When you stay in one job for a quarter century, it helps to have good reasons for doing so. Here are a few: Heloise, Arianna Huffington, Gary Larson ("The Far Side"), Lynn Johnston ("For Better or For Worse"), Mort Walker ("Beetle Bailey"), Abigail Van Buren ("Dear Abby"), Ann Landers, Hillary Clinton, Walter Cronkite, Martha Stewart, Coretta Scott King, Herblock, Charles Schulz ("Peanuts"), Stan Lee ("Spider-Man"), Garry Trudeau ("Doonesbury"), and Bill Watterson ("Calvin and Hobbes"). The part-humorous Comic (and Column) Confessional chronicles Astor's twenty-five years as newspaper-syndication reporter for Editor & Publisher magazine with candor - and anecdotes about famous people such as those named above. The important period in media history covered shows how the digital revolution, media mergers, and the shrinking newspaper business changed journalism forever.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
For Calvin & Hobbes, Far Side, Peanuts, Doonesbury, etc., lovers...
August 28, 2012
By C. Smith
and every comic strip you can think of - this book is an engrossing account of what it was like to have a job writing about and interacting with many of their creators as well as syndicated advice and political columnists. The unassuming author begins as a shy young man uncertain of his ability to succeed in a field full of so many household names; but his dedication and professionalism made him an indispensable colleague to them.
As someone who from childhood until early farsightedness-hood (coincidentally, about the same time that corporatization did to comic strips what it does to everything) did not consider my day complete unless I had read all my favorites, I oddly never gave a thought to the gifted people behind them, and I was not disappointed. Reading it was like taking a trip down memory lane. The author's gripping personal story with its profoundly life-altering events was interwoven within his reflections on and memories of some truly iconic, iconoclastic and kind people, having an affect far beyond the syndicated comics/columnists world.
Anyone who has ever followed a comic strip or read Dear Abby should enjoy this book. Once I started reading it, I found it hard to put down.
As someone who from childhood until early farsightedness-hood (coincidentally, about the same time that corporatization did to comic strips what it does to everything) did not consider my day complete unless I had read all my favorites, I oddly never gave a thought to the gifted people behind them, and I was not disappointed. Reading it was like taking a trip down memory lane. The author's gripping personal story with its profoundly life-altering events was interwoven within his reflections on and memories of some truly iconic, iconoclastic and kind people, having an affect far beyond the syndicated comics/columnists world.
Anyone who has ever followed a comic strip or read Dear Abby should enjoy this book. Once I started reading it, I found it hard to put down.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Karyl Miller
I loved this book! If you love Dear Abby, and the funnies and are interested in the inside scoop on them and the near-demise of the newspaper business, it's a must-read. But I especially loved the author's personal story, of his first-born daughter's death, of his crumbling marriage and of his ultimately finding lasting love.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Dave Astor is a natural storyteller that brings us into the inner world of the Syndication and Comic industries. It was a delight to find out more about the creators of my childhood's Snoopy and teen years' Doonsbury. Astor's engaging style weaves his personal and professional life into an engrossing tale.
He is a writer's writer - a must-read.
Laura Shabott - Columnist "Notes from Lands End"
He is a writer's writer - a must-read.
Laura Shabott - Columnist "Notes from Lands End"
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dear Abby For Better or for Worse and Bloom County
You can't go wrong with a book about comics finding yourself and the craft of good story telling. The author knows how to pull a person in and listen to what he has to say. Read more
Published 1 month ago by simple sellers
5.0 out of 5 stars
WRITING? READ THIS BOOK!
The journalism business is ever-changing, but Dave's message to writers is timeless: aspire, persevere, and love what you do and those you're with. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bubbles' Mom
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book Gives Great Insight Into Syndicates, Writers and Cartoonists and...
This book gives great insight into the developing career Dave had at Editor & Publisher and how he forged professional business relationships with editors, syndicate people and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dan Rosandich
5.0 out of 5 stars
Instructive and Entertaining
This is a fun memoir, despite some deeply painful episodes. Filled with Dave Astor's personal and professional experiences over 25 years as a reporter at Editor & Publisher... Read more
Published 5 months ago by K. Wald
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laughs, tears and everything in between
"Comic (and Column) Confessional" is now one of my favorite books. Dave Astor has deftly pulled off the high-wire act of combining his professional and personal lives in a... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jerry Z
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful and engaging read personally and professionally
I was fortunate to work with Dave for over 9 years at Editor & Publisher. Although I was on the advertising side, I got to know Dave as a dedicated, forth-right, well respected... Read more
Published 6 months ago by MBM, Long Island, NY
5.0 out of 5 stars
Newspaper History and a Poignant Memoir
Wow. I couldn't put this book down. I learned so much about the evolution and (de-volution) of the newspaper industry as it pertains to cartoonists, columnists, and reporters. Read more
Published 7 months ago by S. Standring
5.0 out of 5 stars
Taking the Punches as Well as the Pleasures
I could tell Dave Astor was a Gemini even before I read it in "Comic (and Column) Confessional." Why? Read more
Published 7 months ago by maggie
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