Comic books have always been considered juvenile by people who have never read them. They have long been viewed as too cartoonish, too infantile and too shallow to be considered as a serious literary form.

Fortunately, comics today are trying to shatter this illusion. During the comic boom of the ’80s (fueled mostly by investment speculation), hundreds — if not thousands — of independent publishers infiltrated the market and gave readers an alternative to superheroes.

Rob Schrab is one of the many people who has devoted his life to halting the negative image of comic books. His publishing company, Fireman Press Ltd., was started in ’93 with a small black and white comic called Scud the Disposable Assassin.

Scud the comic

Today, Scud (which was originally intended to be an animation feature) is still the flagship title of the company, which has gone on to produce such other memorable comics as Drywall, La Costa Nostroid, The Big Crap Scare and Tales From the Vending Machine. The company ships out more and more issues each month and has gone on to prove the assumption that all comics are garbage is wrong.

“There’s a huge group of people who won’t give comic books a chance,” Schrab said. “It’s frustrating when people tell me they don’t like comic books. They think that all comic books revolve around super- heroes. But there is something out there for everybody. Comic books are just another method of story telling and are capable of taking the reader anywhere.”

Scud the Disposable Assassin takes its readers to a world where “human life is cheaper than bullets and weapons are available in corner vending machines.” The comic deals with Scud Heartbreaker No. 1373, an assassin was purchased out of a vending machine to kill a hideous monster named Jeff.

Usually, the Scud assassin self-detonates after its intended target is killed. Fortunately, our Heartbreaking hero discovers a warning on his back stating that this is what will happen if he kills Jeff.

Scud stops himself from killing Jeff, but leaves the monster in critical condition in the hospital. So, Scud embarks on the career of a free-lance assassin to pay for Jeff’s hospital bills because if Jeff dies, so does he.

“The comic doesn’t take itself too seriously,” Schrab said. “It’s action- packed and it’s got a great catch-22. Scud is an assassin that cannot kill or else he dies himself. It’s kind of a new type of sci-fi action that borrows heavily from fantasy. It’s hipper and more surreal than most of the stuff on the market.”

Schrab has never liked the standard superhero comics most companies shove down fans’ throats (he describes most comics as being “filled with muscle-bound jerks moaning about family members and lost girlfriends”). He wanted comics to be fun again. This desire led him to create his own publishing company.

“I fell in love with the idea of building something from the ground up,” he said. “It’s great because I have the first and last decision on every issue. I don’t have to answer to anybody. I don’t have to clear my stories or artwork with somebody over my head. I think that’s a waste of time and that it limits the writer and the artist.

“I like the freedom involved,” he continued. “It’s been a great experience for me. It is extremely hectic and stressful, but it is rewarding. But at the end of the day, I’m satisfied because I’m trying to fill a void in comics.”

Scud the superhero

Just the appearance of Scud is enough to demonstrate Schrab has succeeded. He is wiry and skinny (“for people who aren’t muscle- bound and need that type of role model” according to Schrab) and he’s not the traditional dark, gritty, brooding character that is typical in comics. Scud is bright yellow.

Unlike most comic characters, Scud’s name is fairly unique and original (especially when compared to such names as Invisible Girl, Aquaman and Batman).

“The name is very pop-culture oriented,” Schrab said. “It sounds like a detergent, like something you would scrub your bathtub with. Yet, it is also the name of a very destructive weapon, a type of missile.”

Schrab is obviously on to something and Scud fever is beginning to be more contagious than an outbreak of ebola. Since Scud’s inception, Segasoft made a video game from the character for the Sega Saturn (the game will shortly be available for personal computers).

Scud the movie

Oliver Stone optioned the film rights for indie film company Cinergi (which was responsible for the “Judge Dredd” movie). Alan McElroy, who recently completed the screenplay for “Spawn,” was hired to write Scud’s screenplay.

Schrab simply hopes the movie will turn out better than other comic book adaptations, such as the Batman franchise and “The Punisher.”

“Movies based on comic books suck,” he said. “They are so terrible. I think that’s because the people who make the movies aren’t fans of the material. For example, ‘Batman and Robin’ was the biggest piece of shit in the world because the people involved don’t give a damn about Batman. They just see money signs. I think that’s silly, dumb and retarded.

“I just don’t understand who those movies were made to cater to,” he added. “Were they made specifically for licensees like Taco Bell and Toys ‘R’ Us? Who’s supposed to be watching them? There are plenty of adult comic fans. Why isn’t somebody making movies for them!?”

Schrab believes the Scud movie will be much better than any other comic-book-oriented movie ever released because the people involved honestly care about the material. After all, he didn’t try to shuffle the idea around to a bunch of different movie companies. Oliver Stone and Alan McElroy came to him and asked if they could do it because they like the comic book.

“The Scud movie won’t be filled with silly, melodramatic, pun-filled, catch-phrase dialogue,” he promised. “I hate to be fed that crap, that diarrhea the movie industry feeds me — and I’ll be damned if I’m going to feed that crap to anyone else.”

However, the movie isn’t slated to be released for at least another year, so Scud fans are just going to have to be happy with the comic books for now. But don’t worry, Schrab takes care of his readers.

“I make comic books for people who don’t like comic books,” he said. “If people are sick of comics and the attitude about them, or if they have never even read a comic, try out Scud. It is different.”

For more information on Scud or any of Fireman Press Ltd.’s offerings, Schrab encourages you to check out the official Web site at http://www.scud.com. The site also includes digitized copies of past issues of the comic book.