''Supernatural Law'', previously known as ''Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre'', is a

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

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 ...

and

web comic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

series written and illustrated by

Batton Lash Batton Lash (born Vito Marangi, October 29, 1953 – January 12, 2019) was an American comics creator who came to prominence as part of the 1990s self-publishing boom. He is best known for the series ''Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre'' ( ...

. The series features the law practice of Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd, who specialize in serving the legal needs of monsters and other supernatural beings, or those who find themselves in conflict with such beings. Wolff and Byrd themselves are human, as is their secretary Mavis. The series tagline is ''"Beware the creatures of the night—they have lawyers!"'' The series first appeared, as "Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre", in ''The Brooklyn Paper'' in 1979. From 1983 to 1997 ''

The National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly news ...

'' ran the weekly strip. The characters made occasional appearances in comic books over the years (''Mr. Monster'', ''Munden's Bar Special'', ''Satan's Six''). In May 1994 an ongoing comic book series was launched, ''Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre'', under the imprint

Exhibit A Press Batton Lash (born Vito Marangi, October 29, 1953 – January 12, 2019) was an American comics creator who came to prominence as part of the 1990s self-publishing boom. He is best known for the series ''Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre'' ( ...

. The title was changed to ''Supernatural Law'' with issue #24, in part to avoid readers' confusion over how to pronounce "macabre," and to bring it in line with the planned title of a motion picture adaptation. An occasional spin-off comic has also come out focusing on their secretary, Mavis. The strips and comics have been collected into a number of trade paperbacks with introductions by writers including

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

and

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

. In 2005, a weekly ''Supernatural Law'' web comic began publishing on

Webcomics Nation Webcomics Nation was a webcomic hosting and automation service launched on July 29, 2005 by Joey Manley. Unlike Manley's previous webcomic sites, Webcomics Nation was based on user-generated content and relied on online advertisement revenue, wh ...

, in what Lash has described as an attempt to grow an audience outside of comics shops. After Webcomics Nation ceased operation, Supernatural Law moved to its own website. Batton Lash writes and draws all the stories, with art assists by Trevor Nielson and Melissa Uran. The series is edited by

Jackie Estrada Jackie Estrada (born September 10, 1946) is an American comic-book convention organizer, book editor, co-publisher of Exhibit A Press, administrator of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, and past president of Friends of Lulu. A San Diego r ...

. Mitch Berger, Esq. serves as legal consultant. A 2009 collection of Wolff and Byrd stories, ''The Soddyssey, and Other Tales of Supernatural Law'', won the Independent Book Publishers Association's Benjamin Franklin Award. The story contains guest art by

Steve Bissette Stephen R. Bissette (; born March 14, 1955) is an American comic book artist and publisher with a focus on the horror genre. He worked with writer Alan Moore and inker John Totleben on the DC Comics series ''Swamp Thing'' in the 1980s. Biograph ...

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017) was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein, adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his other ho ...

, Jeff Smith,

Shawn McManus Shawn McManus (born June 30, 1958) is an Americans, American artist who has worked extensively over three decades for DC Comics and other companies, notably for DC's Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo imprint including the ''Fables (comics), Fables'' ...

, Phil Hester, and

Charles Vess Charles Vess (born June 10, 1951) is an American fantasy artist and comics artist who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His influences include British "Golden Age" book illustrator Arthur Rackham, Czech Art Nouveau p ...

Collected editions

References

External links

Exhibit A Press
* 1979 comics debuts 2018 comics endings American comic strips Fantasy comics Comics about law Horror comics Humor comics Satirical comics Comics set in the United States {{comic-strip-stub