''Real Deal Magazine'' was an independent

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 ...

title published in the 1990s. One of the rare contemporary

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

-created and published comics, ''Real Deal'' depicted the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

underworld life with deadpan visceral humor and gross-out violence (termed "Urban Terror" by the creators). Stories were by H.P. McElwee (aka "R.D. Bone") and art primarily by Lawrence Hubbard (aka "Raw Dawg"). Inspired by magazines like ''Mad'', traditional

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

comics, and people the creators knew in their own lives, ''Real Deal'' satirized

Blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

movies with a mélange of stories featuring convicts, hustlers, drug addicts,

crack whore Drugs and prostitution have been documented to have a direct correlation. Drug use tended to predate prostitution among low-level prostitutes with the connection most likely due to economic necessity. Low-level prostitutes tended to use depressan ...

s, car thieves, and murderers. In the words of artist/publisher Hubbard, a typical ''Real Deal'' story began with Hubbard cites Mort Drucker, Angelo Torres,

George Woodbridge George Woodbridge may refer to: * George Woodbridge (actor) (1907-1973), English actor * George Woodbridge (illustrator) George Woodbridge (October 3, 1930 – January 20, 2004) was an American illustrator known for his exhaustive researc ...

, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko,

E. Simms Campbell Elmer Simms Campbell (January 2, 1906 – January 27, 1971) was an American commercial artist best known as the cartoonist who signed his work, E. Simms Campbell. The first African-American cartoonist published in nationally distributed, slick ...

, and

Doug Wildey Douglas S. Wildey He recalled his professional start as freelancing for the magazine and comic book company Street & Smith in 1947. Because comic-book writer and artist credits were not routinely given during this era, the earliest confirmed Wilde ...

as influences, while critics note the similarity of Hubbard's inking to that of

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post-Underground comix, underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of ...

and

Raymond Pettibon Raymond Pettibon (born Raymond Ginn, June 16, 1957) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. Pettibon came to prominence in the early 1980s in the southern California punk rock scene, creating posters and album art mainly for ...

Publication history

''Real Deal'' creators Hubbard and McElwee worked together at the Los Angeles headquarters of California Federal Savings in the 1980s. Amused by McElwee's wild stories of his friends and associates, Hubbard proposed illustrating them in comic form. After being rejected by mainstream publishers like DC and

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

Hubbard and McElwee formed Real Deal Productions and self-published ''Real Deal'' #1. ''Real Deal'' ran six issues, published irregularly from 1989 until 2001 (issues #1–#5 were published from 1989–1996; the final issue was published in 2001). ''Real Deal'' #1 was tabloid-sized, printed in colour on newsprint; issues #2-6 were traditional comic book size and format. Circa 1998, writer McElwee died at age 43 of a heart attack; issue #6 was published after his death featuring stories he had already written. Throughout the 1990s, Hubbard and McElwee made regular appearances at the

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

promoting ''Real Deal'', where the comic became a cult favourite, especially among alternative comics creators. By 2001, faced with

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

problems and low sales, ''Real Deal'' went on hiatus. In 2009, alternative comics publisher PictureBox began distributing original issues of ''Real Deal'' through their website and at conventions like the MoCCA Art Festival. As of June 2010, new issues of ''Real Deal'' are in production, with art and stories by Hubbard. A PictureBox trade paperback collection of the first six issues was also planned.

Plot and characters

Every issue of ''Real Deal'' featured G.C., a middle-aged streetwise criminal with no conscience, and his gang, including such characters as Ace Brogham, Slick Willy, and Pork-Butt. A recurring feature was the "Gore Dance," a wild scene of violence and mayhem. Many issues featured the R-Team (a take-off on The A-Team), a rag-tag group of

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

criminals led by Sarge. Other members of the R-Team include "Ugh", Killing Machine, "Match-Head", and Mad-Dog Jack. Among other "missions," the R-Team takes on the Italian Mafia. The recurring science fiction feature "Planet Dregs" stars Prisoner #73588X.

Footnotes

References

Grand Comics Database: ''Real Deal''
* ''

Grand Royal Grand Royal was the Los Angeles, California-based vanity record label set up in 1992 by rap group Beastie Boys in conjunction with Capitol Records after the group left Def Jam Recordings. ''Grand Royal'' was also the name of a magazine written a ...

'' magazine #1 (Fall/Winter 1993)

External links

*
''Real Deal'' at PictureBox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Deal (comics) 1989 comics debuts African-American comics American comics creators Crime comics Humor comics