Comic book gimmicks were out of control in the early 90s, with all sorts of things thrown at readers to encourage the buying of multiple copies of comics that would definitely continue rising in value (spoiler: that definitely didn’t happen). Foil, hologram, glow in the dark, gatefold covers, comics sealed in polybags with trading cards; you name it, it was tried as a way to boost sales on even the most minor of titles.

Malibu Comics went all out with gimmicks to help sell their range of comics; infamously, The Protectors #5 had a die cut bullet hole on its cover. Just a few months later, with a spin-off of The Protectors, was The Ferret #1; a green foil cover wasn’t good enough a gimmick, clearly, because it was also die cut into the shape of the character’s head!

Just look at that thing. Awful, isn’t it?

Anyway, shorn of that gimmick, all we have is a fairly standard, very 90s, faux-edgy story starring a violent vigilante. It ticks all of the era’s boxes, and The Ferret is no more likeable here than he is in The Protectors (which is to say, he’s still a total dick).

Still, that cover eh?