A Complete Lowlife [Paperback]

Ed Brubaker (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

Witty and poignant, this collection of semi-autobiographical tales focuses on love, despair, lost friendships, and the murky morality of stealing from work. Known for being one of the funniest series ever published in comics form, Lowlife dissects the Slacker / Generation X lifestyle from the inside out, bringing a great amount of humanity to the process along the way.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Top Shelf Productions (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891830201
• ISBN-13: 978-1891830204
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,171,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hey!! Who's throwing Coke!??!?!?!, November 19, 2001

By 

Daniel V. Reilly (Upstate New York, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Complete Lowlife (Paperback)

I was expecting another slice-of-life Autobiographical comic mixing the mundane with the humorous. The opening story delivers that, and I was laughing myself sick.....then the REAL story began....

A Complete Lowlife is author Ed Brubaker's true story of petty crime, drug addiction, murder and redemption. The book gets darker and darker with each story, and there were parts that just broke my heart.Since this is a true story, things don't get wrapped up neatly; the main character doesn't always know the right thing to say, or when to say it. He doesn't always do the right thing.

Like you and me.

Anyone who hasn't always been proud of things they've done or said will be able to identify. Brubaker is now a successful comic book writer, currently doing a wonderful job on DC's Batman. All the more impressive considering what he's been through. There's just no way you won't be touched in some way by this book. Give it a try.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a slice of life with worms, July 31, 2003

By 

Daitokuji31 (Black Glass) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Complete Lowlife (Paperback)

This is an autobiographical comic by Ed Brubaker who writes for such comics as Batman and the revamped catwoman. After reading Alex Robinson's comic Box Office Poison I wanted to read other comics that were in the slice of life vein. This book was recommended to me. I did not know until after purchasing it that it was an autobiographical comic which game the book an added punch. It was an extraordinary but sad read. The characters are both likeable and dislikeable at the same time, and because they are based on actual people the realism is top notch. so it back for a ride in booze, drugs, bad sex, and used book stores.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brubaker spins a familiar tale, July 26, 2001

By 

drqshadow (Bradenton, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Complete Lowlife (Paperback)

Quite a sad little self-examination piece that got me thinking as well.

Some of the situations in that book were like another world to me... I've never been into the drug scene, and there's a lot of that in there. I think it's an interesting subculture, which leads to my fascination with films like <I>Pulp Fiction</i> or <I>Trainspotting</i>, but it's nothing I'd ever get involved with in my wildest dreams.

But then, despite so much of the book centering on the author's old drug habits, there was a lot of coverage on his romantic problems / troubles, which is a world that I consider all too familiar. It's pretty funny... I've only ever had three steady girlfriends in my life, a couple strong mutual attractions that never added up to much, and a couple dates out of left field to round things out a bit. I'm far from a professor on the subject, but whenever I read or see something that deals with hearbreak, I instantly sympathize with the author.

The art's perfectly fitting to the mood of this story, and as a couple others have pointed out, it really progresses over time. An emotionally charged story, with more than a couple situations I'm sure you'll recognize if you've finished growing up. Proof that even the nicest kids can turn to crap in the right environment.