DC Horror Presents: Soul Plumber

Soul Plumber #1-6

by Marcus Parks, Ben Kissel, Henry Zebrowski

Exorcism made easy? The team behind The Last Podcast on the Left unleash an all-new sci-fi horror story—with the fate of mankind at stake!

After attending a seminar hosted in a hotel conference room by a mysterious group called the Soul Plumbers, Edgar Wiggins, disgraced former seminary school student, discovers what he thinks is the secret to delivering souls from the thrall of Satan.
 
But after stealing the blueprints and building the machine himself, out of whatever he can afford from his salary as a gas station attendant, Edgar misses the demon and instead pulls out an inter-dimensional alien with dire consequences for all of mankind—leaving carnage in its wake, and Edgar questioning his faith. Things only get weirder, grosser, and more biblical from there in this original story from the team behind the hit true crime and horror podcast, The Last Podcast on the Left!
 
Collects DC Horror Soul Plumber #1-6.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

152 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 2022

Reviews

[Shaun Stanley]

DC Horror Presents Soul Plumber collects 1-6 of the DC Comics Black Lebel series written by Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, and Ben Kissel with art by John McCrea and PJ Holden.

Edgar Wiggins is a disgraced seminary student turned gas station employee. After a chance encounter with a salesman, Edgar attends a Soul Plumber seminar - a machine capable of exorcising demons from possessed bodies. Unable to pay for the blueprints of the machine, Edgar steals the instructions and builds a machine using junkyard parts. He attempts to use the machine on one of his regular customers, but instead of pulling out a demon, he frees a multidimensional being named Blorp.

I want to preface this review that I am not religious, I have been agnostic for 15+ years, and I am not easily disgusted. But I was shocked DC printed this book. It’s just… gross. There is a jumble of a story here but it’s mostly just blood, vomit, feces, snot, urine, and blood for 6 issues. At the beginning I thought there might be some type of deeper meaning under the surface - that is hardly the case. The book is created and written by the creators of The Last Podcast on the Left. I have no idea who they are, but I won’t be checking out their podcast anytime soon.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this series would be liked by a very specific audience.

And that was not me.

Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 |#5 |

[Alex Sarll]

If further proof were needed that Vertigo is dead and gone: a series that couldn't be squeezed into Black Label or Hill House, and lacks even a tenuous Sandman connection, so gets put under the most will-this-do new imprint name in publishing history. Did it deserve better? Well, the writers are podcast goons (Last Podcast On The Left, to be precise), and they've thrown together a gleefully vile tale of religious corruption, intensive swearing, bodily fluids and people you'd really rather weren't naked but are. In short, it could hardly be more obvious that they're doing a cargo cult version of Garth Ennis in his less thoughtful mode. But I've read worse in that line - including from Ennis, on his laziest days - and at least their commitment to the bit has extended to getting his regular collaborators John McCrea and PJ Holden in on art, so it certainly looks the part. If you want to see a man with no nose fight someone called Pissmaster, this is the comic for you.

[Eli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t like this, even though I love horror and Last Podcast on the Left. It was more gross than horrifying, with lots of bodily fluids everywhere. The art was gritty and matched the plot and illustrations, but I didn’t like that either. I bumped this up from 1 to 2 stars because I definitely want to try more “DC Horror Presents” and because I love Last Podcast on the Left.

[Meredith Ladd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a fun story. Amazing art as well.

[Devon Brumley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very LPOTL so how could I not love it?!

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6 stars

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

As every LPOTL fan knows, sometimes you get a gold star heavy hitter episode and sometimes you get the scungilli man. This book is the latter.

There’s an entirely different story that could have been told after issue 1 in which the MC as an inadvertently successful “soul plumber” leaves a string of bodies behind him but maybe that would have been too easy. It certainly might have given us the “horror” on the label.

Instead the series heads towards the ridiculous to give us something that while creative is a little less than cohesive. It was entertaining but not something you would recommend to a general audience.

[Becca Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a huge fan of last podcast on the left I loved this. I understand that it definitely wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste, there’s a lot of ‘dude humour’ so if that’s not your thing then maybe give Soul Plumber a miss. The artwork is absolutely gnarly and so gruesome, the story is super weird but I wouldn’t expect anything less from the minds of Marcus, Ben & Henry.

[Sebastian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Było to co najmniej.... Dziwne przeżycie. Bardzo zwariowana kreska, historia jeszcze bardziej szalona, sam komiks (przyznam szczerze) brałem na kilka razy, a zazwyczaj takie tomy kończę przy pierwszym posiedzeniu.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts off pretty entertaining and fun, but the quality of everything takes a HUGE dive in the second chapter. It gets grosser, but it also gets preachier, lazier, and just all around sloppy. The writers seem to give up entirely and the comic seems to make fun of itself.

[Brad Redfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

This modern pulp-horror style graphic novel includes the first six issues of the Soul Plumber comic (the whole 'With Friends Like These' story arc).

Soul Plumber comes from the creators of the 'Last Podcast on the Left', a long running podcast series that discusses true crime and the unexplained in a trashy 'stoner-bros' format. This alone should tell you what to expect from the material.. I have listened to the podcast for years, making me the prime audience for this graphic novel.

As a comic it looks great, with a sharp colour palette that compliments the distinctive ugliness to the whole design. The characters are gross looking and full of character, there's piles of blood, guts and puke. It a psychodelic shotgun blast of bizarre imagery and I'm pretty sure that's what they were going for..

Story-wise Soul Plumber is a messy supernatural underdog adventure, filled with anti-religious sentiments, crass language and childish vileness. Despite this there is a coherent story even if its a bit messy in practice, and it's as good on paper as any other serial comic series if you can stomach the nauseating tone.

I can see why Soul Plumber may be off putting to the unititiated. It's vulgar writing and sickening visual style make it feel like you have a head-cold whilst reading it, but fans of the Last Podcast network will be in their element. You can read the voices and see the personalities of Ben, Marcus and Henry throughout.

For hardcore fans of the Last Podcast series this is a no-brainer, for everyone else you might need to check a single issue first to see if you are going to want this much of a hit.

[Chance Steward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly read from everyone's favorite LPOTL boys. The art is the real star here I think, but the writing is fun too. Was hoping for a little more actual Horror but that can be difficult to hit in a comic book medium. More comedy-horror, but still a good time.

[Maciej Matusz · Rating 1 out of 5]

*DC Horror* is an interesting initiative, which can be seen as a continuation of the Hill House Comics imprint created by Joe Hill. The project focuses on publishing horror comics, which is a rarity in the American market. One of the titles released under this movement is *SOUL PLUMBER*. The concept and script of the comic are the work of Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, and Ben Kissel, while the artwork is handled by John McCrea and PJ Holden.

The very concept of the imprint suggests a strong dose of dark and psychological atmosphere. Does *SOUL PLUMBER* fit into this vision?
The story revolves around Edgar, a gas station worker who previously trained to be a priest but was expelled from seminary due to his inappropriate behavior. One day, he meets a lecturer who invites him to attend a lecture aimed at becoming a "Soul Plumber." Edgar attends the lecture, and from that moment, his life changes dramatically.

The story starts off quite interestingly and can capture the reader's attention. Unfortunately, the deeper we go into it, the worse it gets. Instead of a horror-filled atmosphere, we are met with increasingly absurd scenes that are neither scary nor funny. Frankly speaking, the entire comic feels as if the writers were trying to introduce progressively sillier ideas purely for the sake of absurdity. In this regard, readers may be disappointed, especially since in Poland we have some really good comics from the same initiative, like *Baskets of Heads*, *The Nice House On The Lake*, or *Low Woods* that I reviewed a few years ago. The last one may not have been perfect, but it delivered the right dose of suspense, horror, and intrigue. *SOUL PLUMBER*, in my opinion, is false advertising. The cover suggests something deeper and refreshing, but in reality, we get a product that resembles the incoherent ramblings of writers trying to create something funny. The humor is so forced that it becomes downright repulsive. The comic also attempts to critique religion and the Church, but due to the poorly executed humor, this is lost in the background of awkwardness and chaos that dominates the work.

If the plot were the only issue, it might be bearable, but none of the characters are likable. The protagonist is a type who means well but constantly gets into trouble due to his naivety. He has a moment of glory at the end, but his incompetence throughout most of the story is irritating and borderline unrealistic for the average reader. His friend, who tries to help him, aside from an interesting appearance (he has no nose, and his skull is visible), adds nothing to the plot and seems to be just a visual accessory.

The only redeeming feature of this comic is its length. My suffering ended quickly, and I have no intention of returning to it. This is one of those titles that makes you appreciate mediocre comics. The artwork is "wild" and fits the story's style, but it's neither excellent nor even good. It simply exists. If it were more memorable, I might have viewed the plot more favorably, but in its current form, it doesn't help with the overall experience, further sinking *SOUL PLUMBER*. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend buying it, but if you have the chance to borrow it from a library, you can give it a try to see for yourself how low a comic can go.

[Jaclyn Hogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a disappointment. I really like Last Podcast on the Left, and The Last Book on the Left was a lot of fun. Sadly, for anyone hoping that this comic would likewise capture the feel of the show, well...

I think the guys would agree that they can be juvenile, silly, and scatological. But that's usually not all they are. The goofiness contrasts well with heavy topics like cults and serial killers, but damn does it get old on its own. This comic is, sort of, the story of Edgar Wiggins, failed seminary student and convenience store clerk. Edgar looks like Marcus Parks crossed with Alfred E. Neuman, and we follow him as he stumbles through a weird conspiracy to sell people devices that will eventually allow an eldritch takeover of Earth. You set up the thingamajig, it creates a portal into a person's soul, and you reach in and pull out demons. Except it creates a portal to another dimension? That's going to be used by the eldritch abominations?

I'm thinking too hard about this. I shouldn't be trying to explain the very dumb plot, but if I don't do that I have to talk about the full deck of gross creeps that populate this comic, all of whom are competing to see who can say this most bizarre, gross, unpleasant shit. We have a Vietnam vet without a nose. We have a Youtube cult leader called the Fuckmother ranting about the flow of starcum. We have an interdimensional alien named Blorp who murders a bunch of people to make itself a body, yet is otherwise treated as a cool guy.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the only two moments of this that I enjoyed.
1) a cameo of Detective Popcorn
2) 2 guys who commiserate about thinking that heaven would be like "a really good peanut butter sandwich."

So, I can't recommend this. Probably I am not the audience, because I am not nor have I ever been a 12 year old boy. Also, gross out is not equivalent to horror. It can definitely be part of horror; disgust and repulsion are companions of fear, but it's really not enough to support a whole comic. There's enough imagination behind this that I hope the Last Podcast guys try again, with less shit and vomit.

[Yoshiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

POPKULTUROWY KOCIOŁEK:
Fabuła komiksu koncentruje się wokół Edgara Wigginsa, byłego kleryka, który teraz jest pracownikiem stacji benzynowej. Nowy zawód nie oznacza, że porzucił on wiarę i marzenie ratowania ludzkich dusz. Nadarza się ku temu niezwykła okazja kiedy podczas pewnej prezentacji (dokonywanej przez mocno tajemniczą grupę) poznaje on urządzenie zdolne do wypędzania demonów z ludzkich ciał. Nie stać go na jego zakup, ale zdecydowanie to go nie powstrzymuje. Kiedy sprzęt ten w końcu znajduje się w jego rękach, jego życie całkowicie się odmienia, chociaż niekoniecznie tak jak się on tego spodziewał.

Autorzy komiksu od samego początku zanurzają nas tu w warstwie mroku, szaleństwa, czarnego humoru, brutalności i odrobiny dramatu. Dużą uwagę czytelnika przykuwa zwłaszcza świat przedstawiony. Jest to rzeczywistość, w której trwa odwieczna walka dobra i zła, co ma ogromny wpływ na bohaterów. Każdy z nich ma tutaj inną osobowość i na pewno nie można ich określić mianem przeciętnych. Początkowo mogą wydawać się oni nazbyt „ekstremalni”, ale w miarę rozwoju fabuły zaczynamy lepiej rozumieć ich poczynania i poglądy, a ich rozwój staje się najważniejszą częścią opowieści.

Jak zostało to wspomniane we wstępie, pod twardą oprawą albumu na czytelnika czeka tu również trudna i niejednoznaczna tematyka, która do łatwych i przyjemnych na pewno nie należy. Motywem przewodnim jest tu bowiem religia/wiara i to na dodatek podana w bardzo ekstremalnej formie. Założeniem autorów było skłonienie odbiorcy do pewnych głębszych refleksji (na temat wiary). Nie zawsze jednak im to dobrze wychodzi i momentami treści te są strasznie toporne i mocno ukierunkowane na jeden pogląd. Na szczęście niedoskonałości te nikną pod warstwą niezłego czarnego humoru, który jednak dla niektórych momentami może być zbyt infantylny....

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/hydra...

[Adrian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like horror and I'm still discovering the world of comics. The plot summary of "Soul Plumber" sounded intriguing. Plus, this comic comes from the DC horror series, so it must be something good, right?

The main character is Edgar Wiggins, a failed cleric with a strong sense of calling and a desire to help others. Not being accepted into the order didn't dampen his enthusiasm and he kept looking for a mission for himself. This search led him to an organization called Soul Plumbers. Edgar stole their diagram for a machine for exorcising the possessed called a soul plunger. He managed to build it using scrap and use it on a friend who was struggling with problems. Unfortunately, the effect was not what he expected.

Edgar's adventures are vulgar, iconoclastic, absurd and quite often disgusting. The images we see at every turn are purely turpistic. Full of blood, guts and vomit. All the characters are presented as ugly, sick or deformed. Their character is no different from their appearance. They speak in an extremely vulgar way, react to everything with violence and pursue their own selfish goals. For me personally, it was too much.

To sum up, this was the worst comic I have ever come across. The idea is truly original. I don't know what could have inspired the creators to write this story. For me, it was unpleasant to read on every level. The visual side is supposed to emphasize the disgustingness of the scenes described and it is simply unpleasant to look at. The plot is so absurd that there are no words. The dialogues, on the other hand, are dripping with neologisms that weave vulgarities everywhere, which made me dislike this work even more. I don't know what the authors were aiming for, probably to shock the viewer, because this story was not scary. It is also not a black comedy, unless someone is amused by the language described above. I'm by no means some prude who avoids using swear words, but there were probably fewer sentences without them than with them. I definitely don't recommend it to anyone, especially if you get sickened easily.

[Nicole Korczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Last Podcast on the Left folks (except Kissel, who I'm pretty sure was only credited because of a stray comment he once made on a podcast) bring us the very gross and messy story of Edgar Wiggins. Edgar looks like Parks' fever dream of himself and acts like Parks' fever dream of himself but Catholic. So very Catholic that he tries to perform an exorcism that leads to bloodshed and near-world-destruction. Edgar's nose-less Vietnam vet friend Elk is Zebrowski with Kissel's height; a conspiracy theorist who watches a cult leader on Twitch and helps Edgar hide the bodies.

As a fan of LPOTL, I enjoyed picking out which of the friends contributed which bits (thanks for making sure Detective Popcorn made an appearance, Henry Thomas) and hearing their voices in the characters. I often had to look away from McCrea's art, but the coloring is so lovely that it almost makes up for how deliberately disgusting the characters look (except the variant cover art of issue 6 which features an adorable toddler Edgar). If it were a bit less unpleasant, if Edgar had saved the world less visibly and went back to fighting "demons" in secrecy, this could have been a long-running series. As it is, I don't know who I would recommend this book to.

[Cale · Rating 1 out of 5]

DC should be embarrassed that they published this.

There is a difference between Horror and Horrible. This is just disgusting, full of infantile humor, insulting content, and as much offensiveness as they can muster. It's like they took Preacher, concentrated all of its worst impulses into six issues, and then stuffed just enough plot in to make it semi-coherent. It says nothing new about its targets of organized religion/Catholicism, cults, You Tube channels, and conventions, but wraps it up in the heaviest blanket of profanity it can muster. There might have been an intent at satire, but there's no moral or meaning that comes out of this.
The art is muddy and messy, more guts than blood, but I think that's more due to the content than the artist.

I am not familiar with the Last Podcast on the Left, but I assumed that people who talk about horror would actually have a sense of what horror is. After this, I have learned better, and will be actively avoiding anything else they create. Maybe their fans will enjoy this, but I can't imagine anyone else who should give this any of their time.

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was billed as horror. However, the creators of the Last Podcast on the Left confuse horror with just being gross. The story doesn't make a lick of sense. It's more concerned with showing, feces, urine, vomit, etc than any kind of comprehensible story. It's about a former seminary student who is thrown out and working at a gas station in Indianapolis. He comes across some shysters called the Soul Plumbers who are "exorcising demons". Because he has no money, he makes his own and somehow brings over an otherdimensional alien named blorp. Here ends the plot to be replaced with nonsense and foulness.

[Brady John Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The boys from LPOTL bring us the (very) adult equivalent of a Saturday morning TV show.
Best read in one sitting this is a fun adventure from beginning to end. If you don’t know the Last Podcast boys and their personalities I can see why this might be just an average (or below average) read for some. They are clearly having a lot of fun here and somehow DC have just said “go for it”
I’ve never been a fan of any story with religion at its base or even as a subtext but it works in the right way here.
Full of obscenities, guts, goo and gore there’s a lot of fun to be had here & I did laugh out loud once!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good art here and some clever satire too. Couldn't help feeling that the whole thing lacked discipline somewhat or maybe the way the narrative shifted from horror to gore farce just wasn't subtle or developed enough in a short 6 issue run. Not sure, I actually enjoyed my time with this one though ... it's a surprise to see DC putting out material like this under a DC brand though, maybe they really felt like they wanted to take religion down a peg or two. As a London boy until recently it's easy to forget that religion and its control over people's lives is still very much a thing in large parts of the US.

[Rick Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

Borderline unreadable. I like crude humor and horror with some slapstick components just as much as the next guy, but this was just poor execution. The story is nonsensical, almost as if the writers ranted out a script. The artwork does deliver on some of the goriness and crudeness well I suppose, but absent any meaningful humor it really just feels like it was trying to be disgusting more than anything else.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a huge Last Podcast on the Left fan, so I’m super biased. The art is incredible in this book and I love the way that Parks and Zebrowski blend horror, comedy, and disgust. I like the original concept and references to real world cults and beliefs. It’s dark and kind of mean spirited, but it has a unique charm.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 71/100 for 2023. I really wish I could remember who recommended this book to me, or where I heard about it, and what made me add it to my wishlist. Because, I liked it, but it wasn't what I expected and wasn't the kind of thing I usually go for, and wasn't really transcendent of that misalignment, either. Good ending, though.

[Brent Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid first foray into comics from my favourite podcasters. You can really see the DNA from across their deep dives into cults across the years and the way the narrative builds to absolute insanity, following what would happen if one of those crazy religious cults was right to its logical conclusion and beyond.

[Gage Melton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming to this as a long time fan of LPotL I had high hopes but not necessarily high expectations. In many ways this had exactly what I expected from the LP crew: gross, absurd, conspiratorial, wackiness. Basically everything I enjoy from LPotL. On the flip side though it also felt more edgy and sophomoric than was entirely necessary.

Between McCrae and Holden there are many moments where the art soars, feeling crunchy, and dark but vivid. Towards the end of the run though things started feeling inconsistent, and some characters from the first issue I didn't recognize until they were mentioned by name.

Overall I enjoyed this well enough and looking forward to reading Operation Sunshine to see what the boys come up with next.

[Thomas Wilkerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As others have said, the first two issues are great and then it goes off in a direction that felt unattached to the title and cover. There is very little soul plumbing that takes place. What we see on the cover and what’s implied by the title doesn’t occur or appear in the actual story. I’m a fan of LPOTL so I still give it 3/5 but it’s really a 2/5 without the pre-established fandom

[Miłośniczka Książek]

Oj dziwny to był album, nawet bardzo...
Swoimi wrażeniami z lektury dzielę się na moim blogu, na który was zapraszam :)
https://magicznyswiatksiazki.pl/recen...

[Michael Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5