MARK BOUCHARD writes & edits comics

Coffee Breath Press edition released Aug 2021
Oni Press edition released in comic and book stores Oct 2022. (W) Mark Bouchard (A) Bayleigh Underwood (L) Micah Myers (E) Jasmine Walls (D) Jillian Crab

LA, 2028. Today’s a big day for Exterminator of the Year (2024-2027) Sal Hernandez. They’re planning to quit their job before meeting up with their estranged partner to discuss getting back together. Expecting the worst, after months of living in their work van, Sal’s scraped together enough money for a new start in a new town. But hey, look on the bright side— today might be their last day working twelve hour shifts as an exterminator! It’s a rough job. Exterminators are still responsible for cockroaches and mice. But now, they’re responsible for culling the growing populations of dragons, bugbears, and all sorts of horrific eldritch monsters.

 What seems like a routine call for Sal and their team ends up being a shape-shifting creature that empties the body of flesh and bone, leaving only the skin behind, and a research facility is sent into lockdown. Shortly after their arrival, this creature (dubbed The Shopper) abducts the newest member of Sal’s team (Luke), turning an extermination job into a rescue mission.

Their boss refuses to approve overtime, which works out fine for Sal, whose concussion from an off-the-clock extermination job is threatening to take them out for good. With the line between reality and hallucination blurring, even their decade of experience can’t prepare Sal for the job they’re walking into.

IT TOOK LUKE is both a queer breakup story and an existential take on monster-driven hack & slash horror comics that explores crunch culture (overwork, emotional exhaustion, etc) and its casualties: individual well-being and interpersonal relationships.