''Joe the Barbarian'' is an eight-issue

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 ...

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

written by Grant Morrison and drawn by

Sean Murphy Sean Murphy may refer to: Sports * Seán Óg Murphy (1897–1956), Irish hurler * Seán Murphy (hurler) (born 1947), Irish hurler * Seán Murphy (Gaelic footballer) (born 1932), Irish Gaelic football player * Sean Murphy (footballer, born 1995), Sc ...

. It was published in 2010-2011 by

Vertigo Comics Vertigo Comics, also known as DC Vertigo or simply Vertigo, was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, ...

. Morrison has discussed the inspiration behind the series: The first issue was released in January 2010 (

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d March 2010).

Plot summary

Joe is a teenage boy with

Type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...

. When his blood sugar drops and he enters a state of

hypoglycemia Hypoglycemia, also called low blood sugar, is a fall in blood sugar to levels below normal, typically below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L). Whipple's triad is used to properly identify hypoglycemic episodes. It is defined as blood glucose belo ...

, he begins to hallucinate, and enters a fantasy world populated with his toys and other fantasy characters. Here he becomes embroiled in a war with King Death, while in the real world he searches for a soda to fix his blood sugar. He knows there is one in the kitchen downstairs, but it is extremely far away, made farther by his medical condition affecting his mobility.

Collected editions

The series was collected into a single volume: * ''Joe the Barbarian'' (224 pages, DC Deluxe Edition hardcover, September 2011, )

Reception

The first issue had estimated sales of 25,543, placing it at number 77 in the American comics market sales rankings. The second issue had 17,512 estimated sales and slipped to 97th in the sales lists, after which sales then stabilised with issue three estimated to have sold 17,674 (119 in the rankings) 17,102 for issue #4 (108 in the rankings) 16,725 with #5 (118 in the rankings) and 16,219 with #6 (118 in the rankings).

Adaptation

The comic has been optioned for a film adaptation by

Thunder Road Pictures Thunder Road Films is a film and television financing and production company founded by Basil Iwanyk. It is based in Santa Monica, California. Management Producer Basil Iwanyk founded the film and television financing and production company ' ...

Notes

References

* *

External links

Joe the Barbarian
on the Graphic Content blog,

DC Comics.com DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their ...

Reviews

Review: ''Joe the Barbarian'' #1

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

Sunday Slugfest: ''Joe the Barbarian'' #1 Review

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin was a daily website covering the American comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks The site was founded in January 2000 as Silver Bullet Comicbooks by its New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice. During this ...

''Joe the Barbarian'' #1 Review

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''Joe the Barbarian'' #1 -- Hot Ink Advance Review
Comics Alliance
''Joe the Barbarian'' #1 Review
Comics Should Be Good!,

''Joe the Barbarian'' #2 Review

''Joe the Barbarian'' #2 Review
Comics Should Be Good!,

''Joe the Barbarian'' #3 Review

''Joe the Barbarian'' #4 Review

Comics by Sean Murphy {{Grant Morrison, type=comic