Gnatrat: The Dark Gnat Returns

Mark Martin's Gnatrat: The Dark Gnat Returns (1986–present) is a single-issue, self-published spoof from New Sirius Productions that gleefully skewers the grim-and-gritty superhero revival of the mid-80s. Martin handles both writing and art, delivering a one-shot parody that reduces the era's dark, brooding tropes to their absurd, insect-sized core. It matters as a cult artifact of indie comics humor, capturing a creator's sharp, loving satire of a defining moment in mainstream comics.