Concrete (comics)

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Cover of Concrete: Strange Armor, a trade paperback collection of the miniseries by the same name. Art by Paul Chadwick.

Concrete is a comic book series created and written by Paul Chadwick and published by Dark Horse Comics. The eponymous central character is a normal man whose brain was transplanted into a large, stone body by aliens, and who lives an extraordinary life on Earth following his escape.

[edit] Character history

The series focuses on the adventures of Concrete: a man, Ron Lithgow, whose brain was involuntarily transplanted by aliens who captured him into an alien body which is made up of a substance that closely resembles concrete.

As part of the back-story, he eventually escaped and made contact with the US Senator he worked for as a speechwriter. After a prolonged period of scientific tests and examinations, he was allowed to live on his own with the cover story that he was a cyborg constructed by the government.

In his new body, Concrete decides to use his tremendous strength, endurance and vision for a series of adventures he never thought of in his previous sedate life. Hiring a personal assistant writer and taking a female scientist who is assigned to monitor his body, Concrete has a wide variety of adventures.

[edit] Awards & Recognition

The series won the Eisner Awards for Best Continuing Series for 1988 and 1989, Best Black-and-White Series for 1988 and 1989, and Best New Series for 1988, and their Best Writer/Artist Award for Paul Chadwick for 1989. It received the Harvey Award for Best New Series in 1988, and won Chadwick their Award For Cartoonist (Writer/Artist) for 1989.

[edit] Collections

Out of Print, old versions

They are printed at the correct size, but are missing a few short stories.

• The Complete Concrete (tpb of the original 1986 ten issue series)
• Concrete: Fragile Creature (tpb of the 1991 four issue limited series, also with "Fire at Twilight")
• Concrete: Killer Smile (tpb of the 1994 four issue limited series)
• Concrete: Think Like A Mountain (trade paperback of the 1996 six issue limited series)
• Concrete: Strange Armor (tpb of the 1997 five issue limited series)
• Concrete: Complete Short Stories 1986-1989
  • "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" from Dark Horse Presents #1, July 1986
  • "Under the Desert Stars" from Dark Horse Presents #2, September 1986
  • "The Four-Wheeled Sleeping Pill" from Dark Horse Presents #3, November 1986
  • "The Gray Embrace" from Dark Horse Presents #4, January 1987
  • "Burning Brightly Brightly" from Dark Horse Presents #5, February 1987
  • "Little Pushes" from Dark Horse Presents #6, April 1987
  • "Water God" from Dark Horse Presents #8, July 1987
  • "Straight in the Eye" from Dark Horse Presents #10, September 1987
  • "Next Best" from Dark Horse Presents #12, November 1987
  • "Now Is Now" from Dark Horse Presents #14, January 1988
  • "A Sky of Heads: With a Whimper" from Dark Horse Presents #16, March 1988
  • "A Sky of Heads: Quality Time" from Dark Horse Presents #18, May 1988
  • "Fitful Sleep" from Dark Horse Presents #20, July 1988
  • "Watching A Sunset" from Dark Horse Presents #21, August 1988
  • "Goodwill Ambassador" from Dark Horse Presents #22, September 1988
  • "Stay Tuned For Pearl Harbor" from Dark Horse Presents #28, March 1989
  • "Visible Breath" from Dark Horse Presents #32, August 1989
• Concrete: Complete Short Stories 1990-1995
  • "Fire at Twilight" from Dark Horse Presents #38, April 1990
  • "Like Disneyland, but Toxic" & "A Billion Conscious Acts" from Concrete Celebrates Earth Day, April 1990
  • "What Needs to be Done" from Concrete: Odd Jobs, July 1990
  • "Objects of Value" from Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special, April 1991
  • "American Christmas" from Within Our Reach, December 1991
  • "Byrdland's Secret" from Dark Horse Presents #66, September 1992
  • "King of the Early Evening" from Concrete Eclectica #1, April 1993
  • "I Strive For Realism" from Concrete Eclectica #2, May 1993
  • "Steel Rain" from San Diego Comic Con Comics #2, August 1993
  • "Enough World" from Dark Horse Presents #87, September 1994
  • "The Artistic Impulse" from Dark Horse Presents #100 [3], August 1995

Current Trades

These have been re-sized, slightly smaller, but have collected every 'Concrete' story except one.

• Concrete: Volume One: Depths collects:
  • Concrete #1-5
  • "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", "Water God", "Straight in the Eye" from Collected Stories 1986-1989
  • "Orange Glow" from Dark Horse Presents Annual 1999, August 1999
  • "Sympathy From A Devil" from Dark Horse Presents #150, January 2000
• Concrete: Volume Two: Heights collects:
  • Concrete #6-10
  • "Now Is Now", "Goodwill Ambassador" from Collected Stories 1986-1989
  • "What Needs to be Done" from Collected Stories 1990-1995
  • "The Damp Descent" from Concrete Color Special #1, February 1989
• Concrete: Volume Three: Fragile Creature collects:
  • 1991 four issue limited series
  • "The Gray Embrace", "Burning Brightly Brightly", "Little Pushes", "Next Best" from Collected Stories 1986-1989
  • "Fire at Twilight", "Byrdland's Secret", "The Artistic Impulse" from Collected Stories 1990-1995
• Concrete: Volume Four: Killer Smile collects:
  • 1994 four issue limited series
  • "Under the Desert Stars", "The Four-Wheeled Sleeping Pill", "Visible Breath" from Collected Stories 1986-1989
  • "Enough World", "King of the Early Evening", "American Christmas" from Collected Stories 1990-1995
  • "The Lyle Committee", "The Ugly Boy", "Jack O'Fingers" all from Concrete Eclectica #1, April 1993
  • "The Dictator's Dream", "The Maiden of Crete" from Concrete Eclectica #2, May 1993
  • "Coming Soon: Emptiness", "Life Bomb", "Frozen" from the Killer Smile series
  • "The Cave", "The Bore", "Earth's Birthday", "The Wish", "The Arm" from the Think Like a Mountain series
  • "Family Night" Dark Horse Maverick 2000, July 2000
• Concrete: Volume Five: Think Like a Mountain collects:
  • 1996 six issue limited series
  • "A Sky of Heads: With a Whimper", "Stay Tuned For Pearl Harbor" from Collected Stories 1986-1989
  • "Like Disneyland, but Toxic", "A Billion Conscious Acts", "Steel Rain" from Collected Stories 1990-1995
  • "Riotus Life (Lost in Amazonis)" from Dark Horse Extra #1-4, June 1998
• Concrete: Volume Six: Strange Armor collects
  • 1997 five issue limited series
  • "A Sky of Heads: Quality Time", "Fitful Sleep", "Watching A Sunset" from Collected Stories 1986-1989
  • "I Strive For Realism" from Collected Stories 1990-1995
  • "A Sky of Heads" Concrete Eclectica #2, May 1993
  • "World Beneath the Skin" Dark Horse Decade #4, October 1996
  • "Running" and "On Van Gogh's 'The Bedroom'", previously unpublished
• Concrete: The Human Dilemma collects the six issue limited series

The uncollected story is "Moving A Big Rock" from Concrete Hero Special, April 1995. It was reprinted once, in Think Like A Mountain #4.

[edit] External links

• Paul Chadwick interview about The Human Dilemma at Darkhorse.com
• The Continuity Pages: Concrete
• Concrete: Lost in Amazonis ecomic at Darkhorse.com