Paradax! #1, Brendan McCarthy Cover, Vortex '87 Brendan McCarthy cover. Paradax! #1 is the opening issue of the two-issue Vortex Comics miniseries written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Brendan McCarthy. Published in April 1987, it arrived in the middle of the independent comics boom, one of several Vortex titles pushing against the grain of mainstream superhero publishing. The issue is structured as an anthology: the title character Paradax anchors the first story, while additional material rounds out the book, including 'The Importance of Being Mirkin,' featuring Mirkin the Mystic. The lead story, 'The Insane People,' puts Paradax in the middle of a high-concept crisis: an 'insanity convector' releases physical manifestations of personality disorders across New York City, and the resolution arrives in characteristically Milligan-McCarthy fashion, equal parts absurdist and kinetic. McCarthy's art throughout is unmistakable: loose, psychedelic linework with a color sensibility that reads as purely its own thing. The pairing of Milligan's sharp, off-kilter scripting with McCarthy's visual invention made this series a distinctive artifact of the late-1980s independent scene. Vortex Comics was a Toronto-based publisher that gave a platform to some of the most formally adventurous work of the era, and Paradax! sits comfortably among their more notable releases. The two-issue run was short, but Milligan and McCarthy's collaboration carried forward into later projects, including a Dark Horse retrospective collection years later that repackaged their Vortex-era work for a new audience. Characters: Paradax, Mirkin the Mystic Series Title: Paradax! Issue: 1 Cover Artist: Brendan McCarthy Writer: Peter Milligan Artist: Brendan McCarthy Publisher: Vortex Comics Publication Year: 1987 *PHOTO DISCLAIMER: All photos are of the actual items, unless marked as pre-order. For multiple-item listings, photos represent similar quality. Additional photos are available upon request.
