new partner is hired, Alanna is jailed for contempt, and W&B's new
secretary has eyes for Jeff! This book will make a great Christmas gift,
especially for any lawyers or law students on your list!] 