In the Illustrated Edition of The Belcher, author Luke Schmaltz teams up with artist John Mazzucco to present the newly edited manuscript in an enhanced format. Mazzucco's distinct comic-book noir style is the perfect complement to Schmaltz's wild, violent, hilarious narrative.

This new edition features an author's note about how the January 2020 publishing of the first edition anticipated strikingly accurate events that unfolded in the ensuing year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mazzucco's drawings are interspersed throughout, stoking the reader's imagination with stark imagery. The text also presents a sneak peek into Schmaltz's follow-up novel to The Belcher: The Fart of War. This title, coming in mid-2027, will also feature illustrations by Mazzucco.

The Belcher synopsis: Prolific beer drinker Earl Danners, under duress, discovers he has the power to belch forth guttural blasts of typhoon-level rage and destruction. Under the tutelage of Pablo Vasquez, aka The Soothsayer, Danners learns to control and wield his gift. Along the way, he encounters others with similar libation-induced powers, including Red-Eye Robinson, Knockers, The Whine-o, and Cricket, who just might have a soft spot for Earl. Meanwhile, a tide of corruption, murder, and incarnate evil is rising, and the rag-tag crew of miscreants must align to confront the sadistic campaigns of Blatherskite, The Gasser, and the Army National Guard. Guerilla warfare ensues, and the Mile-High City will never again be the same.

The Belcher Reviews:

“Packed with punk filth, pulp grit, and the darkest humor this side of death itself, The Belcher is the drunken chronicle of an ultraviolent miscreant of a hero, the kind the 21st century has forgotten but truly needs.” – Jason Heller, author of Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded

“Take one shot of superhero mythology for the modern age, one shot of Fritz the Cat-style sleaze humor, and mix thoroughly in a trash can, and you’ve got The Belcher. As a writer for Modern Drunkard Magazine, Luke Schmaltz has already established himself as a top-tier tastemaker of all things down and dirty, be it a martini or a street fight, and with The Belcher, his literary voice finds a fitting everyman character in Earl, a ramshackle drunk with a throat of vengeance. Prepare to be entertained.” – JT Habersaat, comedian, author of Doing Time

“With the absolutely batshit bonkers novel The Belcher, Luke Schmaltz has revealed himself as a compelling, imminently readable outré’ voice in the vein of Marquis de Sade, Bukowski, and Celine. The idea of a vigilante crime fighter who uses his burps to thwart perps is sheer genius, and the writing is next-level clever, with an orgiastic, punk-rock, IDGAF edge that cuts to the bone. Highly recommended!” – Matt Samet, author of Death Grip

“The Belcher carefully portrays a beer-drinking, bar-fighting, parallel universe inhabited by fantastical and well-developed characters who seem beyond imagination. The reader is immediately thrown into a dirtier, grittier, and much funnier version of the façade we make of our world. Schmaltz’s characters, his gift with words, and his expertise as a barfly make this a book that you cannot put down.” – Matthew Kennedy Stewart, CEO, National Services Group

“Awash with booze and brutal action, Luke Schmaltz’s first book sings like a cruel and richly deserved whipcrack across the back of America’s complacent reading public.” – Frank Kelley Rich, Editor, Modern Drunkard Magazine

“A heroic punk rock love story. A rad read for all punks, rockers, geeks, and freaks. A must-read for any underground Mile-High musician.” – Randall Conrad Olinger, musician