Customer Reviews

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

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3 star:		(1)
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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.

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!

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.

This is a great comic strip -- fun, easy to relate to. I really enjoyed the collection.