The black-and-white series, published by Fantagraphics Books, ran for six issues from April 1986 to June 1987. A final "special" issue was published in December 1988.
Clowes has described how he intended the series "to be as commercial as possible." He said that Fantagraphics told him, “You have to have a main character, that character has to appear in every story, it has to catch on, and you have to go to comic conventions and do sketches of your one character so people know you from that." Clowes said, "I sort of took that at face value and thought, I’m going to give it my best and do the most commercial thing possible. And of course, it was beyond un-commercial. There’s no level low enough to describe it on the scale of commerciality."[1]
Content
The series' title character is a detective who has humorous adventures inspired by film noir and stereotypical 1950s lounge culture. Llewellyn has a sidekick who goes by the name of Ernie Hoyle. The series' police sergeant is called "Red" Hoerring. The series' visual style is influenced by lowbrow art.[2]
The story "The Nightmare," from Lloyd Llewellyn #6, foreshadows the approach of Clowes's next comic, Eightball (debuting Oct. 1989), by breaking the conventions of the series' crime setting and turning to social satire.[citation needed] Also in that issue, the author announces, "And who knows ... somewhere along that lonesome road we might see a new LLLL mag with a brand new format so dazzling, so breathtaking, so monumentally fantastic that I haven't even thought of it yet!"[3]
Other appearances
Clowes published other Lloyd Llewellyn stories in other books by Fantagraphics.
Love and Rockets #13 (Last Quarter 1985) contains the story, "The Last Time I Saw Irving," and a special preview page
Doomsday Squad #2 (Sept. 1986, reprinting Charlton Comics's Doomsday + 1 #2 [Sept. 1975]) contains the story "Under the Big Top"
Early issues of Clowes' own Eightball series (issues #2 and #4) included several additional Lloyd Llewellyn episodes. The character also made various cameo appearances in other Eightball stories.[citation needed]
Book collections
#$@&!: The Official Lloyd Llewellyn Collection (Fantagraphics, 1993) ISBN0-930193-90-3
The Manly World of Lloyd Llewellyn (Fantagraphics, 1994) ISBN1-56097-145-2
↑Kurland, Daniel (May 30, 2023). "Best '80s Indie Comics That Are Even Better Today". CBR. Lloyd Llewellyn has a very '50s era sensibility and Clowes' 'lowbrow' art still looks gorgeous in black-and-white drawings.
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