In my time, I’ve certainly reviewed some strange comics for this site (and others), but few have left me as legitimately perplexed as Black Budget #1, the self-published debut issue of what appears to be an ongoing series by the pseudonymous Folie a Deux — a guy who certainly wears his heart on his sleeve in that he’s unafraid to put his conspiratorial worldview and personal sexual fetishes out there for all to see. And while I always salute cartoonists willing to “bare all” in the metaphorical sense, my admiration for their fearlessness and/or obliviousness doesn’t extend so far as to give their work a free pass. You want a positive review out of me? You’ve gotta earn it on the page.

That’s all well and good, of course, but what’s especially tricky to determine about this comic is whether or not it does, in fact, “earn it.” On…