Alec: After The Snooter [Paperback]

Eddie Campbell (Illustrator), Eddie Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

Eddie Campbell`s Alec stories are a brilliant and insightful romp through his own life. In them, we witness Eddie's progression from `beer to wine,` or to put it more accurately, his inevitable maturation through time. Whether it's tales of his early pub-crawling days, or glimpses into his current private life with `wifey` and kids, there are `truths` here that transcend the factual and paint a picture of the way life should be. In After The Snooter, we watch Eddie face his demons, including the grotesque cartoon creation, the annoying insectoid nag known as THE SNOOTER. Ultimately there's a showdown between the two, and it all comes to a crashing conclusion at the Hollywood Premiere of From Hell.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Campbell, maestro of the offhanded understatement and the distressed ink line, has published a book starring himself that surveys the terrors of middle age. Originally a series of short autobiographical vignettes, the book is both more illuminating and less solipsistic than the subject of male midlife anxiety might suggest. The episodes, which vary from a single page to multiple spreads, depict Campbell going about his daily work as a comic book artist, self-publisher of comics, court sketcher, husband, father, son and friend. Throughout, Campbell establishes himself as a character with wry, self-deprecating humor, even during those sleepless nights when he struggles with the midlife demon (depicted in these pages as a mothlike creature with an extravagantly curved proboscis). The result is a grab bag of highly personal reflections that take as much interest in a blade of grass stuck in his cat's backside as in the effects of Hollywood fame on finances and family life. Domestic pleasures might be the last thing readers would expect from the collaborator/ illustrator of Alan Moore's meticulously plotted and drawn Jack the Ripper epic (and hit Hollywood film) From Hell, but Campbell is more concerned with the behind-the-scenes messiness that goes into telling a good story than with carefully orchestrated coherence. This casual approach to narrative also comes out in the scratchy, improvisational quality of Campbell's drawings. Idiosyncratic and expertly rendered, his art insinuates its way into readers' memories.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

No one can accuse Campbell of jumping on the autobiographical-comics bandwagon. He has been drawing his life, as it were, since the early 1980s, when he romanticized his youthful pub crawling. Now contemplating middle age, he wryly tackles such concerns as home ownership, running a self-publishing business, and raising a family. (His life is less mundane than that makes it sound: the book concludes at the Hollywood premiere of From Hell, adapted from his and Alan Moore's graphic novel.) He also recalls his childhood in Scotland, especially his life-changing discovery of American comic books. These short pieces first appeared in a variety of publications over the course of a decade, yet they cohere into an eloquent book. Campbell's skills have vastly improved since his early days. His sketchy, economical style is now honed to perfection, and the subtle self-awareness he has developed lends these stories cleverness and insight. If he relies on text more than most comics masters, his running narration always complements his drawings. His work exemplifies the comics medium at its best. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Top Shelf Productions (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0957789661
• ISBN-13: 978-0957789661
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,970,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood, mid-life crisis, and weird insects., June 15, 2005

By 

Michael T. Deeley "Empty D" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alec: After The Snooter (Paperback)

Campbell is a storyteller. His stories use simple language we can all understand, but spring from a deep well of knowledge. Campbell displays intelligence without beating you over the head with it.

'After the Snooter' is a collection of short stories written after a visitation from an unidentifiable insct, "The Snooter". After the "Snooter"'s apearance, Campbell changes publishers, buys a house, travels the world, and reaps great financial benefits as 'From Hell' is turned into an awful movie.

Truthfully, this is not Campbell's best work. But he's set such a high standard, even his lesser works have merit. Many of the stories focus on his domestic life; squables wit hthe wife, the cute things his kids do, etc. Some of it comes off like Dave Barry columns. He's at his best when describing the world around him. Campbell is an artist. He sees the world in terms of characters, plot themes, and moods. His life is a story that visits other people's stories. He is both the subject and the tour guide on his journeys. Fortunately for us, he's a very interesting subject and very pleasant company.

I recommend reading this book, and all of Campbell's books, with a nice bottle of wine.