Transformeum Review: Case Morgan: Gumshoe Private Eye No. 10 (Patreon)

STATS - Created by Don Lomax. Copyright 1992, Forbidden Fruit. Reprints of stories published 1981 & 1985 with a few original pin-ups.

Photos by Dan Standing, cell phone. Censored to honor existing copyright.

Let's make one thing very clear as we go into Case Morgan: Gumshoe Private Eye - the nicest thing I can say overall about it is that it is crass. And it is trying to be. But before we talk about any of the things that place No. 10 in the Transformeum, or help you decide if it is worth your money, a couple items need to be addressed.

The biggest item to note is that there are rare times when our protagonist disparages certain social groups and minorities. I tend to lean that what is said (I'm not repeating it) is meant to be taken as absurdity and with the satire that soaks through every part of every story. However, given what was going on in the 1980s when these stories were written, you need to decide how true that may be and if you feel okay with having some social disparagement on your shelf. I, personally, would feel a little off knowing someone could pick this out of my collection, read what is said, and wonder if I was okay with owning that. Because I'm not, but the purpose of the Transformeum is bigger than me.

The second thing to be aware of is that there are no people in these stories. Sure, there are people-shaped things, but there is not one "character" who acts like a human being in even the thinnest manner. Case Morgan is a "detective" in that he shows up places and the sex-fueled plot basically unravels before him - mostly because almost everyone involved is only interested in having sex with him. And aside from not being killed, having sex is really all he cares about.

And there are no female characters. I don't care that every woman in every story is drawn like a living hourglass - proportions do not define a person - what I mean is that no one acts like they have any goal beyond putting Case's genitalia inside them. Immediate life-threatening danger? Don't care, a penis is nearby! Your sister has vanished and you want to find her? Doesn't matter, here's a man to pleasure! These are walking avatars of lust. So I'm not going to pretend that there are characters or arcs, these are a series of panels essentially just showing female-shaped props in various positions. So if you like your smut with even the shallowest of depth you will not find it here.

But, again, Don Lomax is doing this on purpose. There isn't meant to be more beyond absurd smutty satire.

So, that out of the way, what makes Case Morgan: Gumshoe Private Eye No. 10 worth a place in the Transformeum? Well, there are five reprinted stories to be found within, and two of them qualify.

The first "story" is The Case of the Carnal Cable Car Coup de Main, originally published in the January 1985 issue of Gent. You'll note I put story in quotes because, of all the paper-thin plots of this collection, The Case [...] de Main meanders all over the place worse than any others. When I was first flipping through this issue I thought it was actually two separate stories, as Case and his bevy of lady-props travel from a hospital to a cable car with...no real connective reason.

The only thing that makes this "story" worth mentioning happens in the very beginning. Case and a client are enjoying each other in Case's apartment when a "depraved" individual covers the breasts of Case's lover with "space age adhesive" giving us a Stuck situation, and prompting she and Case to head to the hospital. Oh, and despite the woman having free hand she opts to ride the train without even putting on panties/skirt/pants.

Absurd gags follow for a bit before the doctors unstick Case's hands, leaving the woman with bandages over her breasts, and then they end up on a cable car somehow...and at the end of the "story" you find out that a side-effect of the adhesive actually somehow transferred the woman's nipples to Case's palms? The right way out? Look, I said Mr. Lomax wasn't aiming for logical plots, just smutty gags. And every Case comic kind of ends like this, with him back to normal for the next one.

The next story is what really puts No. 10 squarely in the Transformeum. Titled The Medusa of 45th Street, the story was originally published in the February 1985 issue of Gent and starts when a woman comes to Case asking that he help her find her missing sister. Or, really with Case Morgan repeating all of that information for us while he and the woman...connect.

The sister was last known to be posing for an artist, so Case and his plot-prop find him at a reveal for the artist's newest statue.

Case soon realizes that the artist is making such fine statues so quickly because he has somehow gotten his hands on Medusa's head. Case sees the artist freeze a couple, and here is when I am really sad that this comic is in black & white - it actually appears like it could have been a nifty on-panel petrification if there'd been some color to help illustrate the change from flesh to stone. But at least the loss of irises in the eyes is a welcome indicator of their turning to stone.

Case is caught observing the transformation and is knocked out. He awakens tied up with his client caring not that they are in danger - there's a dick to be ridden! Thinking fast to try and save himself Case decides to...I freaking kid you not...pinch his client's nipple so that he induces lactation, so when the artist flashes Medusa's head the reflection in the milk droplet turns the artist to stone along with the client. I'm serious. It's the plan. And it works.

Somehow this also turns Case's penis to stone - because every Case Morgan segment has to end with some sort of crude gag - and he takes his stone client and her hardened sister home and sets them up as enormous bookends.

Should I try and apply my Cause, Process, Impact to The Medusa of 45th Street? Sure, why the hell not...

CAUSE - a short-cut-taking artist uses Medusa's head to turn people into statues. One woman even seemingly knows this is going to happen to her and doesn't appear to care. It's a pretty classic bit, always welcome honestly. It's actually nice to see such an old example of it.

PROCESS - the petrification is instant, but we do get examples of the people before they are statues, and then after. The eyes turn into smooth orbs indicating complete stone transmogrification. The word FREEZE pops up when this happens - multiple times - which prompts you to hear in your head your own sound effect. The black & white art takes away from what more we could get of the transition. We only have two panels that show the same woman, but it appears that there was effort to maintain her stiffened pose in the different views of her.

IMPACT - while a doctor surmises it is possible the stone effect could wear off, we don't know if that is true, if it is true for people fully turned to stone, or only the case of Case's partial petrification. While we don't know for certain if they are still conscious, I believe they are since Case treats his penile petrification as a minor inconvenience which indicates he can still feel with his stone boner. I choose to take this to mean fully petrified people are conscious and capable of feeling. We can surmise that some "statues" are still in the hands of their owners, while Case's client and her sister have been made into decor with no real expectation of ever reverting back. Case does not indicate he is going to pursue the matter.

Just two more random items in this issue to note. First is a strange reptile/monster mid-transformation(?) pin-up which I believe is original to No. 10.

Finally, just as a fun note, Forbidden Fruit also published one of my very most favorite transformations comics, Metallica (no relation to the band) and there is an ad for it on the back.

IS IT WORTH BUYING? Don't spend $60 on it. I am glad I have this more vintage example of a classic petrification story to house in the Transformeum, but unless the myriad of sex scenes with hourglass-drawn "women," Medusa story, and the Stuck sequence really float your boat I don't think it is worth that money. But if you can find it more reasonably, and you are okay with the issues I mentioned at the start, it really is a must-buy.

FINAL THOUGHTS - Don Lomax is a very good artist, and I am thrilled to have his take on a Medusa/artist story. I wish there wasn't such odd social commentary made by the protagonist, and I wish it didn't have just the worst portrayal of "women" I've ever seen. If so I'd be fine with it as part of a personal collection. But as proof of how far back the "cheating statue artist" story goes it deserves its place in the Transformeum.