''Real Deal Magazine'' was an independent

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

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

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

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

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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 fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

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

Blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

movies with a mélange of stories featuring convicts, hustlers, drug addicts, crack whores, car thieves, and murderers. In the words of artist/publisher Hubbard, a typical ''Real Deal'' story began with Hubbard cites

Mort Drucker Morris "Mort" Drucker (March 22, 1929 – April 9, 2020) was an American caricaturist and comics artist best known as a contributor for over five decades in ''Mad (magazine), Mad'', where he specialized in satires on the leading feature film ...

Angelo Torres Angelo Torres (born April 14, 1932, in Santurce, Puerto Rico) is an American cartoonist and caricaturist whose work has appeared in many noteworthy comic books, as well as a long-running regular illustrator for '' Mad''. EC Comics Torres was fri ...

, George Woodbridge,

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko. Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular ac ...

, E. Simms Campbell, and Doug Wildey 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, new wave comics movement that began with the end of '' Arcade: The Com ...

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 g ...

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 a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

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

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

promoting ''Real Deal'', where the comic became a cult favourite, especially among

alternative comics Alternative comics or independent comics cover a range of American comic book, American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alterna ...

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 varia ...

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 ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

), a rag-tag group of

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

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 Criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially in the southern part of the country, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions. There are major native mafia-like organizations that are ...

. The recurring science fiction feature "Planet Dregs" stars Prisoner #73588X.

Footnotes

References

Grand Comics Database: ''Real Deal''
* '' Grand Royal'' magazine #1 (Fall/Winter 1993)

External links

*
''Real Deal'' at PictureBox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Deal (comics) 1989 comics debuts 2001 comics endings African-American comics Crime comics Humor comics Satirical comics