Steve Rude's long awaited comic book version of The Moth (a character he originally created for THE CREATOR'S UNIVERSE card set) finally arrives as a one-shot entitled THE MOTH - SPECIAL. Rude has an able collaborator in scripter/inker Gary Martin, and together they have created a comic book with an rousing adventure tale about a quirky super hero - the kind that Marvel used to do so well via Lee, Kirby, and/or Ditko.

Martin's script is fun, eschewing the kind of big ideas and cutting edge science that pretty much have put off kids from reading comics. Martin plays The Moth's civilian identity, Jack, who has a chip on his shoulder against the heroic side. Stan Lee did that so well - give us a kind of hero/anti-hero who grudgingly helped "save the day," even when it didn't always benefit him or even when it might cost him personally. This isn't comics' smartest writing, but it's probably the best way to do mainstream comics for an age appropriate audience.

And what do I need to say about Steve Rude? Even if he were drawing a project he wasn't all that crazy about, his art would still look so damn gorgeous and beautiful. There are many artists in the history of comic books that have drawn pretty pictures. Few have drawn them with such consummate draftsmanship and still make them look like good old comic books. Rude's art for The Moth throws a wink and a nod Kirby's way, and he creates in the spirit of Kirby, in such a way that at least in comics, Rude is a man without peers.
[DRECK, DULL, READABLE, VERY GOOD, EXCELLENT]