American Elf Volume 1: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries Of James Kochalka (v. 1) [Paperback]

James Kochalka (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2004

A deluxe compilation of the first five years of James Kochalka's ground breaking daily diary comic strip. Since October 1998, James Kochalka has kept a daily diary, drawn in comic strip form in his sketchbook. Drawn with relaxed and beautiful brushwork, these strips perfectly capture the rhythm of daily life. From the hilarious to the sad, from the poetic to the drunken, these strips offer a direct and intimate portrait of the life of one of America's most important alternative cartoonists. This ambitious and deluxe, perfect-bound volume collect the first five years of Kochalka's diary. Contains a full-color section.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This massive collection of Kochalka’s cartoon diaries covers five years of his life. Each day is represented by a cartoon capturing a single moment of the day. These moments range from a haircut to reflections on nature to funny exchanges with friends, with each moment getting just four panels. Kochalka has a facile, expressive line; his lush brushstrokes convey both emotional meaning and a real sense of place and season with minimal fuss. In fact, this is a minimal book packed with a tremendous amount of personal detail. As a cartoonist, Kochalka is a great reducer, conveying more in one or two panels than many cartoonists do in one or two pages. On top of that, he makes readers consider the simple pleasures of voyeurism—why do we want to read about his life? Why does he want to discuss it? It’s the tone of these reality-television times, and, frankly, Kochalka is entertaining. Unlike some autobiographical comics, whether readers personally like the James Kochalka depicted here is almost irrelevant, because half of the fun is simply engaging with his level of detail and day-to-day tribulations. Some of these are trite, others flaky, and still more are funny or touching. But, as they say, that’s life, and Kochalka does a solid job of capturing the roiling stream of everyday consciousness without straining our acceptance.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Since October 26, 1998, independent comics creator Kochalka has kept a journal in comics. Each day's square of one, two, three, or the conventional four panels illustrates a nice or funny or pointed exchange between him and Amy, his wife; an encounter with their cat, Spandy; an interchange with a friend; recording or performing with his rock band; bike riding or driving; partying or traveling; attending a comics convention; appreciating, or not, the pleasures of the day; struggling with that day's entry. Utterly candid, the strips include nudity and bodily functions because, after all, they are everyday phenomena. Kochalka depicts himself as an elf, with buckteeth and long, pointed ears that lead many to mistake the representation as a rabbit. Only once is another comic mentioned: Peanuts, on the day Charles Schulz dies. That is indicative, for Kochalka's work is as graphically innocent as Schulz's, though less intellectual and far earthier in content. It's as if sweet gross-out filmmaker John Waters had reconstituted Schulz's classic with and for grown-ups: vulgar but lovable. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Top Shelf Productions (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189183049X
• ISBN-13: 978-1891830495
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,184,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His Best Work Yet!, July 26, 2004

By 

Chris Middings "CMiddings" (Burlington, VT, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Elf Volume 1: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries Of James Kochalka (v. 1) (Paperback)

I'm a huge fan of both his music and his comics, and this diary strip has entertained me for years. Finally collected, hopefully the world will see the genius behind this strange man. Similar to Peanuts in some ways, although not innocent, the ideas he captures have a simple, everyman quality, to which anyone can relate. Burlington, VT residents and visitors will see the town and its activities in new ways, and gain a further appreciation for them. If you only buy one item from James' vast output, this is the one to get. It captures a side of James that even your mother would enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sha-zammm!, April 27, 2005

By 

sam paul (Goblin City, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Elf Volume 1: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries Of James Kochalka (v. 1) (Paperback)

This was my first introduction to James Kochalka's beautiful work. I recommend his big American Elf book to anyone who wants to get an overall sense of who he is and what he does. The daily comics are deceptively simplistic because you only get a sense of the complete tapestry of James' life after reading several in a row. Eventually you get to know all about James, his wife Amy and his cat Spandy over the course of five years.

Our little elf (and even by his own admission he does look like an elf) is neither self-absorbed nor self-deprecating. This mosaic of daily life will leave you addicted and hungry for more excellent work from James Kochalka.

Also features a cute introduction from Moby.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars rhythms of life...., April 17, 2005

By 

anonemouse - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Elf Volume 1: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries Of James Kochalka (v. 1) (Paperback)

This is a beautiful piece of work. Within these pages you see the diary comics of our Every-Elf. Lyrical in its poetic simplicity, we go on a journey following the life of Magic Boy, vicariously making sense of the rhythms of Kochalka's daily life, spanning the first five years since the inception of his diary comic. Delightful are the observations he shares, that range from profound to silly, from funny to plain. Neither self-grandising nor self-deprecating, here is a biographical piece that when taken in whole will leave you addicted and wanting more, because we recognize something that looks so simple on first glance, but is acually quite a feat--art not imitating, but rather capturing one of the many glistening beams that glow from this thing we know as life. Don't be fooled by each day's strip; taken separately they are deceptively facile, but step back and you see the wonderous mosaic we have been given via James Kochalka's Collected Sketchbook Diaries.