Cartoons Books

Ever worked at a school? Ever been to school? Ever seen a school? Then you'll love Frazz 3.141. He's such character you can relate to, and I love being a spectator as he drifts in and out of hilarious moments on the job. This book is so much fun!

This third collection of "Frazz" strips did not disappoint! Witty, funny, thought-provoking, and yes even educational, Frazz has an appeal that is sadly lacking in so many of today's comic strips. I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable book.

Yet another excellent collection of Frazz comic strips with the an added bonus I wasn't expecting...The Sunday strips are in color! That's a great change to the format of these collections.

Frazz continues to be one of the most thought provoking, quietly humorous strips out there and one of the few strips that seem to be anywhere close to the level of quality that Watterson produced with Calvin and Hobbes. A new Frazz collection is like a visit from an old friend and I hope they keep these wonderful books coming.

Comic strips are an underappreciated art. Many people think the comics pages are trivial or something just for kids to read. Though it is true that many comic strips are trivial and they are the one part of the paper that the youngest of readers tend to enjoy, comic strips provide much, much more. In their best form they are works of art full of social commentary told usually told in a humorous way that give readers a bit of joy for the rest of their day. One of the best comic strips in newspapers today is "Frazz". "Frazz" is one of the few strips (another is "Pearls Before Swine") that is not only drawn in an artful style, but also is full of wit and wonder. It is a strip that has continued the tradition of the art of the comic strip and helps keep the legacy.

FRAZZ 3.1416 is the latest collection of "Frazz" strips collected in book form. I'm not sure when the strips originally appeared in newspapers, but I believe they were around 2003-04. For some reason, this is only the 3rd "Frazz" anthology even though the strip first appeared in 2001. The strips take place mostly at Bryson Elementary over almost a full school year and part of the following summer. The collection is a great sample of what makes "Frazz" such a wonderful strip: large vocabulary, witty word play, cultural references, etc.

If you've never read "Frazz", FRAZZ 3.1416 is a good place to start. It's also a book that every FRAZZ fan should own. Highly recommended.

This is not a cartoon collection, it's a history - but it does include cartoons by every one of the cartoonists mentioned. It slightly before the founding of The New Yorker, with how the magazine came to be, and how Ross's independent wife (her name was Jane Grant, and she didn't change it when she got married) was an influence on what he expected the readership of the magazine to be, and who he would accept as writers and illustrators.

Some of the highlights: learning more about Helen Hokinson, much of whose stuff is still funny; the sad fate of Mary Petty. There was a little too much about Donnelly herself in there, but I guess I can understand the impulse. This really did bring out some of the developments in the glass ceiling for particular kinds of women artists.

When one thinks about WW2, and women filling jobs that used to be men's, one thinks of Rosie the Riveter - until I read this book, it had not occurred to me that women also filled the men's jobs as cartoonists at The New Yorker! The section on the war era includes some of the funniest cartoons.

Of course Roz Chast is included in here - quite possibly my favorite contemporary cartoonist. I greatly enjoyed the details about how she got into cartooning, and seeing how changes in her own stages of life have made it into her cartoons.

I think the book as a whole is the same sort of mix as the magazine - interesting articles, punctuated by cartoons. So if you like the magazine, you should enjoy the book!

Liza Donnelly has written a great book, a book I have been waiting for. I'm embarrassed to say it's been out a while and I've just discovered it... but Funny Ladies is well researched, well-written, funny and enlightening. The history of women cartoonists at the New Yorker follows the history of women in the 20th century, and reading this book is and eye-opener on both levels. I was thrilled to learn more about cartoonists I'd heard of and discover ones I had not. And learning more about the founders of the New Yorker, Harold Ross and Jane Grant, plus the role cartoon editors there have played over time, is enlightening.

A great book, great read, great find.

Thanks to the cartoonist/author. There are precious few of us, and I'm so happy you preserved this portion of our history.

"The New Yorker" is universally considered to be the best magazine and it regularly runs cartoons. Unlike many other cartoons noted for their in-your-face approach, the message of the cartoons in "The New Yorker" is generally very subtle. Many great cartoonists have had their work featured in the magazine, and some of them were women. This is their story.
It is one that in general is concurrent with what happened in the rest of society. In the early years, there were few career opportunities open to women and their work was evaluated in different ways. The twenties were a time of advancement, but the hard reality of the depression in the thirties had an overall negative effect on the status of women. Once the Second World War began, women were needed in every capacity, so their stock once again rose, only to fall back down after the war and into the reactionary fifties. Finally, the overall advancements in the role of women in the sixties and seventies destroyed all barriers to women cartoonists.
Through it all, the pioneers struggled with their drawings and captions, using them to make important statements about the world that existed around them. It was a world that they struggled against, yet eventually emerged triumphant through the success of those of their gender that succeeded them. As much as anything, this book is a chronicle of the emergence of women from the "pedestal of assumed inferiority" to one where their work is appreciated, respected and expected.

FUNNY LADIES: THE NEW YORKER'S GREATEST WOMEN CARTOONISTS AND THEIR CARTOONS could easily have been featured in our 'Cartoons and Graphic Novels' section, but is reviewed here for its ability to appeal beyond the usual confines of the cartoonist fan's world. Over the decades a growing core of female artists has been creating New Yorker cartoons weekly: Liza Donnelly, herself a New Yorker cartoonist for over twenty years, provides a history of women's humor and its evolution, pairing an anthology of cartoons with a survey of the genre in a wonderful, vivid overview.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I've travelled cross country six times in the last ten years to visit Yosemite. I laughed till my sides hurt reading this book. I really enjoyed the Bear Clan poking fun at the park Vistors "Your Space? I was born here, you smarmy little yuppie!"

This year has been sad with the passing of Phil Frank, one of the 'Greats' of the comic strip meduim. "Fur and Loafing in Yosemite" is a collection of almost 200 of Phil's cartoons that are about his wonderful Yosemite-based Bears. With Bruinhilda, Alphonse, Franklin, Floyd and Olaf, the subject matter ranges from Trash-Can Dining to a crazy camping lady with a vacuum cleaner fetish.

I have seen a few bears in my day, {and I have drawn a couple as well} but Phil Frank drew the Greatest and Funniest Bears of all. These are about the finest Bruins in the Business, and they are very, very funny.
I cannot recommend this book enough...Yosemite, Bears, Phil Frank.
It doesn't get better than this, some of the Greatest cartoons of our time are right here in this wonderful collection of: "Fur and Loafing."
FIVE STARS !!!

Thank you, Mr. Frank! This book helped keep me going thorough a very busy and complicated week. And it will help me again. Very funny -- and like the best humor, based on fact.

As a lifelong fan of the San Francisco Chronicle in general and "Farley" in particular (as well as a total Yosemite freak!), each summer I look forward to the inevitable installments involving Phil Frank's bear trio (proprietors of "The Fog City Dumpster" restaurant in SF) and neatnik camper Mrs. Melmac (who immediately sets off bug bombs in the area around her massive RV when she arrives for the summer) in Yosemite Valley. So you can imagine my delight when I found that all those terrific strips were put in one magnificent collection!

Every summer the bears and Mrs. Melmac take off for Yosemite - Mrs. Melmac in her RV, the bears whichever way they can (one year they hijacked a SF Muni bus) and the fun begins! It's great to be able to relive these moments over and over. Two thumbs up!

Just like I say in the title for the review, so good that i had it sent overseas to get it.

Has all the months plus a few extra pics and stuff. 5/5

good good, I can slowly count the days until the show comes back

The calendar is great. The delivery was quicker then I expected. Great job Amazon!!!!!!!

It's nice to see new quality Futurama artwork. Coworkers stop by to discuss their appreciation for Futurama and other cartoons they've seen on Adult Swim (most missed the show when Fox aired it intermittently on Sunday evenings).

A calendar is a calendar. For that matter, my watch, cell phone and computers can tell me what day it is. This calendar, however, makes me smile.

It was delivered as promised. I thought the delivery was kinda slow, but thats typical of snail mail.

It's more adventures from this fat cat....life would be pretty dull without him. Loved it!!!!

All this book is, is a collection of the daily comic from the last book with very little new material. I don't think they've created any new material for this strip sense Liz and John ended up together.

My sister and I love Garfield, and this comic is brilliant sunshine on a gray and dreary day - and you can read it over and over!

Used to do sit-ups, but this felines antics have my gut turning to steel with the unlimited laughs he serves!

Here's a comic in the book:Garfield:POISONOUS SPIDER!Get me a chair and a whip!Get me a ten-gallon drum of bug spary!It's a venom-spewing hairy legged killer!Or a piece of lint.That was a comic stript from life in the fat line.

This is a must read for any Garfield fan

Everybody out there keep buying Garfield books! They can be worth a lot of money someday and can become collector's items! I'm always going to keep all of mine so when I have kids they can read them!

The name Baloo meant a lot to us old Bob and Ray fans who fondly remember the unique sports broadcasts of Wally Baloo (aka Bob Elliott). This Baloo is the pen name of Rex May, Numero Uno among the nation's gagwriters and a significant and much published cartoonist. There are over 100 very funny cartoons such as the heavenly golfer who sliced into Purgatory -- two to a page -- in this very affordable compilation aptly subtitled The Best of Baloo.

Rex May [d.b.a. Baloo] is for cartooning what Fred Astaire was for dancing: the textbook example of "making it look easy", with the emphasis on "look". Anyone who tries to write such seemingly bare-bone yet devastating gags, to "scribble" down characters who are actually solidly built and expressive, to flesh out a background with a select few lines, as Baloo does to perfection time and again... will realize that what he does is not easy at all. Snap this up and luxuriate in the artistry of an undisputed master of the gag panel.

This is a terrific book featuring some of Baloo's greatest work. I recommend this book for anyone who loves a good laugh and also for the aspiring cartoonist looking to learn by studying some great examples. I'm in awe of his ability to say SO MUCH within the context of a simple black and white cartoon.

Gesundheit Dummy is a long overdue collection of Baloo's cartoons. Rex May (Baloo) is one of the best known magazine cartoonists in America -- his cartoons have been published practically everywhere.

I love his expressive drawing style, his hilarious characters, and his captions, which are simply the very best. Rex May's work is legendary!

This very funny book has a place of honor on my bookshelf. Any fan of great single panel cartoons will love Gesundheit, Dummy!

- Take 5 pandas.
- Add one zookeeper with a very interesting social agenda (read the book and you'll know what and why)
- Add an unsatiable appetite for opium, alcohol, Fanta soda, blood, fornication, and more opium.
- Add a huge arsenal of guns and assorted sharp metallic objects with really cool names.
- Throw in some diabolical enemies named after various confections.
- Add a few obscure references to popular action movie stars
- Shake well....
- And you got The Super Duper Power Pandas. Yu-Gi-Oh-Wha??

Rush takes a fast-paced, behind-the-scenes look at how this violent, off-the-wall, lurid, underground comic book gave rise to a national phenomenon. The book also features detailed descriptions of all 44 issues of the comic that will relentlessly feed the wry, twisted sense of humor in you and undoubtedly make you laugh out loud. It's funny. It's violent. It's twisted. It might even be a little disgusting. But one thing's for sure, it's definitely entertaining. Just make sure you leave your discretions on the coffee table.

Takes violence to a whole new level! Very fascinating and imaginative writing here :) These pandas kick the crap out of the Ninja Turtles.

I gave it four stars the first time I reviewed it, but after reading it again, I gotta say..... 5 STARS!!!!

What an imaginative author! Very interesting read!

Author Tequila Rush takes us on a quixotic journey into the depths of his frighteningly absurd imagination. This frequently violent, sometimes absurd, and always entertaining read details the life and times of four mutant pandas (all apologies to Eastman and Co.)whose penchants for drinking and sex are a long ways away from the mild-mannered bamboophilia of their San Diego Zoo brethren. Rush has made dialogue king here and the vicious one-liner throwaways and subtle pop references will no doubt have you spinning, grinning, and shaking your head, all the way to the opium den. And at the end, you realize it's not just about pandas, it's about us.

I first read Sally Swain books in England and had to purchase her calendars as well as her books. They surely do bring chuckles to the "reader".

This is a fun book. Clever idea and usually understandable. Especially good for presenters who wish to add some humor and/or color to a talk.

Sally Swain has taken the time to find the key which can unlock all those frustrations ordinary people have with the arcane manner in which MOST critics deal with art. It is such a baloon burster that it dare not be missed by all serious students of art.

Sally Swain's Great Housewives of Art and ditto Revisted are hilariously funny parodies of famous paintings, and a very sophisticated form of humour in that if you do not know the original paintings you are at a loss as to why other people are rolling in the aisles. Women find them funnier than men, but men are the ones being sniped at by Ms Swain's brush. What she does is take a famous painting, like Munch's "The Scream" and alter it ever so slightly so that it becomes "Mrs Munch bemoans the tomato sauce stains on the wall". So you have Monet's "Waterlillies" becoming "Mrs Monet vacuums the pool" and Rembrandt's "Woman Bathing" Mrs Rembrandt defrosting the Fridge. A good book to keep in the bathroom, but if you are having a large party remove it or people stay there too long!

This book is just awesome. I bought this for my daughter. I read it, laughed, and realized I would never read this to a small child. It's so miserable it's funny. The drawings are morbidly beautiful, the story is tragic and hilarious, Edward Gorey is like the Tim Burton of adult children's books.

The funniest tragedy ever written. With illustrations. I have owned, and loaned out or given, several copies. Lately, I've had to rely upon Amphigory to supply my bile. Now it's back again in a single volume! The perfect gift for weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and birthdays!

This is the first book I ever read by Gorey. After becoming a bit of a fan and exploring his writings further, I think this story holds up as having the best narrative and shock value. A great little yarn and a must for the collector.

This is one of Gorey's best stories, about the sad life of a sickeningly sweet orphan. Some people might prefer "The Gashlycrumb Tinies", but I think "The Hapless Child" is superior. This book is the epitome of Gorey's weird style, a parody of Victorian fiction, and always funny in a gruesome way, or gruesome in a funny way, depending on how you look at it. "The Hapless Child" is also collected in the first "Amphigorey" collection, but any serious collector of Goriana will have to own this edition as well.