Rat

Justin Hampton's Rat (MU Press, 1997–present) is a singular, creator-owned vision: a single-issue comic that follows a rodent protagonist through a gritty, noir-tinged urban landscape. Hampton writes and illustrates the entire series, crafting a stark, atmospheric world where survival is a daily grind. Though brief in its initial release, Rat remains a cult touchstone for its uncompromising, hand-drawn aesthetic and its quietly powerful exploration of life on the margins.