The first issue of Dr. Wirtham's Comix & Stories was written and illustrated entirely by publisher Clifford Neal, who adopted the pseudonym Oisif Egaux throughout this book (and for most of his other comic book appearances). Much of Neal's art, particularly in this comic, has a distinctive, heavy cross-hatch style. Perhaps this style is derived from Neal's fascination with binary systems analysis (essentially, computer programming, but Neal's interpretation appears to apply to art and human perception). His text article "Decoding The Codex" may help explain his fascination, but I find it essentially incomprehensible. In any case, the artwork is oddly striking and dynamic.

In this book, Neal also makes his pitch for contributions from the reading public. Over the course of the next several months, he must have received quite a response, as his subsequent issues present an ever-growing cast of cartoonists and stories.



HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES:
Clifford Neal printed approximately 5,000 copies of this comic book. It has not been reprinted.

COMIC CREATOR:
Clifford Neal (aka Oisif Egaux) - 1-36