Customer Reviews

Hysteria in Remission

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

 

 

Robert Williams' comix are amazing. Very violent & vulgar, but amazingly executed. I prefer his black & white comic work over his oil paintings any day. Unforntunately his comic output is pretty small. Nonetheless the several comics presented here are amazing. Extremely detailed and bizarre and they ooze with a feeling of being high.
My personal favorite tale is "Mentor in the Mentor Jar". Insane ideas such as 'Gorilla Women of the Third Reich', Atrillo Trilobite and the fate of 'Mr. Baldpubis' puts Robt. Williams in a class all of his own.
Years ago I went and bought all the individual ZAP comics when i learned Mr. Williams did comic work. These issues are great for you can see the work of the other underground greats, but Hysteria in Remission presents Williams' work in a lovely LARGE format (even at the size, the detail boogles my grey matter) and on beautiful glossy paper rather than fading pulpy newsprint grade paper.
Get this book for the insane-ness, the fantastic execution in india ink and completeness of Williams' comic work (early days all the way up to model sheets for an animated series, Jack Clum, Dream interpreter done in 2001.
a great piece of work from Fantagraphics - THANK YOU.
Now i need to save up some cash to purchase MALICIOUS RESPLENDENCE....

This book has everything. The perfect, comprehensive companion to Fantagraphics' 1998 collection, MALICIOUS RESPLENDENCE. MALICIOUS has all of the paintings, while HYSTERIA has all of the comix and illustration. It is astounding how provocative and powerful this work is, and that so much of it has been allowed to slip out of print over the last 25 years despite Williams's extraordinary success in the fine art world. His comics bulge (as Jim Woodring says, "often literally") with greater imagination than even his paintings, what is amazing is how few people are doing comics like this anymore. There may have never been a better pure draughtsman in comics, his work rivals Crumb and even classic strip artists like Hal Foster or illustrators like Howard Pyle, but what truly sets Williams apart is the sheer visceral force of his imagery. If anything lives up to the old cliche of, "This will blow your mind," it's HYSTERIA IN REMISSION.

Robert Williams is one of the few bright lights in today's art world. Combining a staggering imagination with a powerful illustrative style, his works provoke and antagonize the viewer like no others, and demand scrutiny.

This book shows the evolution of this mad genius by taking us through all of his cartoons, comics, and illustrations, (no paintings) from his first commercial drawings to recent times. It is very interesting to see these after becoming familiar with his oil paintings. The quality of the various items within varies widely, from very crude, to masterly.

Some of his comics are extremely smuttty and raw, much more than most of his paintings even. But if you have a sick sense of humor, you'll appreciate them. If you're not familiar with his work, I'd recommend "Views From a Tortured Libido" or "Malicious Resplendence" as your first Robert Williams book.

If you like (or are a fan of) Robert Williams, or under ground comics, this is an amazing book. Buy it!