Patty Cake & Friends

In this quirky, sweet-natured series from Slave Labor Graphics, Scott Roberts (with art assists from George Broderick and Mark Crilley) chronicles the gently surreal adventures of a cast of oddball characters in a small-town world. Running 15 issues from 1997 to 1999, Patty Cake & Friends blends deadpan humor with a warm, off-kilter charm that defined much of the alternative-comics scene of the era. It’s a fondly remembered slice of 1990s indie comics, showcasing Roberts’s knack for low-key storytelling and character-driven whimsy.