A not-so-classic yarn about a mysterious stranger in a small midwestern town
It’s a story line we know all too well: “A mysterious stranger comes to town.” Only the town is not really a town and the stranger is a gigantic cell-phone tower. The town is Birdseye Bristoe—a portmanteau name created from an interstate sign that points to two real towns—and it has only one real permanent resident, an old-timer known as Uncle. A confirmed bachelor and World War II veteran, he owns most of the real estate in town. His teenaged great-niece and -nephew visit occasionally, though the town doesn’t have much to offer apart from an adult superstore, a gas station, and a tackle shop.
Uncle reluctantly agrees to lease his land to a conglomerate of telecommunications carriers, and sets the somewhat random condition that the tower be built with a huge crossbar set horizontally into the mast, making it also the world’s largest cross. Birdseye Bristoe begins with the destruction of the cell tower and works backward to unravel the story of its fall.
This is the first full-length graphic novel from the acclaimed artist Dan Zettwoch, who is well known for his comic books and anthology work (in Kramers Ergot, Beasts II, and the Drawn & Quarterly Showcase). Zettwoch has a sharp eye for the iconography of small-town USA, and his stylized prose reveals the intermingling of a keen wit and a strong affection for his characters. Birdseye Bristoe brims with larger-than-life personalities, hilarious anecdotes, references to midwestern/mid-southern pop culture, and diagrams of the cell-tower/cross construction process.
| ||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
An engagingly loopy look at a small town coming up against technological change, Birdseye Bristoe (the title refers to the name of the town as well as that of its most prominent resident) is the long-awaited debut graphic novel from minicomics artist Zettwoch. A pair of teens arrives to spend the summer with their granduncle Birdseye just as the town has embarked on an ambitious but controversial project to erect a massive cell phone tower. As the summer unfolds, we learn about the town’s handful of business establishments (a bait shop, an adult superstore), its landmarks (the water tower, the Great Fallen Sign), and its eccentric residents, foremost among them the crusty Uncle Birdseye, a WWII vet who owns most of the town’s land. The ambling narrative is interspersed with Zettwoch’s signature mock-informative, Popular Mechanics–derived diagrams that reveal how to make a Red Cow milkshake or how to harvest nightcrawlers. Zettwoch’s low-tech graphic approach, utilizing ballpoint, colored pencils, and whiteout, is an ideal match for this fetchingly ramshackle slice of bygone Americana. --Gordon Flagg
Review
Praise for Dan Zettwoch:
“The biggest surprise of the last few years in mini-comics circles was Dan Zettwoch.” —Tom Spurgeon, Comics Reporter
“The biggest surprise of the last few years in mini-comics circles was Dan Zettwoch.” —Tom Spurgeon, Comics Reporter
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Pope Mel
Format:Hardcover
Here's the delightful tale of Krystal and her cousin Clint, and the magical summer they spend with their uncle, Birdseye Bristoe, a somewhat cantankerous old soul and part-time crackpot inventor. (He's a whiz with bungee cords and 3-liter soda bottles!) They arrive just in time for all the hubbub surrounding the building of the world's tallest structure - a massive cellphone tower. Soon the town is besieged by trucks carrying giant girders, parts for a crane, and humongous nuts and bolts.
All the drama and excitement unfold through the eyes of the youngsters, with Birdseye serving as a guide and chief "explainer". They learn the proper way to harvest nightcrawlers, and all about the legend of Forky, a giant pike fish rumored to hold a missing school bus in her stomach. Krystal gets to interview semi driver, Carlene Clay, (*Note to self: never ask a lady trucker if she's a "lot lizard"...) and Sonja the tower crane operator who once dreamed of being the first lady-of-color astronaut.
Poor teenager Clint never does get a look inside Moby Dick's XXX Adult Super Store where Birdseye goes to buy...microwave burritos. (No, that's not a euphemism.)
I really loved the two-page drawing of Bristoe and company roaming all over a giant billboard that has fallen over and now lies flat on the ground. The torn remnants of ads through the years reveal a colorful history of the town.
There's also a recipe for Uncle Birdseye's World Famous Red Cow Shake, and a fold-out poster of the cell tower.
This one came from the library, but I have got to get my own copy, as it is loads of fun and so crammed with goodies, repeated viewings promise to reveal even more treasures. It's pretty doggone nifty!
All the drama and excitement unfold through the eyes of the youngsters, with Birdseye serving as a guide and chief "explainer". They learn the proper way to harvest nightcrawlers, and all about the legend of Forky, a giant pike fish rumored to hold a missing school bus in her stomach. Krystal gets to interview semi driver, Carlene Clay, (*Note to self: never ask a lady trucker if she's a "lot lizard"...) and Sonja the tower crane operator who once dreamed of being the first lady-of-color astronaut.
Poor teenager Clint never does get a look inside Moby Dick's XXX Adult Super Store where Birdseye goes to buy...microwave burritos. (No, that's not a euphemism.)
I really loved the two-page drawing of Bristoe and company roaming all over a giant billboard that has fallen over and now lies flat on the ground. The torn remnants of ads through the years reveal a colorful history of the town.
There's also a recipe for Uncle Birdseye's World Famous Red Cow Shake, and a fold-out poster of the cell tower.
This one came from the library, but I have got to get my own copy, as it is loads of fun and so crammed with goodies, repeated viewings promise to reveal even more treasures. It's pretty doggone nifty!
By Bitsey
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is truly amazing and the author very creative. Fun to read! I bought several books to give as gifts for my family and friends.
Format:Hardcover
I love graphic novels, but this one is exceptionally beautiful! The artwork is really colorful, the drawings are intricately-detailed and the story is really fun to read.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
