Ever since the halcyon days of the obese Hogg sisters (Ima and Ura), popular culture has had an affinity for good names. I’ve never been fond of the mononyms (Madonna, Topol), but admit that a word can certainly paint a picture. For that matter, we should never underestimate the power of a well-placed adjective (Andre the Giant, Frankie the Educator). Yet, a certain je ne sais quois can only come from a name that combines onomatopoeia with a word combination that feels as though it ought to mean something- ergo: Batton Lash. And yet, you ask, who is this Batton Lash?

For almost three decades, Lash has been creating cartoons about inadequate monsters and the lawyers who defend them. His strip, Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre, began in The Brooklyn Paper in 1979. The attorneys in your family may well remember the adventures of Alanna Wolf and Jeff Byrd from the pages of The National Law Journal (1983-97). In the early nineties, Wolff and Byrd began appearing in their own comic book, Supernatural Law, on a sporadic semi-annual basis.

Lash writes and draws his tales of vampires and other foul creatures under legal duress. Then an attorney friend checks the stories to ensure that validity which adds enough legalese to satisfy the most ardent fan of Scott Turow. The glee that Lash brings to his twisted little world puts the spark in his stories while his artwork follows that fine line required of magic realism.

Lash also contributes to the output of Bongo Comics, home of the Simpsons posse. Lastly, one of the more bizarre footnotes on any resume has to belong to Lash for writing Archie Meets The Punisher in 1994, provoking the dire déjà vu of Jimi Hendrix opening for The Monkees.

March, 2006