Chip McFitz – Joint Fever by Matt Greaves
Reefer Madness hits the comic stands. We have had some hard hitting drugs stories in comics. Denny O’Neill and Neil Adams made Green Arrows ward Speedy a junkie in the famous ‘Snowbirds Don’t Fly’ issue. Poor Karen Page also started chasing the dragon in Daredevil (it didn’t get much better for Karen unfortunately.) A more pleasant time was had by the Fabulous Furry Freak Bros and many others from the underground comics scene which flourished in the sixties.
Now meet Chip McFitz, this Mr Potato-Head shaped journalist is as hard-boiled as the coffee he guzzles. He has seen a shocking movie that exposes the evils of marijuana and the horrifying effects it is having on the youth of America. Determined to get to the bottom of the craze he trawls the murky depths of the counterculture. From the filthy dealer-ridden streets to swinging jazz clubs his quest brings him in contact with some colourful characters from the upper class elite.
Ultimately Chip has no choice but to try some himself. So begins a helter-skelter ride trip through time, mind and space.
Like a successful pet store I had run out of leads
Chip McFitz
Matt Greaves has created a visually distinctive world that riffs on underground comics and pop culture. It brings to life a mondo world of hepcats and sensationalist exploitation movies. The most artistically impressive panels see Chip getting on a crazy coffee and coke buzz in a jazz club. A staccato succession of ever-smaller panels riff on the page as the jazz musicians play, bringing to life the improvisational tunes.
As Chip moves on and gets his smoke on we have some nice panels with a great use of colour – I liked the use of more pastel colours rather than the more predictable psychedelic elements. We also have a sepia-tinged interlude as Chip is dropped into World War Two.
If you want to read a comic with a unique art-style and with a cool take on counter-culture then take a look at Chip McFitz. There are a few other adventures of Chip available and Matt has also joined the many comics creators making their work available to support those stuck at home during the Covid-19 crisis. Check out his Twitter below for more info.
You can get Chip McFitz on Gumroad
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