Customer Reviews

The Fun Never Stops!

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Fun may never stop, but, alas, this collection terminates after page 144 leaving the reader crying for more.

Whether Friedman loves or loathes humanity is irrelevant. He understands the power of schtick to be able cloud men's minds so that they actually believe that a child/man screeching, "Wanna buy a duck?" is a knee-slapping riot.

He also understands how to use a brush.

By the way, this book contains one of the greatest one-page comics of all time.

Get out your credit card.

Drew Friedman's distaste of humanity is equaled in intensity only by his loving devotion to the myriad design flaws of the packages that it arrives in.
Friedman has logged more honest man-hours toiling in the dermal pleats, gorges and buboes of the rich and famous than any Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon that ever lived.
His celebrity topographies should be a compulsory cultural vaccination for every American citizen within striking range of People magazine!

I guess I've been following Drew Friedman's work for about 25 years now. I think it just gets better.

Drew's pioneering use of his hand-made halftone technique was really amazing right from the get-go. Now that he's moved into other media and color (!), it's easy to see that there's an extremely talented artist at work here in addition to an innovative craftsman. Nobody draws better likenesses and Drew's are simulataneously accurate and satirical. Without the gross exaggeration you find in most caricature work, Drew captures the image of these famous and semi-famous people, and adds something indefinable to it. The result is an almost photographic portrait, a satirical comment and an outlandish cartoon all rolled into one.

The book begins with a long biography which I found fascinating. Even as a kid, Drew was extraordinary. (I won't spoil it for you.)

The artwork (and there's lots of it) is dazzling. The comic strips and illustrations are funny, poignant, silly, sad, disturbing, wonderful and puzzling, sometimes all in one piece.

If you're a fan of Drew's work this is a must-have. If you're new to Drew Friedman, this is a good introduction. Cheap at twice the price.

This writer is somewhat bemused by the review submitted by one called Gagoon.
In any overview of Mr. Friedman's work nothing less than pure compassion shines through in his portraits of has been B-Movie bit players, forgotten TV stars, et. al.
Even a casual perusal of this artist's masterpiece, "Old Jewish Comedians" will vefify this:
The look of sad desperation on old Bud Abbott's eyes, a forgotten Mousey Gardner wrapped in an electric blanket, reveal nothing less than an emphatic heart.
As Mr. Clowes points out in his insightful forward to this tome:
"How can you look at the box of Uncle Sam Cereal on Red the Bartender's
table and not feel a twinge?"
And so we question the mindset of "Gagoon" (if that IS his real name) and the nonsense he presents.
Sit back with this latest collection from Mr. Friedman and savor it like a fine meal.
He's a G'boy.

Friedman's artwork is always astonishing but the writing content has never been as strong as when his brother Josh was composing the words. Too bad they do not collaborate anymore. However, if you admire exceptionally crafted comic artwork, photo reference, and bizarre facial representations, D.F. is the master.

The comics in this collection are primarily of the more "streamlined" Drew Friedman art that mixes in brush washes with some pointilism but is not exactly the same hyper-dotted artwork from the earlier Screw and Raw years. It's definitely more commercial in terms of the subjects and style but still very enjoyable. I guess this is sort of what would have happened if Ed Wood got to make some mainstream movies. Here we have Drew Friedman "graduating" from Screw into the pages of mainstream newstand magazines.

What a great follow up to WARTS AND ALL and ANY SIMILARITIES TO PERSONS... Friedman is a lot of fun to look at and a lot of fun to marvel at his craftsmanship. I only wish there were less portriats and more of the comic work he's so good at, especially when his brother is writing it!