Punchline and the Vaude-Villains is a comic book created by Ted Sikora, with art from Danny Hadiwidjaja, published by Sikora's Hero Tomorrow Comics line. A spin-off of Apama - The Undiscovered Animal and Tap Dance Killer, it was crowdfunded via Kickstarter.
Drayton Hayes was the number-one contender for the heavyweight championship, but then his manager slipped a steroid into his drink and cost him his career. The mad scientist Fletch captured him and used him as a test subject for strength-enhancing experiments, and now he's Punchline, the most badass clown in the world. Together with his team, the Vaude-Villains, he seeks to make a name for himself on the streets of Cleveland.
This miniseries contains examples of:
- The Alcoholic: Abe Gardner is stuck in an unhappy marriage to Betsy Burlington, who is obsessed with dangerous and illegal activities. He drinks heavily to deal with the stress of it all.
- Alliterative Name: The first issue introduces gambling addict Betsy Burlington.
- The Big Guy: Punchline was already pretty big when he was just Drayton Hayes. After being enhanced by Fletcher, he towers over most of the cast.
- Bullying a Dragon: In the first issue, some kids try to egg Ilyia Zjarsky's ice-cream truck, not realizing that he's actually the superhero Apama, with superhuman senses and agility. He easily catches the egg and throws it straight back at the little punk.
- Came Back Wrong: Something went wrong with the efforts to resurrect Imogene St Clair after she was shot dead, leaving her incoherent.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The series opens with the Vaude-Villains kidnapping Joe St Clair, Nikki's dad, so that she can have both her parents together under one roof. The team also adopted little Avrom, whose mom died of a drug overdose.
- Genius Bruiser: It would be easy to mistake Punchline for dumb muscle given his size, but he's also pretty intelligent.
- Monster Clown: Punchline and Uzi Clown both rock this aesthetic.
- Spin-Off: This series is a spin-off of both Apama - The Undiscovered Animal and Tap Dance Killer, continuing where Tap-Dance left off.
- Sports Hero Backstory: Drayton Hayes was once a contender for heavyweight champion before his manager slipped him a steroid and got him banned from boxing.
