We send our condolences today to Joyce Brabner, the widow of underground comic book genius Harvey Pekar, who recently died. We remember the days when Joyce visited our office in sparkly Wizard of Oz Dorothy slippers and colored ankle socks. She is a socially astute fighter for animal rights who created the classic Animal Rights Comics. The two-issue set of comic books is based on PETA's precedent-setting "Silver Spring monkeys" case, which resulted in the first arrest and criminal conviction of an animal experimenter in the U.S. on charges of cruelty to animals, the first confiscation of abused animals from a laboratory, and the first U.S. Supreme Court victory for animals in laboratories. Joyce recognized it as a landmark case—one that led to countless other undercover investigations—and so she decided to memorialize it.

If anyone out there has copies of the now out-of-print comics, please let us know. We have a set in our archives, but it would be nice to know that there are more copies in circulation. If there's enough interest, perhaps one day they will be reprinted. Joyce, from our hearts to yours, we wish you the best.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

The flaxen-haired superheroes of Michael Troy's high-larious new comic book, Blonde Squad, may not be the brightest bulbs on the tree, but their hearts are definitely in the right place. For instance, the team's sorta-psychic, Psight, is less offended by a telepathic death threat from the scheming brunette, Dark Swan, than she is by the fact that their nemesis is wearing fur. Then there's the fun fact that the whole Blonde Squad posed for a new PETA ad, proudly—if a bit nonsensically—proclaiming, "We'd Rather Be Blonde Than Wear Fur!"

You've got to love a comic that not only features a villain who disappears with a big "FABOOSH!"—and heroes who don't quite grasp that "BS" means more than the group's initials—but that can also manage to make a point about the cruelty of the fur industry (an ability shared by the bold heroines of Bluewater Comics). And even though I'm blonde (or blond), I think I got most of the jokes—as well as the point: You don't need superpowers to be a hero who stands up for animals who are killed for their fur.

You can order the first issue of Blonde Squad here, and you should also check out Michael's blog.

Written by Jeff Mackey