Customer Reviews

The Pretty Good Jim's Journal Treasury: The Definitive Collection of Every Published Cartoon (Definitive Collections)

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If you haven't heard of Jim's journal and you ended up here because as a fan of the Onion you wanted to see what Scott Dikkers once did, then you're in for a pleasant (or unpleasant time) people are completely polarized by Jim - either you love the strip or you hate it. I love Jim. Don't bother buying any of the single collections when you can own the whole Jim Treasury. Also included in this book (and missing from the other stand alone books i.e. I got married, I made some brownies) is an introduction for each of these books in the collection. Plus you get various insight into the characters and strip from Dikkers in some revealing passages that are both laugh out loud funny and kind of sad. If you are a fan of meta comedy - i.e. comedy that is funny because it is done in such a blank fashion that its hard not to laugh - if only for the absurdity of the whole thing - then this book is for you. If the idea of a comic strip where the punchline for a strip is "when I woke up from my nap I was even more tired than I was before" leaves you scratching your head - then you should probably buy some Marmaduke or Garfield. Maybe a collection of Hagar the Horrible would be best. On the other hand, if you like things that don't always make sense - buy this book. You'll love it.

It's lovely to see all 5 Jim's Journal collections in a single volume. J.J. is a cumulative experience -- you can't appreciate the strips unless you read a bunch of them in succession. After a few dozen strips or so, you begin to gradually succumb, until you're hopelessly addicted to the strangely hypnotic flow of Jim's uneventful life. Dikkers makes some interesting comments about how he sees his work ("anti-comedy" in the tradition of Andy Kaufman), and while his revelations aren't astounding, they do add value for people who already own some of the other J.J. collections. Soothing and worthwhile.

Even though "Jim's Journal" is written by Scott Dikkers, editor-in-chief of "The Onion," it has none of the nasty wit of that publication. There's nothing nasty about Jim at all, and some would argue that there's no wit involved, either. It's a bunch of comic strips that, as often as not, don't contain any sort of punchline, but just read like snippets from the journal of one person's uneventful life. That might sound boring, but it's strangely engrossing and comforting to read. Jim's a nice guy who coasts through life seemingly oblivious to the world around him, and getting into his head through "Jim's Journal" is an excellent escape from reality. Words can't do it justice- you have to read it.

Who is Jim? For ten years, readers of selected daily newspapers wondered that same thing. Even more, though, they wondered, "Why is Jim?"

"Jim's Journal" was a ten-year-running comic strip which revolved around some average guy living an average life. He had average friends, worked average jobs, and did pretty much less than you or I do on your slowest day. Only, Jim kept a journal, where he would write all about what he did.

"I made some brownies today," he would write. "They were pretty good."

"Mr. Peterson [Jim's cat] ran into the other room," would be another typical entry.

"Today, I took a nap. I woke up at 6 o'clock and wondered whether it was day or night."

And those were the punchlines. There were no jokes to speak of. Only snippets of a boring day. However, there was something redeemable about Jim... He was the pinnacle of Anti-Humor! He wasn't funny, he did nothing remarkable from day to day (although he did get married, in a three-strip special entry)... and yet, this collected edition of all the published "Jim's Journal" cartoons is tremendously difficult to find without paying a premium price, even though it is less than 10 years old!

Readers fall in love with Jim, despite himself.

I find this comic strip absolutely hilarious, as well as charming, poignant, life-like, and sometimes a little melancholy. College students will relate to many of Jim's mundane life experiences, but so will many others simply growing up and living day to day. Jim himself is definitely an observant little fellow, who quietly finds humor in the cliched, sometimes obnoxious sentences his surrounding workmates and friends constantly spew out: it's these moments within the strip where I can't stop laughing. Mostly, though, Jim relates more sober moments about walks, work, eating, his cat, daydreaming, sleeping, and the life and times of his handful of friends. Jim is just a normal guy who probably unconsciously holds back his real emotions in his journal, with the result that the other characters come across much clearer. Speaking of Jim's "handful of friends," here they are:

Tony: the funniest dude in the strip. Where Jim is quiet, Tony is louder and more obnoxous; where Jim simply observes life passively, this guy has an opinion about everything, and is sure to tell anyone within his path how he feels. Tony is famous for going through phases and boasting about how smart he is (drinking 6 glasses of water a day; collecting coupons to save money; attempting jobs to conquer the world, etc., etc.).

Steve: this guy also has his funny moments; he's kind of like a much less aggressive Tony, perhaps somewhere inbetween Jim and Tony in terms of personality. He has academic problems at first, but seems to eventually find his niche.

Ruth: Jim meets Ruth at McDonalds, and the rest, as they say, is history. Ruth is cheery, fun-loving, somewhat non-descript, and sort of in the background most of the time, even when she's hanging around with the rest of the crew.

Also of note is Mark, Joel, Julie and Hal, all workmates of Jim, and all very distinct personalities.

It's hard to say who would latch onto Jim's Journal and who wouldn't, but I know I liked it from the very beginning.

I fell in love with Jim in college. One night, several years later, he popped into my head. I got out of bed and started looking up Jim's Journal on the internet. When I found this book, I was ecstatic!! It was so great to read some of my favorites that I remember from college.

Also, if you're a cat-lover, Jim provides some poignant, yet hilarious, reflections on owning a cat.

We all have a little bit of Jim in us.

Okay, let me first preface this review by saying that probably some of the people that read this book will walk away shaking their heads, saying to themselves, "I don't get it." or "What's the point?"

But that's okay. For the rest of us, Jim's Journal is perfect. Jim reminds me a bit of myself. :)

These aren't traditional "comic strips" like you see in the paper. These are what the author calls "anti-humor" comic strips. The author compares it to Andy Koffman's famous Great Gatsby sketch. It's still funny, but sometimes because it's so utterly UNfunny.

Whatever. All I know is, that as a university student, reading these comics is truly theraputic. Give it a try. And if you look closely, there is meaning in a lot of the strips. I thought the brief series about the mouse late in the book was particularly good. I bought this book without ever reading any of the comics, based solely on other Amazon reader reviews, and it's one of my favorite books.

And even if you decide you really don't like it, you can always leave it out on your table, and watch people's different reactions when they pick it up and start to read it. :)

ever.You can take most of the Sunday comic strips, because none have the subtle humor of Jim's Journals.

I discovered the journals during my sophomore year in New Haven, CT in the early 90s. They were loved by everyone I knew. The basic art and the situations Jim goes through are so universal and charming- you just want to read them all. This collection is my find of the year and I highly recommend it you anyone.

I've never written a review of a book before (at least I don't think I have), but I just had to lay down my feelings about my favorite comic strip series. The whole anti-humor is a bit confusing to me as I don't think I've ever laughed as hard at a comic strip as with the "Jim" strips. Maybe the anti-humor thing comes from the refreshing lack of cynicism.

Jim's life feels real -- it's like watching another person's life unfold with all of their personal thoughts out in the open. You become attached to Jim as he goes through his mundane daily activities. The humor, weirdness and sadness in Jim's life resonates more because you feel you are connecting to a real person rather than some wise-ass talking cat.

If you like 'Pathetic Geek Stories' and 'Life in Hell' you'll love this book. If you can't find the collection make sure to pick up the five individual books offered on Amazon.

Amazing. I first encountered this book at work. I had nothing to do one day so I borrowed this from a co-worker. In the next couple hours I fell in love with it.

This is not your average comic strip. If you are looking for something laugh-out-loud funny, look elsewhere, but if you are looking for something interesting, enlightening (that's right, enlightening), entertaining, and surprisingly calming, then pick up this book. Scott Dikkers has created a true piece of Art.