Liō
| Liō | |
|---|---|
Pantomime comics |
Liō is a daily
Publication history
The strip debuted on May 15, 2006, in more than 100 newspapers which included
Characters and story
The strip focuses on the adventures of a creative little boy, Liō, who lives with his father (unnamed in the strip) and various monsters, animals, aliens, lab creations, and other creatures. Liō's mother is deceased.[3] It is currently unknown how she died. The setting of the story varies from Liō's house to his school and the general outside world. The time period appears to be contemporary, except for an episode set in the year 2101, when Liō is in his nineties but still very much capable of mischief.
The story is told visually, with little or no dialogue. Gags frequently involve the supernatural, alien invasion or mass destruction of many sorts, creating a surreal, disturbing atmosphere. Some of the strip's recurring themes involve Liō getting even with grade-school bullies, helping animals (most of which are non-anthropomorphic but display obvious intelligence) defend themselves against humans or their predators, and performing
In addition to Liō, the strip only has one other major character, Liō's unnamed father. He is frequently shown to be the subject of Liō's pranks, and sometimes he has to get his son out of difficult situations. When he watched a news report of an alien invasion, he gave Liō a spanking for apparently having piloted the alien ship and parking it in the backyard.[4] On the other hand, one day when the boy came home from school dejected because a drawing he created had horrified the faculty, Dad proudly hung up the piece of art on the refrigerator, giving his son much-needed comfort and joy.[5] Quite often, father and son prove that they really love each other, no matter what.[citation needed]
Liō has at least five companion animals:
- Fido, a spider who has helped him cheat on tests.
- Cybil, a white cat who has unique methods for getting Liō to feed her. She looks sweet and innocent but is not. She also has an affinity for gin.
- Frank, a cobra who sometimes sleeps in Liō's bed.
- Ishmael, a giant squid, mainly identified as a cephalopod.
- Mittens, a lobster rescued from his father's planned dinner.
There are several frequently recurring characters:
- Liō's hunchbacked assistant.
- His grade-school teacher Mrs. Gatchi.
- A group of school bullies.
- Assorted mythical monsters (both alive and undead).
- Assorted aliens.
- Various lab creations (some alive, some robots).
- Eva Rose, a violent girl with bangs that cover her eyes and an interest in surgeries and autopsies. Liō has a crush on her. She does not return the feeling and is often quite violent towards him or his expressions of love. This does not sway Liō in the slightest, except maybe to make him even more determined in his quest to win her love.
- Bubbles, Liō's wide-eyed infant cousin who is scared of nothing and comes up with devious plots.
- The monsters under the bed.
- Hunters.
- Archie, Liō's psychopathic ventriloquist's dummy.
- Liō's grandmom.
Style
While it may seem that all the strips are from Liō's imagination, Tatulli has stated that all events in the strip actually happen to Liō (although on the back cover of an AMP! Kids Liō book, Liō: There's a Monster in My Socks, they say all the monsters and robots are from his imagination), [6] though most of the time others turn a blind eye to it, unlike the other-worldly situations in Calvin and Hobbes.
Another notable aspect of Liō (reminiscent of such strips as
Tatulli has credited
In other media
As of October 23, 2007, the strip had been optioned for a live-action feature film by producer David Kirschner.[8]
Collections
Liō strips were collected in seven volumes from August 2007 to May 2013. One omnibus volume, containing the strips from the first two collections, was released in August 2009. Since the release of Liō: Making Friends in 2013, no other print or electronic collections of the daily strip have been released.
| Title | Publication Date | ISBN | Contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Happiness Is a Squishy Cephalopod | August 1, 2007 | ISBN 978-0-7407-6849-1
|
Strips from 2006, including a foreword by Pearls Before Swine .
|
| Silent but Deadly: Another Liō Collection | August 1, 2008 | ISBN 978-0-7407-7742-4
|
Strips from 2007, including a foreword by Wiley Miller of Non Sequitur |
| Liō's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors | August 18, 2009 | ISBN 978-0-7407-8541-2
|
Treasury volume containing the contents of the first two collections, along with some author/artist commentary and a small amount of new material. Includes the origins of Liō. |
| There's Corpses Everywhere: Yet Another Liō Collection | August 10, 2010 | ISBN 978-0-7407-9733-0
|
Strips from 2008. Title and cover are an obvious parody of a Calvin and Hobbes book. |
| Reheated Liō: A Delicious Liō Collection Ready to Devour | October 11, 2011 | ISBN 978-1-4494-0794-0
|
Strips from 2009. |
| Zombies Need Love Too: And Still Another Lio Collection | May 1, 2012 | ISBN 978-1-4494-1020-9
|
Strips from 2010. |
| Liō: There's a Monster in My Socks | October 2, 2012 | ISBN 978-1-4494-2304-9
|
Strips from 2011. |
| Liō: Making Friends | May 14, 2013 | ISBN 978-1-4494-2558-6
|
Strips from 2012. |
See also
- The Addams Family, a single-panel series of illustrations with imaginative dark humor
- Ed Grimley, a live-action and cartoon character, with a similar front spike hair style
References
- ^ "Liō Starts May 15". 2006-05-12. Retrieved 2006-07-26.
- ^ "'Lio' Pantomime Comic Is Doing Well in Asia". 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ "Strip for December 24, 2009". Gocomics.com. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
- ^ "Strip for February 9, 2007". Gocomics.com. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
- ^ "Strip for March 15, 2009". Gocomics.com. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
- ^ a b "Q&A with Mark Tatulli on Liō from Universal Press Syndicate website". Retrieved 2006-02-12.
- ^ "Interview with Mark Tatulli on gocomics.com". Archived from the original on 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (October 23, 2007). "Dark 'Lio' leaps to screen". Variety.