''Concrete'' is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series created and written by

Paul Chadwick Paul Chadwick (born 1957) is an American comic book creator best known for his series ''Concrete'' about a normal man trapped in a stone body. Biography Born in Seattle, Chadwick grew up in its suburb Medina, where his father, Stephen F. Chadw ...

and published by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

. The character's first appearance is ''Dark Horse Presents'' #1 (July 1986). The

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous central character is a normal man whose

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

was transplanted into a large,

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

body by aliens, and who lives an extraordinary life on Earth following his escape. The ''Concrete'' series focuses on realism. Apart from the aliens (which appear only in original series issue #3, in Concrete's recounting of his origin) and Concrete's own high-tech, artificial, stone body (which includes a host of attendant abilities), there are no supernatural or science-fiction elements to any stories. The hero tries to use his body for noble endeavors, such as helping out on a family farm. Later, Concrete climbs Mount Everest, becomes involved with a group of hardline environmental militants, and reluctantly agrees to become the spokesperson of a campaign to voluntarily reduce the Earth's population. Concrete's sexuality is addressed in the series. An artist at heart, he collects paintings of female nudes. He is notably embarrassed at his lack of sexual organs; this is often the subject of hurtful jokes thrown his way. Real-world physics apply to Concrete. Examples include Concrete breaking objects by sitting on them, or Concrete being shot forward from a braking car, due to the momentum of his large body. He is constantly breaking telephones and doorknobs, and must hire an assistant, Larry Munro, because his hands are too clumsy to handle a pen. The series makes frequent use of thought balloons, showing characters' interior thoughts and feelings. In addition to the comic, Paul Chadwick has drawn Concrete in many paintings. Most show the character wandering in nature, perhaps looking at a flower or some other natural curiosity.

Character history

The series focuses on the life of Concrete, formerly Ron Lithgow, whose brain was involuntarily transplanted by aliens into a hulking artificial body which is made up of a substance that closely resembles

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

. As part of the

back-story A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...

, he eventually escaped and made contact with the

US Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

he worked for as a

speechwriter A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are employed by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors. They can also be ...

. After a prolonged period of scientific tests and examinations, he was allowed to live on his own with the cover story that he was a cyborg constructed by the government. In his new body, Concrete decides to use his tremendous strength, endurance and vision for a series of adventures he never thought of in his previous sedate life. Hiring a personal assistant writer and accompanied by a scientist who is assigned to monitor his body, Concrete has a wide variety of adventures.

Awards and recognition

The series won the

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

s for Best Continuing Series for 1988 and 1989, Best Black-and-White Series for 1988 and 1989, and Best New Series for 1988, and their Best Writer/Artist Award for

for 1989. It received the

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...

for Best New Series in 1988, and won Chadwick their Award For Cartoonist (Writer/Artist) for 1989.

Collections

*''The Complete Concrete'' ( TPB of the original 1987 ten-issue series) *''Concrete: Fragile Creatures'' (TPB of the 1991 four-issue limited series, in black-and-white (the earlier version was in color), plus "Fire at Twilight". *''Concrete: Killer Smile'' (TPB of the 1994 four-issue limited series) *''Concrete: Think Like A Mountain'' (TPB of the 1996 six-issue limited series) *''Concrete: Strange Armor'' (TPB of the 1997 five-issue limited series) *''Concrete: Complete Short Stories 1986-1989'' **"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #1, July 1986 **"Under the Desert Stars" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #2, September 1986 **"The Four-Wheeled Sleeping Pill" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #3, November 1986 **"The Gray Embrace" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #4, January 1987 **"Burning Brightly Brightly" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #5, February 1987 **"Little Pushes" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #6, April 1987 **"Water God" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #8, July 1987 **"Straight in the Eye" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #10, September 1987 **"Next Best" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #12, November 1987 **"Now Is Now" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #14, January 1988 **"A Sky of Heads: With a Whimper" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #16, March 1988 **"A Sky of Heads: Quality Time" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #18, May 1988 **"Fitful Sleep" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #20, July 1988 **"Watching A Sunset" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #20, July 1988 **"Goodwill Ambassador" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #22, September 1988 **"Stay Tuned For Pearl Harbor" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #28, March 1989 **"Visible Breath" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #32, August 1989 *''Concrete: Complete Short Stories 1990-1995'' **"Fire at Twilight" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #38, April 1990 **"Like Disneyland, Only Toxic" & "A Billion Conscious Acts" from ''Concrete Celebrates

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

'', April 1990 **"What Needs to be Done" from ''Concrete: Odd Jobs'', July 1990 **"Objects of Value" from ''Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special'', April 1991 **"American Christmas" from ''Within Our Reach'', December 1991 **"Byrdland's Secret" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #66, September 1992 **"King of the Early Evening" in black-and-white (the original was in color) from ''Concrete Eclectica'' #1, April 1993 **"I Strive For Realism", in black-and-white (the original was in color) from ''Concrete Eclectica'' #2, May 1993 **"Steel Rain" from ''San Diego Comic Con Comics'' #2, August 1993 **"Enough World" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #87, September 1994 **"The Artistic Impulse" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #100 August 1995 *''Concrete: Volume One – Depths'' collects: **''Concrete'' #1-5 **"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", "Water God", and "Straight in the Eye" from ''Collected Stories 1986-1989'' **"Orange Glow" from ''Dark Horse Presents Annual'' 1999, August 1999 **"Sympathy From A Devil" from ''Dark Horse Presents'' #150, January 2000 *''Concrete: Volume Two – Heights'' collects: **''Concrete'' #6-10 **"Now Is Now" and "Goodwill Ambassador" from ''Collected Stories 1986-1989'' **"What Needs to be Done" from ''Collected Stories 1990-1995'' **"The Damp Descent" from ''Concrete Color Special'' #1, here in black-and-white, February 1989 *''Concrete: Volume Three – Fragile Creature'' collects: **1991 four-issue limited series **"The Gray Embrace", "Burning Brightly Brightly", "Little Pushes", and "Next Best" from ''Collected Stories 1986-1989'' **"Fire at Twilight", "Byrdland's Secret", and "The Artistic Impulse" from ''Collected Stories 1990-1995'' *''Concrete: Volume Four – Killer Smile'' collects: **1994 four-issue limited series **"Under the Desert Stars", "The Four-Wheeled Sleeping Pill", and "Visible Breath" from ''Collected Stories 1986-1989'' **"Enough World", "King of the Early Evening", and "American Christmas" from ''Collected Stories 1990-1995'' **"The Lyle Committee", "The Ugly Boy", and "Jack O'Fingers" all from ''Concrete Eclectica'' #1, April 1993 **"The Dictator's Dream" and "The Maiden of Crete" from ''Concrete Eclectica'' #2, May 1993 **"Coming Soon: Emptiness", "Life Bomb", and "Frozen" from the ''Killer Smile'' series **"The Cave", "The Bore", "Earth's Birthday", "The Wish" and "The Arm" from the ''Think Like a Mountain'' series **"Family Night" from Dark Horse Maverick 2000'', July 2000 *''Concrete: Volume Five – Think Like a Mountain'' collects: **1996 six-issue limited series **"A Sky of Heads: With a Whimper" and "Stay Tuned For Pearl Harbor" from ''Collected Stories 1986-1989'' **"Like Disneyland, Only Toxic", "A Billion Conscious Acts", and "Steel Rain" from ''Collected Stories 1990-1995'' **"Riotus Life (Lost in Amazonis)" from ''Dark Horse Extra'' #1-4, June 1998 *''Concrete: Volume Six – Strange Armor'' collects **1997 five-issue limited series **"A Sky of Heads: Quality Time", "Fitful Sleep", and "Watching A Sunset" from ''Collected Stories 1986-1989'' **"I Strive For Realism" from ''Collected Stories 1990-1995'' **"A Sky of Heads" from ''Concrete Eclectica'' #2, May 1993 **"World Beneath the Skin" from ''Dark Horse Decade'' #4, October 1996 **"Running" and "On Van Gogh's 'The Bedroom'" previously unpublished *''Concrete: Land and Sea'', 1989, reprints "A Stone Among Stones" and "The Transatlantic Swim" with several pages of new art and story. *''Concrete: A New Life'', 1989, reprints "Mountain With a Steel Heart" and "In the Glare of the Lights" with several pages of new art. *''Concrete: Odd Jobs'', 1990, reprints the original issues #5 and #6, plus one new story set immediately after the events in #6, "What Needs to be Done". *''Concrete: Volume Seven – The Human Dilemma'' collects **2006 six-issue limited series **"Winter" one-page story **"Discovery" one-page story *''Concrete: Three Uneasy Pieces (one-shot)'' collects the Concrete stories from ''Dark Horse Presents'' v.2 #1–#3, January 2012

Variants

*''Fragile Creatures'', full color version, 1994 *''Killer Smile'', full color version, 1995 *''Think Like a Mountain'', full color version, 1997 *''Strange Armor'', full color version, 1998 *''Concrete: Eclectica'' #1, color comic, April 1993, has color versions of "King of the Early Evening", "100 Horrors" #1, #2, and #3, and a nine-page art portfolio. *''Concrete: Eclectica'' #2, color comic, has color versions of "I Strive for Realism", "Soon, we'll all float in A Sky of Heads", "100 Horrors" #4, and a five-page art portfolio. *''Concrete Hero Special'', April 1995, reprinted "Moving a Big Rock" with 2 alternate pages not published elsewhere. This was an eight-page story produced to promote the then upcoming "Think Like a Mountain" mini-series. Six pages of this story are actually straight from ''Think Like a Mountain'' #4, and appear both in the original issue and the collected editions. However, the first and last page of the story were redone for the Hero Special so the story would make sense in the context of eight pages. Much of the dialogue is the same as what appears in the original comics and collected editions, so there really isn't much difference between the two alternate pages that appear in the ''Hero Special'' and what appears in ''Think Like a Mountain'' #4 and the subsequent collected editions.

In other media

A film based on the character was in pre-production during the early 1990s, with a script written by Larry Wilson and

. The film was cancelled.

References

External links

Paul Chadwick interview about ''The Human Dilemma''
at Darkhorse.com

Concrete: Lost in Amazonis ecomic
at Darkhorse.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Concrete (Comics) 1986 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1986 Dark Horse Comics titles Dark Horse Comics characters Science fiction comics Eco-terrorism in fiction Comics characters with superhuman strength Eisner Award winners for Best New Series Eisner Award winners for Best Continuing Series Harvey Award winners for Best New Series