Edge City: A Comic Strip Collection by Terry and Patty LaBan [Paperback]

Terry LaBan (Author), Patty LaBan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007

Terry and Patty LaBan are the husband-and-wife team behind Edge City—a smart, insightful cartoon chronicling the mile-a-minute lives of the Ardin family. With two kids, two careers, two cats, and several computers, the Ardin family epitomizes our decentralized, high-tech world where everything is literally a click away—everything but the time to enjoy a peaceful moment.

The first book collection of Edge City introduces readers to husband, father, weekend rocker, and busy courier service owner Len and his constantly self-improving wife Abby, whose titles include professional therapist, mom to children Colin and Carly, and daughter to active older adults Morris and Edna. Edge City is nationally syndicated to papers ranging from the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Houston Chronicle.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Husband and wife team, Terry and Patty LaBan collaborate on Edge City the first comic to feature a Jewish-American family. Terry illustrates the strip and shares character and plot development equally with Patty, a licensed social worker and family therapist. The LaBans live in Philadelphia, PA.

About the Author

Terry and Patty LaBan are the husband-and-wife team behind Edge City—a smart, insightful cartoon chronicling the mile-a-minute lives of the Jewish-American Ardin family. With two kids, two careers, two cats, and several computers, the Ardin family epitomizes our decentralized, high-tech world where everything is literally a click away—everything but the time to enjoy a peaceful moment.

The first book collection of Edge City introduces readers to husband, father, weekend rocker, and busy courier service owner Len and his constantly self-improving wife Abby, whose titles include professional therapist, mom to children Colin and Carly, and daughter to active older adults Morris and Edna. Edge City is nationally syndicated to papers ranging from the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Houston Chronicle.

Terry and Patty LaBan collaborate on Edge City. Terry illustrates the strip and shares character and plot development equally with Patty, a licensed social worker and family therapist. The LaBans live in Philadelphia, Penn.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740763563
• ISBN-13: 978-0740763564
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,456,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars light humor, April 13, 2009

By 

TBo (Chicago) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Edge City: A Comic Strip Collection by Terry and Patty LaBan (Paperback)

For fans of Terry's earlier work, this will not seem edgy or urban. The urgency and angst of his earlier comics is absent.
However, for newcomers to his work, especially parents who are well off, this may be for you. The tone of the book is very similar to the Sunday papers funnies section....not very gritty, and no risks taken.

5.0 out of 5 stars "Edge City" is Cutting Edge, May 31, 2008

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Edge City: A Comic Strip Collection by Terry and Patty LaBan (Paperback)

This delightful strip is about a Jewish family living in the Philadelphia area. Len, the husband/father is self employed and has a partner who is from India. Abby, Len's wife is a therapist and their two children, Colin and Carly are of indeterminate early grade age.

Len, whose mother is a hippie who rallies round causes and makes brisket the entire clan demands every Jewish holiday adds to the fun. The eclectic characters and topical issues tinged with just the right amount of edgy humor make this a brilliant, cutting edge strip. Abby's parents are an interparty union, one a democrat and the other a republican. Let's just say that political discussions between the two can get to be a bit....incendiary.

Len, like his hippie mother has a cool side. He plays bass in a band called, aptly enough "Midlife Crisis" and he wails about the current state of rock music. He does not win friends when he bashes the Beatles -even his bandmates understandably take umbrage in that. Still, funny hijinks ensue, such as when Led Balloon, a Led Zeppelin cover band agree to take Len on until he ruins a gig by jamming instead of playing "the songs people love and paid to hear," as his irate bandmate tells him.

There are some excellent plot lines and the diversity of characters leave no short supply of interest and entertainment. One of my favorite strips appeared in newspapers on 5/26/06 when Len tries to comfort Carly by telling her he thinks she is "the most beautiful little girl in the world." Carly rolls her eyes and says, "Well, duh! You ARE my dad," to which Len replies, "Even so, that doesn't mean my opinion is totally invalid." That is so common - in trying to cheer one's child with such hyperbolic praise, it is only natural for the child (of any age) to respond in a manner not too different from Carly's.

"Edge City" is good, cutting edge humor in high caliber form. I love this collection!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Juppie family fun, September 14, 2007

By 

R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Edge City: A Comic Strip Collection by Terry and Patty LaBan (Paperback)

Jewish urban professionals - a modern family in a modern city, with typical modern problems: the perils of being self-employed, raising kids these days, bemoaning what's happened to rock-n-roll.

Abby is a psychotherapist, sharing an office with several eccentrics. Len and his business partner Rajiv, who is Indian-American (and still single, horrors!), run a delivery business. Carly and Colin go to school, play sports, and want more electronic gadgets. There are lots of contemporary comic strips about families; the twists in this one compared to, say, "Zits" or "Rose is Rose" or "For Better or Worse," include (among other things) the occupations, the family being specifically Jewish, and Len's hobby of playing in a garage band. These elements allow for jokes that other strips don't have.

Some of the plot lines in this collection include: the family's internet connection being down; the giant fuss over who in the extended family does the Passover Seder; Len's purchase of a taxidermy woodchuck playing the banjo; and a Led Zeppelin tribute band.