I bought Hillbilly TPBs 1-4 and Hillbilly FCBD 2020!

While I had a passing familiarity with Eric Powell's The Goon, I don't remember ever seeing Hillbilly in Previews or on the shelf at my friendly local comic shop before it shut down (Yep, still sad about that.) If I did, I most likely misjudged a book by its cover, lumped it in with mature audience titles such as The Walking Dead, and skipped over it. So, when "Hillbilly Lizard of Rusty Creek Cave" (sans punctuation of any kind) appeared on my monthly mail order form in early 2020, I had no idea what it was. In my mind, I pictured a wise-crackin', anthropomorphic chameleon in overalls who was convinced the world was out to get him. Since it was a Free Comic Book Day title I took a chance and ordered two for the comic fans in my household.

I'm not sure I've ever been happier to be wrong about anything in my life.

The actual title of the book is simply Hillbilly, the story is titled "The Lizard of Rusty Creek Cave," and it is fantastic! Eric Powell is the only name credited on the book (aside from an editor), which automatically makes it a bit of a rarity. It is uncommon for every aspect of a comic book (writing, art, coloring, lettering) to be done by a single person; it is even more unusual for every component of a single creator comic to be of exceptional quality. This was not only one of my favorite Free Comic Book Day books that year or of all years, but it is one of my favorite comics of all time! I did some digging and learned there was a twelve-issue series (collected in three trade paperbacks) and a four-issue miniseries entitled "Red-eyed Witchery From Beyond" (collected in one). I decided to go the TPB route, which made completing a collection easy. Powell was the sole creator on the original series, while a number of other creators did the art, coloring, and lettering on Red-Eyed. While the changes are noticeable (Powell limits his use of color to great effect, whereas Red-Eyed was colored more like a like a traditional comic) they do not detract from the story.

So what is Hillbilly, who is the bearded guy wielding the massive cleaver on each of these covers, why do his eyes look like that, and is that a...saber-toothed bear?!? The solicitations for the first issue explain some of this: "An Appalachian Mountain fantasy epic that tells the story of Rondel. A lonely figure who wanders the wooded hills among witches and magical creatures as a folktale hero to those who dwell in this gritty dream world." The origin of Rondel's eyes, as well as the jumbo-sized cleaver and how he came to acquire it, are significant enough to the story that I don't want to spoil them here. The grizzly is his friend Lucille. He seems to prefer her company over that of the superstitious mountain folk he finds himself begrudgingly interacting with on a regular basis. (To be fair, given the variety of strange creatures living within their vicinity they have every right to be cautious of their surroundings; it is their misconceptions, narrow-minded beliefs, and knee-jerk reactions related to these beings that Rondel finds intolerable.

Hillbilly is promoted as an all-ages book, but if I were a comic shop employee I would be reluctant to suggest it to anyone under 12 without a guardian's involvement as even I, in my "older age", found some of the creatures to be unsettling. But aside of that but of caution I recommend it to everyone!

I struggled to find interior pages that captured the look and feel of Hillbilly without spoiling anything, but I think these two do a pretty decent job. I really want to see this as an animated series!