What do you think?
Rate this book
Flaming Carrot Omnibus Volume 1
The Eisner award-winning, surreal superhero series, The Flaming Carrot , returns with a new omnibus collection!
Before there ever was a Deadpool, Twin Peaks , or Lady Gaga; the Flaming Carrot 's madcap madness, manic mayhem, and impish mischief exploded from the vanguard of the 80s' New Wave comic revolution, taking us right down the rabbit hole of creativity-gone-off-the-tracks, and over the rainbow. Propagating dreamlike surrealism, disturbing violence, sexual adventurism, bar-hopping, and a bizarre and nightmarish costume, the world's first postmodern super man battled Road Hogs From Outer Space, went on drinking binges with Death, bounced around on a nuclear powered pogo stick, and ordered some of that new Brussels sprout flavored ice cream that wasn't even on the menu yet.
Check out a comic book series that for many years most people believed to be nothing more than a ridiculous legend or an amusing joke. Doctor recommended. Maximum strength formula. New hope for a nation suffocating in the swill of its own mediocrity.
Collects Flaming Carrot #1-2, 4-11, 25-27.
Before there ever was a Deadpool, Twin Peaks , or Lady Gaga; the Flaming Carrot 's madcap madness, manic mayhem, and impish mischief exploded from the vanguard of the 80s' New Wave comic revolution, taking us right down the rabbit hole of creativity-gone-off-the-tracks, and over the rainbow. Propagating dreamlike surrealism, disturbing violence, sexual adventurism, bar-hopping, and a bizarre and nightmarish costume, the world's first postmodern super man battled Road Hogs From Outer Space, went on drinking binges with Death, bounced around on a nuclear powered pogo stick, and ordered some of that new Brussels sprout flavored ice cream that wasn't even on the menu yet.
Check out a comic book series that for many years most people believed to be nothing more than a ridiculous legend or an amusing joke. Doctor recommended. Maximum strength formula. New hope for a nation suffocating in the swill of its own mediocrity.
Collects Flaming Carrot #1-2, 4-11, 25-27.
408 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2019
18 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Bob Burden
111 books21 followersBest known for his Flaming Carrot and Mystery Men creations.
Wrote numerous Gumby comics. Also, has a short story in Dark Love which was released in 1989.
Wrote numerous Gumby comics. Also, has a short story in Dark Love which was released in 1989.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 13, 2019
Flaming Carrot Comics Omnibus #1 collects Flaming Carrot 1-2, 4-11, and 25-27.
Untold eons ago, shortly after the oceans drank Atlantis, I found an issue of The Flaming Carrot at the flea market for a quarter. It was crazy shit but the Flaming Carrot is not an easy super hero to pin down. Once I saw this was in the works, I immediately pre-ordered it.
The Flaming Carrot is a nutjob who wears a giant carrot on his head and fights crime. In this particular volume, he takes on a vast communist conspiracy, a scientist who makes bombs out of extracted cellulite, the League of Umpires, zombies, the still animated disembodied head of Frankenstein's Monster, and teams up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles.
The series evolves quite a bit over the course of the volume. The stories feel like loosely linked Monty Python sketches after first and gradually change into something more coherent, more cohesively linked.
The Carrot feels like a low key Deadpool most of the time, subtly joking his way through adventures. '80s pop culture references abound, making the book feel dated, although still fun. Bob Burden's artwork comes a long way during this volume, feeling amateurish at first but feeling quite a bit more polished toward the end. It feels like a loveletter to 60s and 70s comics at times but also feels like a parody. I think Bob Burden probably had a lot of conflicting feels about super hero comics and The Flaming Carrot is his way of expressing them.
While Flaming Carrot Comics Omnibus #1 isn't my favorite '80s indie comic omnibus, it feels like the spiritual ancestor of both The Tick and Deadpool at times. I'm on board for future Flaming Carrot omnibuses if Dark Horse chooses to publish them. 3 out of 5 heads of Frankenstein.
Untold eons ago, shortly after the oceans drank Atlantis, I found an issue of The Flaming Carrot at the flea market for a quarter. It was crazy shit but the Flaming Carrot is not an easy super hero to pin down. Once I saw this was in the works, I immediately pre-ordered it.
The Flaming Carrot is a nutjob who wears a giant carrot on his head and fights crime. In this particular volume, he takes on a vast communist conspiracy, a scientist who makes bombs out of extracted cellulite, the League of Umpires, zombies, the still animated disembodied head of Frankenstein's Monster, and teams up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles.
The series evolves quite a bit over the course of the volume. The stories feel like loosely linked Monty Python sketches after first and gradually change into something more coherent, more cohesively linked.
The Carrot feels like a low key Deadpool most of the time, subtly joking his way through adventures. '80s pop culture references abound, making the book feel dated, although still fun. Bob Burden's artwork comes a long way during this volume, feeling amateurish at first but feeling quite a bit more polished toward the end. It feels like a loveletter to 60s and 70s comics at times but also feels like a parody. I think Bob Burden probably had a lot of conflicting feels about super hero comics and The Flaming Carrot is his way of expressing them.
While Flaming Carrot Comics Omnibus #1 isn't my favorite '80s indie comic omnibus, it feels like the spiritual ancestor of both The Tick and Deadpool at times. I'm on board for future Flaming Carrot omnibuses if Dark Horse chooses to publish them. 3 out of 5 heads of Frankenstein.
March 28, 2021
The Flaming Carrot is a man who sat and read 5,000 comics back to back and got brain damage. And became a hero. Of sorts.
The things in Flaming Carrot are fun. The governor's head gets turned into a baby's head. A man makes bombs out of cellulite. Death takes a break, and because he can't use his powers but needs to get involved in a bar fight, and because he's 76 times stronger than a normal man, he shrinks himself to 1/76th the size and runs into the fray. "Specific gravity" is mentioned in reference to why this works. I was ALMOST tricked into looking that up before I remembered that life is finite and I'd be looking something up to find out that a completely preposterous scenario was not scientifically sound.
But maybe 2/3 through, it gets a little goobledigooked and it's too much like a dream, which I was told by an excellent writing teacher could mean anything. "It could be a snake rolling a donut down a hole."
So points for originality, and it's fun for a bit. But maybe it overstays its welcome. Ben Franklin said guests smell fucked up and fishy after about 400 pages of madcap comics nonsense. We'd be wise to listen to our first president.
The things in Flaming Carrot are fun. The governor's head gets turned into a baby's head. A man makes bombs out of cellulite. Death takes a break, and because he can't use his powers but needs to get involved in a bar fight, and because he's 76 times stronger than a normal man, he shrinks himself to 1/76th the size and runs into the fray. "Specific gravity" is mentioned in reference to why this works. I was ALMOST tricked into looking that up before I remembered that life is finite and I'd be looking something up to find out that a completely preposterous scenario was not scientifically sound.
But maybe 2/3 through, it gets a little goobledigooked and it's too much like a dream, which I was told by an excellent writing teacher could mean anything. "It could be a snake rolling a donut down a hole."
So points for originality, and it's fun for a bit. But maybe it overstays its welcome. Ben Franklin said guests smell fucked up and fishy after about 400 pages of madcap comics nonsense. We'd be wise to listen to our first president.
November 11, 2019
Bob Burden's insane creation. The Flaming Carrot, is collected in this giant omnibus from Dark Horse Comics.
Anything Flaming Carrot is darn near impossible to find in stores. A staple of the 80s and 90s Indy scene, not many issues were printed and what few fans have don't show up on the market that often. I know that I am a massive dollar bin picker and I'm not likely to find these books for cheap. But even when I go to shows and conventions, I cannot find Flaming Carrot anywhere.
I am always looking for Flaming Carrot because for some reason, this series just happens to be my wife's favorite. The peppering of non-sequitur. The surrealism and the shear insanity. On paper, this shouldn't be something my wife enjoys. But she does! And that's even more odder as the Ben Stiller film, Mystery Men (in which my wife absolutely hates), is based on this series of comics.
I wasn't disappointed by the comics reprinted in this collection. But for an omnibus, there are quite a few issues missing. This book reprints issues 1-2, 4-11 and 25-27. I understand why Dark Horse made sure to add books 25-27. Those 3 books guest star the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the crossovers are definitely fan favorites. I also assume that issues 12-24 are part of a massive storyline and the publisher didn't want to split it up.
But where's issue #3? Even in earlier reprint editions, that issue is missing from them. Why? Honestly, I can't figure this one out.
As this is volume 1, I am sure that the next book is going to include many of those missing books. But I'm not holding my breath for that third issue. It just seems to have disappeared from existence like a McFly in a photograph from Back to the Future.
Let's talk about the book's cover. I love the image of FC with a pack of monsters. But it really has nothing to do with the comics reprinted within. However, there is a 4 page prose story that appears to be brand spanking new from Bob Burden. It does involve the Monster Party illustrated on the front. It was pretty funny. But it isn't as classic as all of the sequential art stories I read previously in this.
Then there's the matter of the Easter egg that I couldn't find. According to foreword author, Kevin Eastman, the first issue of Flaming Carrot has the first ever appearance of the Ninja Turtles. I read and reread that issue and I could not locate them. Was it a red herring from the comic book legend? Or is there yet another issue that wasn't reprinted in this assemblage?
I really enjoyed Bob Burden's absurdist humor. But the omnibus felt less like a complete collection and more like a scrapbook of the Flaming Carrot's earliest and best.
I am really hoping that volume 2 not only comes out soon, but also includes all of the missing gaps. A great book but clearly not absolute!
Anything Flaming Carrot is darn near impossible to find in stores. A staple of the 80s and 90s Indy scene, not many issues were printed and what few fans have don't show up on the market that often. I know that I am a massive dollar bin picker and I'm not likely to find these books for cheap. But even when I go to shows and conventions, I cannot find Flaming Carrot anywhere.
I am always looking for Flaming Carrot because for some reason, this series just happens to be my wife's favorite. The peppering of non-sequitur. The surrealism and the shear insanity. On paper, this shouldn't be something my wife enjoys. But she does! And that's even more odder as the Ben Stiller film, Mystery Men (in which my wife absolutely hates), is based on this series of comics.
I wasn't disappointed by the comics reprinted in this collection. But for an omnibus, there are quite a few issues missing. This book reprints issues 1-2, 4-11 and 25-27. I understand why Dark Horse made sure to add books 25-27. Those 3 books guest star the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the crossovers are definitely fan favorites. I also assume that issues 12-24 are part of a massive storyline and the publisher didn't want to split it up.
But where's issue #3? Even in earlier reprint editions, that issue is missing from them. Why? Honestly, I can't figure this one out.
As this is volume 1, I am sure that the next book is going to include many of those missing books. But I'm not holding my breath for that third issue. It just seems to have disappeared from existence like a McFly in a photograph from Back to the Future.
Let's talk about the book's cover. I love the image of FC with a pack of monsters. But it really has nothing to do with the comics reprinted within. However, there is a 4 page prose story that appears to be brand spanking new from Bob Burden. It does involve the Monster Party illustrated on the front. It was pretty funny. But it isn't as classic as all of the sequential art stories I read previously in this.
Then there's the matter of the Easter egg that I couldn't find. According to foreword author, Kevin Eastman, the first issue of Flaming Carrot has the first ever appearance of the Ninja Turtles. I read and reread that issue and I could not locate them. Was it a red herring from the comic book legend? Or is there yet another issue that wasn't reprinted in this assemblage?
I really enjoyed Bob Burden's absurdist humor. But the omnibus felt less like a complete collection and more like a scrapbook of the Flaming Carrot's earliest and best.
I am really hoping that volume 2 not only comes out soon, but also includes all of the missing gaps. A great book but clearly not absolute!
February 18, 2023
When I was in 6th grade I used to frequent my local comics shop More Fun, and the guy running the shop became a kind of oracle to me on account of the breadth of his comic knowledge and the fact that, to my twelve year old mind, he was “super cool”. I had stuck mostly to the traditional DC and Marvel superheroes in my comic book infancy, but was initiated into the higher rites when comic book guy told me that Swamp Thing was his favorite title. Being the impressionable young man I was, I immediately bought up the lot of available issues and shortly thereafter declared Swamp Thing to be my favorite title as well. Sadly, by the time I had the chance to let him know about my maturation, he was unimpressed and told me that, in his estimation, Swamp Thing had dropped in quality and that now Flaming Carrot was his favorite comic.
I couldn’t drum up the kind of self interest I needed at the time to actually read a comic book about a super carrot, but about a year ago I decided to actually pick up a graphic novel and check it out (especially as it served as the inspiration for Mystery Men, a film I loved).
It took me some time to work through it, as it just didn’t keep my attention super well, but it was quite funny, even if it was as weird and surreal as could be. Good stuff, but not great. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mystery Men make a cameo.
I couldn’t drum up the kind of self interest I needed at the time to actually read a comic book about a super carrot, but about a year ago I decided to actually pick up a graphic novel and check it out (especially as it served as the inspiration for Mystery Men, a film I loved).
It took me some time to work through it, as it just didn’t keep my attention super well, but it was quite funny, even if it was as weird and surreal as could be. Good stuff, but not great. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mystery Men make a cameo.
August 28, 2022
I'd picked this up after hearing it was the basis for the superhero comedy Mystery Men. There were a few superhero names that were the same but otherwise not much in common. The protagonist, the Flaming Carrot, has stream of conscious madlib style humor that reminded me of Axe Cop but didn't land with me. It has an underground comics vibe where it feels like part of the story is an inside joke with the author. Narrative-wise it bounces between absurd and surreal, hero punching bad guys, and occasionally being somber with each story being fairly stand-alone with the exception of a mad scientist collecting cellulite from obese women to use as a bomb running around in the background for multiple issues.
October 31, 2021
This the rare case where the movie, Mystery Men, was actually better than the source material.
The big majority of the graphic novel was full of random misadventures with the Flaming Carrot. It wasn't until it got to the very end of the comic, that things started looking really good and felt like the movie.
The big majority of the graphic novel was full of random misadventures with the Flaming Carrot. It wasn't until it got to the very end of the comic, that things started looking really good and felt like the movie.
September 16, 2020
Flaming carrot is one crazy guy! I thought maybe this would be pretty shaky being earlier work but it starts as it goes on. It’s ludicrous, bizarre and very funny. Pure nonsense and anyone that is a fan of the comedy superhero scene should check this out. It even has a ninja turtles crossover!
May 6, 2021
One of the forgotten gems of the independent comic boom of the 80s. Equal parts slapstick and surrealism, frequently hilarious, and, completely unique.
Dark Horse is doing a great thing reprinting this one-of-a-kind classic.
Dark Horse is doing a great thing reprinting this one-of-a-kind classic.
December 13, 2021
A wild acid trip cartoon of a series.
A mysterious vigilante, wearing a large carrot-shaped mask and armed with whatever he finds lying around or can purchase at the five and dime, patrols his working class town, protecting it from various surreal and occasionally mundane menaces and mysteries.
Fun and whimsical, with a wild sense of whimsey and adventure.
A mysterious vigilante, wearing a large carrot-shaped mask and armed with whatever he finds lying around or can purchase at the five and dime, patrols his working class town, protecting it from various surreal and occasionally mundane menaces and mysteries.
Fun and whimsical, with a wild sense of whimsey and adventure.
November 30, 2022
Surreal humour from another time. Too outdated to make you laugh but at least you get some crazy references.
November 25, 2023
This book is incredibly meme-able.
June 23, 2024
Bob Burden- childhood
influence. Blindfolded can
draw Flaming Carrot.
influence. Blindfolded can
draw Flaming Carrot.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews