A handsome, well-built man called il-Gawgaw fights zombie-like creatures in the baroque streets of Valletta, sees a dog and a cat kissing each other in the Gozitan countryside, and then makes love to his princess in the night sky.
He is the protagonist of a new Maltese comic book, created by a trio of local aficionados who go by the pen names Bin Għisa, Il-Barba Kieli and il-Ħaddied. They insisted on keeping their identities "secret".
"The Maltese language has a problem. It is only used for things like history, religion and culture. We wanted to use Maltese to create something fresh and cool," writer Bin Għisa said.
And what's cooler than a cutting-edge comic book targeted at adults?
Bin Għisa describes his stories as mischievous, graphic, imaginative and "Alice-in-Wonderland-like".
The characters are not afraid to speak in crude language, but if you dig deeper, you will find a hidden depth, bringing in influences from Maltese literature and culture.
"But we're not here to educate. You don't need to know any Maltese literature or history. These comics are just for fun, there is nothing folkloristic about them. All we want to do is strike a chord with you, emotionally. We want you to appreciate this the way you appreciate a quirky piece of music or art," he said.
Maltese lends itself well to this kind of art. The onomatopoeic speech bubbles that are part and parcel of every comic book work wonderfully in Maltese, with words like zumm, zieqq, plumm and glopp filling the action-filled pages of the comics.
"If you like reading Guze Stagno, if you like going to the theatre and bohemian exhibitions, you're the kind of person we're trying to attract."
Il-Gawgaw is not the only comic series being produced by this bunch. During the launch last week at the Malta Contemporary Art hall in Marsa, another series of theirs called Kranium was also available, under the same Komiks tas-Sikkina brand name.
Although the influence of American comics could not be escaped, the stories are not the American superhero type and are instead embedded in a local fantasy world.
Each month an instalment will be released that will start where the previous one left off, and will be sold at various outlets.
For now, the comic strip is printed in black and white on photocopy paper, and sells at €2 per copy. But if the creators receive enough feedback and an indication that the costs will be covered by the sales, their plan is to keep upgrading the quality, possibly turning it into a full-blown colour book.
"I think there is a thirst for something like this. It will either strike a chord and receive recognition, or it won't. We just hope we will make our mark," Bin Għisa concludes.
For more information visit www.komikstassikkina.page.tl.