Customer Reviews

Recess Pieces

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Blood Thirsty Zombies vs. School Children locked up in a school! Nuff' said.

A Very Fun read!! Very well illustrated! Can't recommend it enough! Your eyeballs will thank you!

It's a must have at $10.. That's cheap at twice the price!!

Who'd think cute-as-a-button kids and glistening viscera would combine so nicely? A science lab experiment (that will run awry, needless to say) begins the book, as we then are introduced to the young, resourceful, and exceedingly smart-mouthed cast of "Recess Pieces." No detail of existence in the behavioral sink known as "school" goes unsatirized, from the institutional green-hued décor, prisonlike setup, power-struggles among the inmates and their keepers, absurdly out-of-it attempts by the latter to be hip.

The shambling flesh-munchers make their appearance slowly, Fingerman setting the scene, laying out characterizations. There's not a lazy line in this book, even minor background characters carefully individualized, and the painted art - for those more familiar with Fingerman's line drawings in this noted alternative comics creator's other books - is lushly rendered, as the earlier mention of "glistening viscera" hints.

Comedy abounds as well as thrills, the young 'uns attempting to arm themselves against the onslaught of the undead:

"...Safety scissors with rounded blade? Six-inch ruler?..."

"This crayon is pretty sharp..."

The man's got a way with dialogue, words both kid-like and urbanly wisecracking adding much to the goings-on. I'm reminded of the richly rolling dialogue by Paddy ("Marty") Chayefsky, yang to Mamet's spare yin.

Trapped in a room by zombies, the kids speak thus:

Wendy: "I don't know if I can do this."

Lisa: "We're just kids."

Bobby: "Just kids? Just kids? Grownups think we're sweetness and innocence, but we know better, don't we? We're pure id, untamed and unfettered by conscience. We're petty and cruel. Let's use that to our advantage."

Crisp wit, characters you care about, juicy, top-of-the-line art, and zombies...what's not to like?

The answer is, oddly enough, yes. Bob Fingerman captures the dynamic of school yard interactions to great effect. The characterization of the children is in the vein of Peanuts and Calvin & Hobbes... they are ruthlessly witty and innocent at the same time. Insightful commentaries on childhood, genre clichés and the inadequacies of the public school system are peppered throughout the narrative, but never feel forced or preachy. Not to worry, though, there are plenty of gory and horrific scenes of dismembered bodies being devoured by newly minted ghouls to satisfy any zombie fan. If that wasn't enough, it's all drawn in a lush, full color style that is reminiscent of his work on the Minimum Wage covers but with a lighter, more nimble line that indicates further mastery of his craft. It's a great read that I can't recommend highly enough. I hope that there are further adventures in the works...

There is very little negative I can say about Recess Pieces. The art is engaging and mesmerizing, the detail is through the roof, the dialogue is provoking and superb, even the size of the book and the smell of the ink are top-notch!
I highly recommend Recess Pieces to horror fans, zombie fans, comic book fans and humor fans. If you are unfamiliar with Bob Fingerman's work, first, shame on you, and second, be sure to check out his other works, Beg the Question and the upcoming novel, Bottomfeeder.
Recess Pieces would also make a great gift for friends, co-workers and especially, teachers!

I held off on buying Recess Pieces because the idea of little kids and zombies seemed a bit whacked out. Well, now that I have the book, I can confirm it IS whacked out. And oh, how gloriously whacked out it is!
I cannot highly recommend this graphic novel enough. Bob Fingerman knows how to blend the innocence and agonizing pain of childhood with the grim brutality of the dead coming back to life in a concoction that is wickedly tasty and grim while keeping the laughs coming at a breakneck pace.
To compare this to any of the other zombie graphic novels I have read would not be fair. This is simply different than all the rest. If I was forced to put it side by side with "The Walking Dead" and the like, I could only say that there is definitely room for the likes of this and TWD on the same shelf, while many of the other brooding "adult" tales of undead apocalypse would get honorable mention. This would be one of the first works I would recommend to a newcomer to the realm of zombie fiction.
The basic premise is a grade school taken over by zombies after a science experiment goes bad. The adults all turn, as do the older kids, but most of the younger children are spared, though it is certain that they too can be munched on by the ravenous zombies that now roam the school halls.
This story certainly has motivated me to check out more of Fingerman's works, because if he displays even half of the wit and verve he had for this subject with his other stories, they will be well worth the investment.

unbelievable! Bob F. is one of the best draftsmen on earth,and his tale
of adorable kids covered in shiny, spilled guts.... is second to none.

seriously,if you like comics,especially by people who can really draw and paint
their cajones off...you need Recess Pieces! It's funny,nasty,and insanely gorgeous to
gaze at...and! This is a nice ,thin little hardback you can slap into your backpack and take with you on a trip..like I'm(seriously) doing in a few minutes.

peace.

My first experience with zombie cartoons and i am totally blown away. The story is so cute and I can see it actually happening, The artwork is fantastic and I simply must have more.... common Fingerman, write another...

After searching high and low for zombie books that I may put in my library for that one special middle school student, I stumbled across Recess Pieces because of an Amazon recommendation. I figured that I would give it a quick read before I gave it to my student, and I'm definitely glad that I did. It's not a bad story, but I'm not sure if I want to be the person to give this to one of my students to read.

The basic plot is that a science teacher in a K-12 school is working on reanimating a fetal pig while teaching two other boys in an AP biology course. It doesn't seem to work, so the school day begins as normal. Normal for this school is a little rougher than what I remember school being like. The principal locks the students into the school. The reader follows a few younger students through their day, particularly one boy who makes a lot of bad jokes and is picked on by a bully. That boy happens to find himself in the restroom when the first sign of zombies appears. Everything goes downhill from there, and the younger students have to fight their way through multiple zombies in order to stay alive. How many will live? Well, you'll just have to read it to find out.

I actually thought the story was good and the artwork was done really well also. I just don't think it is particularly appropriate for the ages that I was shooting for. I would highly recommend this to adults that want a quick funny read and probably older high school students that can handle the sexual jokes that run throughout the story. Keep in mind that there is no particular point to this book, it is just a quick (less than an hour) read that perfectly fits the mindless zombie book/movie genre. (****)

Bob Fingerman has long been one of the finest observational cartoonists in the medium; and also one of the funniest. Each new book from Fingerman is always a treat. A typical Fingerman book, like say "Beg The Question" deals with the alternately invigorating and sleazy New York landscape of slippery landlords and oily publishers, and of course visceral sexual politics (temptations everywhere).