Fabulous manta rays soar across the open sky of a post-apocalyptic America in this forgotten classic. The Puma Blues has now been now restored by Dover Publications in a deluxe 480-page hardcover that contains a brand new 40 page ending from the original creators – the tale of The Puma Blues is finally complete.
The cult original—an environmental sci-fi experiment in visual narration by writer Stephen Murphy and artist Michael Zulli—ran for 23 1/2 issues between 1986-89, to great critical acclaim. Government agent Gavia Immer is stationed in a remote Massachusetts cabin and tasked with displacing the transmuted creatures that have thrived in this post-nuclear fallout America. As Immer struggles to find his place in the world, he’s haunted by his late father's videotapes that reveal a search for an incredible truth.
As the series progressed, this loose narrative moved further into the background, allowing Zulli to take the reins, with wordless sequences of lone pumas stalking the landscape and vistas of joyful swooping mantas turning it into a lyrical fantasia that deftly captured the environmental chaos and threat of ecological ruin that lies at the story’s core. Zulli went on to complete an Eisner-nominated run on The Sandman, as well as a popular stint on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but his black and white art on The Puma Blues remains a highpoint of his career.
The Puma Blues (9780486798134) is published on September 16th from Dover Publications.
