''The Sleeze Brothers'' was 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 ...

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 ...

published by Marvel's

Epic Comics Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of Marvel Comics from 1982 to 1996. A spin-off of the publisher's ...

imprint, between August 1989 and January 1990 (UK release dates), lasting for 6 issues. A collection of the six issues were later released in 1990, along with a final extended issue in 1991. It was written by

John Carnell Edward John Carnell (8 April 1912 – 23 March 1972) was a British science fiction editor known for editing '' New Worlds'' in 1946 then from 1949 to 1963. He also edited ''Science Fantasy'' from the 1950s. After the magazines were sold to anoth ...

, with art by

Andy Lanning Andy Lanning is an English comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett. Career Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker. He has also pencill ...

. The characters were spun off from a '' Doctor Who'' comic strip by Carnell entitled "Follow That TARDIS!", published in '' Doctor Who Magazine'' #147 (April 1989), though they are not generally considered part of the Doctor Who extended universe.

Overview

The comic depicts a futuristic Earth rife with extraterrestrials, pollution, crime and corruption. The focus of the stories are El' Ape and Deadbeat Sleeze, two private eye brothers, who ply their trade in the seedy underbelly of The Big Apple, a futuristic city taking its name from the nickname of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In the comics Deadbeat and El' Ape Sleeze are described as dysfunctional orphans who grew up in an orphanage for unwanted "boil in the bag" test tube babies. As adults they use amoral and often underhanded methods to get the results demanded by their insalubrious and eclectic clients. Within the

Marvel Comics multiverse Within Marvel Comics, most tales take place within the fictional Marvel Universe, which in turn is part of a larger multiverse. Starting with issues of ''Captain Britain'', the main continuity in which most Marvel storylines take place was des ...

, the Sleeze Brothers reality is designated as Earth-89547.

Influences

The title characters in the Sleeze Brothers comics were loosely inspired by Jake and Elwood Blues from the cult movie ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...

'', but were actually based on Andy Lanning's two cousins, Phil and Pete Carmichael. These two characters appeared on the front cover of the collected edition.

Undercurrents

The comics themselves are littered with contemporary parodies of both real and fictional characters, and occasional real life current affairs from 1989 and 1990. Additionally, the Sleeze Brothers storylines feature a variety of comical adult situations, and colourful (though not profane) language.

Supporting characters

* Sergent Pigheadski: a two-headed humanoid swine

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

captain; * President Sinatra: a part-cyborg amalgam of Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan; * The Cosmos Father: an intergalactic mafia don; * Wong: an

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

restaurateur thinly veiled as a humanoid feline. * Papa Beatbox: the aging

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

of the orphanage and the Sleeze Brothers' father figure.

Issues

* Issue #1: "Nice And Sleezy" (aka "Anytime, Anyplanet, Anything!") * Issue #2: "Reel To Real" * Issue #3: "The Big Leap" * Issue #4: "Murder In Space" * Issue #5: "Down In The Sewer" * Issue #6: "The Maltese Egg" * Six issue collection: "The Sleeze Brothers File" * Additional one-shot issue: "The Sleeze Brothers: Some Like It Fresh"

Additional appearances

* Doctor Who Magazine #147 : "Follow that TARDIS! Part One"; reprinted in Doctor Who Classics Series V #1 and Doctor Who Classics vol. 9 * The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And Utterly Mindboggling Comic Relief Comic * Epic Book 2: "Saturday Nite Special!" * ''

Elephantmen ''Elephantmen'' is an American ongoing monthly comic book published by Image Comics and written by Richard Starkings with art by Moritat and a number of other artists. Issue #1 was released in July 2006. Overview Some 200 years from now, the M ...

'' #16 (back-up story)

References

* *

External links

The Sleeze Brothers website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sleeze Brothers 1989 comics debuts Comics by Andy Lanning Marvel UK titles Epic Comics titles Science fiction comics