The Huge Book of Hell [Paperback]

Matt Groening (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997

Another jam-packed jelly-rolled jeremiad of quirky and quixotic conundrums, caustic cant, and comforting clutter -- all catchy, quippish, and cholesterol-free -- culled from that disturbingly widespread cartoon strip "Life in Hell" by none other than Satan's servant himself, Matt Groening!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Matt Groening said that the measure of successful social criticism is "if you can delight half your audience and really annoy the hell out of the other half." Groening's tenth Life in Hell book, The Huge Book of Hell, works in much this way. Having evolved from a cynical, bitter outlook on life, Life in Hell now offers what is most likely the sharpest, most subversive social criticism available in comic strips. (Only Groening seems to be able to write things like "I have a constant craving for Jack Daniels" or "I'm going to tell God to stab you.") And, as such, it sometimes hits, it sometimes misses. What remains consistent is the quality of the insight, whether it be on the creative process, life's little burdens, family life, or the trials of love.

Review

"America's sharpest cartoon strip" Observer "Hilarious, wise and subversive" Newsday "No other cartoonist these days is more fatalistic -- or funnier" Booklist "The jokes hit too close to home" LA Times "Groening's wit is double-edged, cutting ferociously from hilarity to painful, recognizable truth" Saturday Review "Funniest, most sneakily radical strip in the country" Village Voice --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140263101
• ISBN-13: 978-0140263107
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 10.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #305,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matt Groening, creator and executive producer of Fox's Emmy Award®-winning series The Simpsons, made television history by bringing animation back to primetime and creating an immortal nuclear family. The Simpsons is the longest running primetime animated series in television history and is currently the longest-running comedy on television, having aired more than 400 episodes. In July 2007, the highly anticipated feature film The Simpsons Movie opened in theaters with worldwide grosses of more than $525 million to date.

Originally brought to life in 1987 for The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons was Groening's amazing entry into the television animation world. Previously, he was best-known for his "Life in Hell" cartoon strip, an irreverent portrayal of love, work, school, life and relationships that currently appears in more than 250 newspapers worldwide and in a multitude of books.

Groening's other Emmy-Award®-winning creation, Futurama, launched on Fox in March 1999 and ran for five seasons. Last year Fox released the direct-to-DVD full-length original feature Futurama: Bender's Big Score. Three additional films will be released and the entire series with new episodes will air on Comedy Central this year.

In 1993, Groening formed Bongo Comics Group, where he serves as publisher of The Simpsons Library of Wisdom, Simpsons Episode Guides, Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson Comics, Radioactive Man Comics, Simpsons Comics Treasure Trove, the annual Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror, Futurama Comics, more than 36 comic compilations, as well as instant classics including Bart Simpsons Guide to Life, The Simpsons Handbook, and The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album among others!

In addition to the many awards bestowed on his creations (including Emmys, Annies, and the prestigious Peabody Award), Groening was personally honored with the Rueben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, the highest honor presented by the National Cartoonist Society. To date there are more than 14 million copies of books from HarperCollins in print throughout North America, the UK, and Australia based on The Simpsons, Futurama, and Life in Hell.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars groening. great. goobers., October 18, 1997

By 

Scott A. Butki "http://www.fotolog.com/butki13" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Huge Book of Hell (Paperback)

Before there was "The Simpsons," there was "Life in Hell," a dark comic strip drawn by Matt Groening. As Groening has become famous for the great television series he created, he has continued drawing this weird but hilarious strip. There are several "Life in Hell" books with names like "School is Hell" and "Childhood is Hell." I recommend reading "Work is Hell" when you are frustrated with your job and checking out "Love Is Hell" when love just ain't coming your way and you want to feel better about that. The books are much darker and more philosophical than "The Simpsons." The drawings are raw and crude. The humor can be quite self- deprecating. For example, Groening draws most of his characters as bunnies only to have some characters ask if they are drawn that way because of the cartoonist's artistic limitations. But the writing more than makes up for the weak drawing. His new book, "The Huge Book of Hell," for example, has suggested magazine covers: "'Annoying Performance Artist magazine', not to be confused with Annoying Street Lunatic magazine." The imaginary publication features such articles as "The gentle art of scab-pulling and "Is it OK to yell 'I'm on fire' in a crowded theater?" Gross? Sure. Silly? Well, sometimes. High-brow? Maybe. And there is even a special book within the book. Yes, just like Oprah's book discussion group, Groening provides "A reading group guide to 'The Huge Book of Hell.'" The guide includes such discussion questions as: "How would you characterize the cartoonist's own attitude towards society? Does it change as the book progresses? Will it ever? Why does the cartoonist refuse to change? Have you read any of his other books? Is it any better there? What the hell is wrong with this guy?" My favorite cartoon panel in the book -- perhaps because it hits close to home -- shows a young character lying awake at night asking questions. "Do animal crackers feel pain when you bite their heads off? Why do flies land on dog manure? Don't they know it's dog manure?" and "How can anyone eat something called rump roast? and "Is it possible to have so many questions flying around inside your brain that you can never go to sleep and eventually go insane?" The final, inevitable panel shows him finally sleeping. Groening is great, no matter what the medium.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Funny, May 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Huge Book of Hell (Paperback)

Matt Groening, the creator of one my favorite shows the simpsons, draws a little cartoon called Life In Hell. A strip that goes through lifes little moments like, Sex, Love, School, Hate, Death, Religion and Rabbits, whose conclusion is that we are all ... If you enjoy the simpsons at all, you will love this comic strip. Just open it up and start laughing I gaurentee that this will be funnier than Garfield or Charlie Brown could ever be.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For God's sake, buy it., July 11, 2001

By 

Daniel F Aylward (Cincinnati, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Huge Book of Hell (Paperback)

Matt Groening, both in his Life In Hell series and the Simpsons TV show, has shown a keen eye for social satire. I constantly find elements of my own personality in his work. This book will keep you laughing cover-to-cover. Will and Abe's sibling rivalry is just hilarious. Akbar and Jef's relationship (romance?) reminds you that yours is not too bad. Binky and Bongo are constantly submitted to humiliation in a way that many of us can relate to. For some of us, Life In Hell is the story of our lives.