Grickle [Paperback]

Graham Annable (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2001

Grickle collects two dozen beautiful stories in which devilish comedy and eye-watering art enclose a rich, chocolatey center of sad poetry and bruised but intact innocence. A man is carried safely through the ugly harshness of the world by his own Polaroid-enabled brand of narcissism. The sadistic make-believe of two little boys is no match for the laid-back cruelty of their grandfather. Two buddies go on an ice fishing trip. One finds enlightenment, but the other catches a whole hell of a lot of fish. A factory drone discovers his creative side with the help of the toilet. Vehicular manslaughter turns to be pretty okay as long as there aren't any witnesses. Sound interesting? Wait till you see them come to life in vivid black-and-white! Grickle is a hefty treasure trove of visually arresting, hilarious, wise, and emotionally rereadable cartoon stories. Annable has been creating these stories for his own satisfaction concurrent with his commercial animation work, and it shows in their intimate, conversational tone and wholly personal outlook. The skills honed at his day job are just as evident in the deft, fluid way he puts his stylish figures through their paces - it's like listening to the eloquent solo improvisations of a jazz musician who has sharpened his chops playing every night in the band. Even several panels of an Annable character just sitting still at a table practically glitter with life and cartoon joy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Grickle is breath of fresh air. Grickle always offers a poignant message beneath the deceptively simple artwork." -- animation legend Colin Brady, currently Animation Director for George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic

Graham Annable's work is best described as comic book poetry — lean, edgy, powerful, and effective on multiple levels -- Comic Shop News, April 2001

Sometimes strange, sometimes gross, Grickle always offers a poignant message beneath the deceptively simple artwork -- Colin Brady - ILM, April 2001

Sometimes strange, sometimes gross, Grickle always offers a poignant message beneath the deceptively simple artwork -- Colin Brady - ILM

This book is amazing Annable has a disarmingly simple style that he uses to tell stories of great emotional heft -- Rob Vollmar - Comic Book Galaxy

From the Publisher

Grickle was nominated for the YALSA 2002 Best Graphic Novel for Young Adults.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Alternative Comics (April 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891867016
• ISBN-13: 978-1891867019
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,767,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grickle Kicked My !@#, August 14, 2001

By 

Al Benedict (Petaluma, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grickle (Paperback)

There's this knock on the door, so I go and answer it, all right? And there's this copy of Grickle standing on the mat looking really pissed off. It doesn't even say "Hello" or "Hey you!" or nothing. It just jumps on my chest and starts wailing on me. Bam! Bam! Bam! And so I'm, like, "what the f*ck?" I try to tear it off of me, but I just get a bunch of paper cuts all over my hands. Paper won't tear. Too tough. Next thing you know, I'm on the floor crawling around trying to get out my lighter, but it sees me reaching for my pocket and it kicks it away. I gotta tell you, I was scared. Anyway, just when I thought that was it, lights out for old Alphonse, the book sees the copy of Grickle I got last month ago off of Bruno. It hops off of me and kind of grunts an apology. I could tell it was all embarassed and sh*t. Then it just takes off. Never seen anything like it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grickle is Da Bomb, July 28, 2001

By 

Richard M. Fife (Richmond, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grickle (Paperback)

It's got range, it's got scope, it's got depth, it's got grasp, it's got cute fuzzy aliens, it's got charming homicidal ghouls, it's got pathos, it's got instant photography, it's got a fish.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GRICKLE-TASTIC!, May 17, 2001

By 

Chalkie "connoisseur" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grickle (Paperback)

This book is great! A poignant slice of life beautifully illustrated in such a way to prevent you from wanting to turn to the next page lest the book should come to an undesirable end. And it's pretty funny too! Graham Annable comes up with poignant stories and characters that imbed themselves in your psyche so deep and hit so close to home you'll ask yourself, "Graham Annable, you magnificant bastard! What divine fate has brought you into my realm of existence and consciousness that you seem to tear into my very soul and extrude the heartache, joy and wonder that only a sentinant being such as I can experience!?!" Did I mention it's poignant? Anyone who enjoys feeling emotion and whimsically snickering at the enchanting foibles of this bizarre creature we call "Man" should pick up a copy of this book. It sparks the imagination with the velveteen touch of a dandy-fop! IT'S SO DAMN POIGNANT!!!