Chuckling Whatsit [Paperback]

Richard Sala (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2003

A genre-defining masterpiece of graphic noir comes back into print.

In The Chuckling Whatsit, Sala weaves the gothic cartooning traditions of Edward Gorey and Charles Addams with a densely constructed, melodramatic murder mystery involving astrology, ghouls, academia and outsider art. Part noir, part horror and part comedy, this labyrinthian tale of intrigue follows an unemployed writer named Broom who becomes unwittingly ensnared in a complex plot involving mysterious outsider artist Emile Jarnac, the shadowy machinations of the Ghoul Appreciation Society Headquarters (GASH), and the enigmatic Mr. Ixnay. Sala's deadpan delivery makes this ingeniously layered narrative a roller-coaster ride of darkly pure comic suspense.

Sala's drawing style, while most often compared to Edward Gorey, also reveals the influence of everything from Hollywood monster movies and Dick Tracy to German expressionism and Grimm's fairy tales. It's a style that's perfectly suited to the narrative, constantly flirting with Sala's fascination for the grotesque and lending palpable tension to the gruesome riddle of The Chuckling Whatsit.

Sala's eclectic career includes contributions to Art Spiegelman's RAW magazine, MTV's Liquid Television, The New York Times, Playboy and his ongoing Evil Eye comic book series from Fantagraphics, though The Chuckling Whatsit remains his most popular work.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Broom, hack writer turned detective by necessity, is having a heck of a time figuring out why astrology columnists are turning up dead, seemingly at the hand of the Gull Street Ghoul, a killer from the city's past. The solution to the crimes involves a strange organization named G.A.S.H., a shadowy masked man named Mister Ixnay, and tiny outsider-art dolls called "whatsits." Your Flesh magazine says that The Chuckling Whatsit "smacks of the sweet aroma of a venus flytrap. This is film noir in comics form: dark stormy nights, twisted cities, long shadows, a knife in the back, all seen through a fish-eye lens of madness." Richard Sala weaves a mystery that turns and twists and leaves you guessing, wanting more.

From Publishers Weekly

Pulp fiction lives (or at least lurches about entertainingly) in this lurid melodrama that features a swarm of characters in manic pursuit of the eponymous Whatsit, a leather doll that laughs when shaken and may be made from flayed human skin. Unlike The Maltese Falcon, there's no smart, unsentimental Sam Spade on hand to sort things out. Instead, intrepid but rather dense reporter Broom wanders through a tangled plot, bumping repeatedly into assassins, femme fatales, dangerous servants, obsessed doll collectors and a lunatic, leather-masked serial killer. Even though almost everyone dies along the way, the mystery persists through the final bloodbath. The considerable fun is in watching the action slosh further and further over the top. Sala's black and white art is appropriately grotesque, looking like a comics version of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: buildings tilt ominously around misshapen characters whose noses point in multiple directions and whose feet only sometimes touch the ground. The wildly imaginative storytelling and sly pastiche of lurid pulp material make an appealing mix.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (November 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560972815
• ISBN-13: 978-1560972815
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Fantagraphics

More About the Author

Richard Sala grew up with a fascination for musty old museums, dusty old libraries, cluttered antique shops, narrow alleyways, hidden truths, double meanings, sinister secrets and spooky old houses. He has written and drawn a number of unusual graphic novels which often combine elements of classic mystery and horror stories and which have been known to cause readers to emit chuckles as well as gasps. Although most of his books are written with teens and older readers in mind, his most recent book, CAT BURGLAR BLACK, can be enjoyed by younger readers as well. He has also collaborated with Lemony Snicket and Art Spiegelman, and his illustrations and artwork have won awards and been published all over the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely amazing, March 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Chuckling Whatsit (Paperback)

This graphic novel is fantastic, Richard Sala is one of our greatest storytellers and artists. Both talents combine in this noir mystery. I would highly recommend this book to any comic fan, especially those interested in "underground" comics, like the ones published by fantagraphics.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood: Why haven't you discovered Richard Sala?, May 28, 2002

By 

Edna Wilson (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chuckling Whatsit (Paperback)

Richard Sala is Hollywood's next hot property--or he should be--he just hasn't been discovered yet!

With the narrative scope and the visual sophistication of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, "The Chuckling Whatsit", is practically camera ready. With its eerie mystery, unexpected plot twists, wry humor and bizarre and arcane psychological landscapes "The Chuckling Whatsit" is a tour de force. What Tim Burton is to the feature length cartoon, and David Lynch is to the feature length film, so is Richard Sala to the graphic novel.

I wouldn't mind keeping Richard Sala a secret. After all, don't we feel all the more special when our heroes belong to us fans alone? Nonetheless, it's time for the world to discover the STRANGE and GRIPPING world of Richard Sala!

3.0 out of 5 stars Laughter in the dark, March 11, 2011

By 

Sam Quixote - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chuckling Whatsit (Paperback)

Years after a series of gruesome murders happened, the murderer seems to have resurfaced and begun killing again - this time, his target is inexplicably astrologers. Meanwhile, creepy dolls made of human skin appear, a mysterious masked assassin prowls the shadows, a secret society of murder appreciators aren't who they seem, and an avant garde artiste who hung himself holds the key to the killings down in the bowels of an old abandoned windmill...

Chilling stuff no? Richard Sala does a brilliant job of bringing together many gothic elements so memorably into a mystery story. Sala's noir drawings are excellent and it's this that make the comic book stand out from others in the indie comics world. I found the mystery story well written but, as sometimes happens when you try to outfox the reader, a bit convoluted. I appreciate that it's hard to keep the tension up in stories like this but the trouble is that it can sometimes all be explained in a rushed, overly verbose manner in the end, which happens here.

I enjoyed "The Chuckling Whatsit", and Sala is definitely carving out a style of his own while paying homage to a number of artists and works, and in this sense he ought to be celebrated for being an original. But as a standalone comic book? Not perfect, but an interesting enough read.