The Argyle Sweater: A Cartoon Collection [Paperback]

Scott Hilburn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2009

The Argyle Sweater is a comic for grown-ups but it's inspired by a childlike imagination and charm. Follow bears, bees, chickens, wolves, dogs, cats, zebras, cops, game shows, phones, cavemen, and even nursery rhyme icons and an evil scientist, into the mischief and perfect-fitting dialogue of The Argyle Sweater world.

Hilburn jokes he thought about naming the strip For Better or For Worse but noted "that that one was already taken."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hilburn's cartooning career began in the fall of 2006 on comicssherpa.com, a cartooning talent Web site managed by Universal Uclick, the sister company of Andrews McMeel Publishing. In April 2008, Hilburn's The Argyle Sweater became nationally syndicated. Hilburn lives in Frisco, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (March 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740776959
• ISBN-13: 978-0740776953
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Scott Hilburn's cartooning career kicked off on the Web group Comic Sherpa, managed by uclick, a company affiliated with Universal Press Syndicate. Online, he was able to get feedback on his work as well as network in the field of cartooning. In Dec. 2006, Hilburn's comic panel, "Argyle Sweater," debuted on gocomics.com. A short time later, it was syndicated by Universal Press.

The Texas native has worked most of his adult life creating interactive media for telecommunication companies. He started his career at FlightSafety developing programs for flight simulators then moved on to MCI where he won a silver award for his work in interactive media. Currently Hilburn works for Fujitsu Networking Communications as a flash developer.

Hilburn has an A.A.S. (digital arts) degree in Computer Animation and Multimedia from the Art Institute of Dallas, a B.A. in Psychology and has worked toward a M.A. in Professional Counseling/Clinical Psychology from Argosy University.

A single father of two daughters, Hilburn was born in 1971 and has lived in the Dallas area all his life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Pun-ny than Funny, April 15, 2009

By 

Don Walton Jr. (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Argyle Sweater: A Cartoon Collection (Paperback)

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I had never read 'The Argyle Sweater' before picking up this collection. That said, the sharp artwork and great use of color caught my eye and piqued my interest. The book is physically larger than I had expected, and features 2-3 comics per page.

The art style is immediately reminiscent of Gary Larson and his work on 'The Far Side'. The dry humor is also very much a 'Far Side' homage. The jokes however are largely just puns or a version of a play on words. 'The Mummys Curse' for example, shows an Egyptian Mummy stubbing his toe and 'cursing'. Not laugh out loud funny, but humorous. It's the kind of stuff you see taped to the cash register at your local diner.

The content of the book is fairly PG, but some of the gags are a bit more sexually themed than I had expected. A 12-year-old boy would adore this collection of illustrated schoolyard jokes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Puns, grins, chuckles...and groans, June 16, 2009

By 

Jack Fitzgerald "JFD" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Argyle Sweater: A Cartoon Collection (Paperback)

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The Argyle Sweater is a cartoon collection by Scott Hilburn, filled with single-panel episodes in the tradition of Gary Larson's farside.

Recurring topics include anthropomorphic animals involved in various compromising situations, fairy tales with a twist and pop culture references. Definitely an adult book with a western slant, but often clever and funny.

Many of the panels have a seemingly innocuous or bizarre first look but when you read the text you get the punch and take another look.

An example is a picture of a couple of zebras on an airplane with the wife telling her husband not to worry because "statistically...we're safer in the air..." while he looks around at the lions, bears and other predators on board.

Another one has a guy in a red and white striped hat and sweater (Waldo) with a Sasquatch, Elvis and D.B. Cooper, "I'm somewhere where I'll never be found."

Funny stuff that will make you think, scratch your head and sometimes laugh out loud.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Need a laugh?, April 7, 2009

By 

Barbara Bell (San Carlos, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Argyle Sweater: A Cartoon Collection (Paperback)

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Scott Hillburn's collection of cartoons in The Argyle Sweater is nothing short of brilliant! There are dragons who are thoughtful enough to recycle a knight's armor when finished with its prey; there are 3 little pigs asking the wolf to huff and puff into a sobriety test; and two gals discover their glove compartment is in fact a "love" compartment, complete with a man on a heart-shaped bed, glasses of wine, and a disco ball.

Hillburn's focus is on our humanity, our everyday speech, and the blunders we all make. His cartoons are also of topics that make us say, "Why didn't I think of that?"

For example, Popeye is being questioned about the green, leafy substance he is carrying around. Gary Coleman's to-do list is laughably cringe-worthy (star in a sitcom, make millions, lose millions, run for governor), and almost complete...now if he could just figure out what the heck Willis was talking about, he'd be done!, and the Energizer bunny has a dirty little secret in its closet. Can you guess what it would be? If not, get this book. It will surely keep you laughing and you won't regret the purchase.

I am keeping this on my coffee table, in plain sight, so whenever I need a laugh or a bit of pepping up, Hillburn's cartoons are sure to do the trick.