Para18: Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana

The Story

Age restriction: 18+

“What happened to him was so profoundly wrong and so profoundly representative of what can go wrong and why the First Amendment is necessary, and what it means, that I’m just so happy that someone is telling this story.” – Neil Gaiman

    The year was 1990. The place was Largo, Florida. Mike Diana, a gentle, loving young man was about to become the only American artist to be found guilty of obscenity. His artwork had always responded to the things that troubled him, whether it was the hair-pulling his father used as a punishment or the constant parade of child abuse put forward by the media in the era of the so-called ‘Satanic Panic’. His art was cathartic, and, like many young outsiders, Diana enjoyed pushing boundaries. This lead him to create some of the most disturbing comics ever published, which many could not consolidate with his gentle and peaceful personality. In doing so, he would discover what it’s like to raise the weirdo flag and have Conservative America turn up on your doorstep to blow your house down.

BOILED ANGELS takes a jaunty ride through underground and alternative comics history, ranging from William Gaines’ (of EC and TALES FROM THE CRYPT) clash with the ‘moral guardians’ to the rise of home-made zines as viable means of artistic expression. This is the first time that Mike Diana’s story is being told in-depth, featuring his artwork, first-hand accounts from Diana, and testimonials from such cultural luminaries as Neil Gaiman, George A. Romero, Jay Lynch, Stephen Bissette, Peter Bagge, Robyn Chapman, as well as Diana’s own family, and narrated by Jello Biafra (lead singer of Dead Kennedys). Directed by legendary boundary pushing filmmaker Frank Henenlotter (BASKET CASE, BRAIN DAMAGE, FRANKENHOOKER), BOILED ANGELS is more important than ever.

Please be mindful that this documentary contains artworks that were created with the purpose of shocking and appalling. They have not diminished in impact since the day they were drawn.

Co-presented by the Grub Street Bookshop

Rating

Exempt

Duration

Cast

Mike Diana, Neil Gaiman, Stuart Baggish, Luke Lirot

Director

Frank Henenlotter