Gabagool
For the Italian cured cold cut meat, see Capicola.
Gabagool! is a comic book created by the cartoonist Mike Dawson and the humorist Chris Radtke.
It concerns the various misadventures of a 30-something super-nerd, Christopher Vigliotti, and his friends Ritch Sutton and Vinnie DelPino. They live in Bronx, New York, in an apartment owned by Christopher's cousin, Lenny Vigliotti.
History of the series
The early years
The comic started out in 2002 as a 24 page mini-comic debuting at the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo in Columbus, OH, founded by Bob Corby and Dave Sim.
Subsequent issues were produced at a rapid pace, and were generally timed to debut at all of the major North American comics festivals along the east coast. Issue #2 debuted at the very first MoCCA Arts Festival, sponsored by the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art and Stella Artois.
The double-sized "All Action Issue" #3 debuted at the annual Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD at a table shared with the creators of the now-defunct indy comic 23 skidoo.
The floppy years
In 2003 - 2004, Mike and Chris self-published issues 4-6 as traditional "floppy" comics printed at proper-comics-printer Quebecor graphics. Hubris prompted the boys to overprint issue 4, a mistake that they, their wives, and their storage spaces, still regret today.
With issues 5 and 6 a more manageable print run was decided upon, and sales were healthy. The floppies were picked up by the comics-distribution monopoly Diamond, as well as by other struggling competitors like Cold-Cut and Shenton 4 Sales.
The wilderness years
Following issue six, the series went on an indefinite hiatus.
Mike moved onto a heart-felt graphic memoir about his relationship with legendary glam-rock Queen front-man Freddie Mercury (appropriately entitled Freddie & Me). Chris has penned a number of different stories, including Chris Radtke's Everyday (which featured comic strip contributions from an impressive array of mini-comics superstars such as Bob Fingerman, Alex Robinson, Tony Consiglio, Cheese Hasselberger, and Scott Mills).
The comic books
Gabagool! #1 - "Bounty Hunters"
It's the tail-end of the dot com boom, and Christopher Vigliotti is sick of his boring desk job.
Following an argument, Chris, Ritch, and their other room-mate Vinnie, decide to become bounty hunters, like Boba Fett, or Robert DeNiro in Midnight Run. Their first hunt is to find their friend Doreen's drunk dad, which they do.
He was at a bar.
Gabagool! #2 - "The Meatery"
Christopher is sweet on Doreen and tries to impress her at the birthday dinner she invites him and his friends to at a fancy Manhattan Churrascaria. Chris decides the best way to impress the girl is to consume as many different types of meat as possible.
Meanwhile, Ritch and Vinnie realize that most of the other party guests are homosexual males, and we learn that both Ritch and Vinnie are homophobic. There is also a mentally retarded little girl in the story, who gets upset at Chris when he talks about eating a rabbit.
Gabagool! #3 - "Rock Soldiers"
The bounty hunters are back with their second mission.
This time they are hired by New York musician Jed Davis to retrieve a stolen electric guitar that once belonged to Ace Frehley. Christopher agrees to take on the assignment in exchange for a complete Alan Davis run of Excalibur comics.
We also learn the origins of their silent friend, Aris...why is he so silent? Why does he just sit on the couch all day long and do nothing?
Gabagool! #1 - Special Edition
After completing "Rock Soldiers" Mike decided that rather than move on to something new, he'd spend a few months entirely re-drawing Gabagool! #1. Nothing was changed in terms of the main story, but the artwork was nicer throughout.
A new three page back-up story called "Chrostopher Vigliotti's Secret Santa" was included in this mini-comic. The new story took the place of the ads for urban culture websites, Hentai reviews, and amateur poetry, that had all been featured in the original Gabagool! #1.
Gabagool! #4 - "Christopher Vigliotti is Laid Off" (Hedonism Part 1)
The dot com bubble has burst, and Christopher gets laid off.
He and his room-mates decide that the best way to spend it would be on a vacation to the seedy Hedonism II resort in Jamaica. Before they leave, Chris undergoes a painful back waxing (a scene that appeared well before a similar more-famous situation in the movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin with Steve Carrell closed the book on humorous back-waxing scenarios).
This issue includes the back-up story "Double Damage", which features a young Chris and Ritch with their childhood friends Jimmy Fan and Andrew Yee playing a racy game of Dungeons & Dragons.
Gabagool! #5 - "Hedo-Dogs" (Hedonism Part 2)
Christopher, Ritch and Vinnie arrive in Jamaica and try their best to enjoy their holiday.
Christopher is scared to buy marijuana at the airport, so he hides out in a Bob Marley gift shop while Ritch and Vinnie take care of business. The boys meet a number of different guests at the resort, including a pack of middle-aged swingers.
Ritch falls for a beautiful ice-skater, and Vinnie spends all of his time high as a kite on cocaine.
An excerpt from an online review: "It's not porn. Famously, Alex misspells the series title in the pin-up ("GABAGOL!").
Apocrypha
Some Gabagool! stories have appeared in places besides the six issues of the original series.
"The Gabagool! Party Primer"
Mini-comic created as a free hand-out at the first official MoCCA Art Festival pre-convention party, hosted by Chris Radtke and the two guys he was currently living with.
"Dirty Banana"
From the 2003 Small Press Expo anthology, published by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
"Thecret of the Thword"
Short story featuring the Lil' Gabagool! cast first seen in "Double Damage", was briefly serialized on the web-comix collective Act-I-Vate.
As of yet, the story has not been publicly completed, and it is not known if the complete work will ever see the light of day.
Inkswell
InkSwell, the fourth documentary from producer/director Jeff Cioletti focuses on the production of the final issue of Gabagool! Features extensive interviews with the creators, as well as appearances by Bob Burden (Flaming Carrot, Mystery Men), Evan Dorkin (Dork, Milk & Cheese), James Kochalka (Monkey vs. Steckler, and the real-life Cousin Lenny.
Controversy
Some people don't like Chris Radtke's energetic "Carny Barker" approach to selling Gabagool! comics at conventions.
After a number of message board threads surfaced on The Comics Journal's website, tcj.com, criticizing Chris and his sales techniques, he issued the following manifesto:
… I know my barking offends the delicate sensitivities of many a small press connoisseur, and for that, I deeply apologize for ruining your special day out. But in the end, I do it because I know Mike Dawson and I have a GREAT comic in Gabagool! and I want everybody on the planet to read it.
I am never mean, rude or belligerent...but I try to engage anybody who crosses my path.