Table for One [Perfect Paperback]

Bosch Fawstin (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 21, 2004

'Dirty Harry as a Waiter'. It's one hell of a night in an underground restaurant in Manhattan. William Howland's boss bet against him lasting a year as a waiter under him. It's pay-up time. But on this night, Will's code to treat all as they deserve doesn't serve anyone well, and he might not even last the night.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A mighty talented pro. Write/draw/stage/tell stories with brilliant savvy to all elements in the mix!..Kudos! -- Alex Toth, Master Comic Book Illustrator

If Will Eisner were to do a graphic novel about a night in a restaurant, this would be it... -- Howard Price, 'The Trades'

In just 88 pages, Bosch Fawstin renewed my faith in comics... wonderfully illustrated and skillfully written comics. -- Brian Domingos, 'PopImage'

Solid debut... lots of power struggles in this story...in the end, comes down to who can stand their ground. -- Rich Watson

Table for One is a showcase for Bosch Fawstin's timeless, classic art....A truly gorgeous dramatic novel. -- Matthew Craig, 'Robot Fist'

About the Author

Bosch Fawstin is an Eisner Award nominated cartoonist who also recieved the praise of the great Alex Toth. He's currently working on his second graphic novel, The Infidel, about twin brothers whose Muslim background comes to the forefront of their lives on 9/11. In the wake of the attacks, one brother creates a counter-jihad superhero comic book called Pigman, which brings him into an escalating conflict with his born again Muslim twin.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Mainspring Comics (April 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974955809
• ISBN-13: 978-0974955803
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,515,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an absolutely fantastic book!!!!, March 17, 2004

By 

Mike Thompson (Bristol, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Table for One (Perfect Paperback)

Bosch Fawstin is a phenomenal talent! I have also found him to be a genuinely nice guy having chatted with him on a fairly regular basis. His art and sense of pacing/storytelling have received high praise from legendary animator Alex Toth. Bosch's style is reminiscent of artists David Mazzucchelli and Bruce Timm, but with a unique and fantastic twist that makes it his own. Bosch also manages to put fun and entertaining "Easter eggs" throughout his book to enhance the story and make the second, third, fourth, and even fifth reads more entertaining and engaging than the first.

Table For One is a fantastic read. I look forward to his next project with great enthusiasm! Check out his website at www.boschfawstin.com for a 5 page preview.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bold New World, June 3, 2008

By 

J. Maurone "Spaceplayer" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Table for One (Perfect Paperback)

I'd like to thank the artist for his bold stance. This isn't the "I'm no Superman/Somebody save me/It's not easy to be me" mentality of superheroes that have been promoted in comics lately. Not that TABLE FOR ONE is a "superhero" book, but the allusions are there. (See the arist's upcoming PIGMAN for more superhero fare.) What we have here is not a weakling in the main character Will, but an uncompromising idealist/realist who lives what he means.

Like Ayn Rand, Fawstin is accused of making his characters too perfect, not having any flaws to overcome. Story-wise, this is obviously an artist still growing (this being his first graphic novel), there isn't a lot of "plot," and I'd agree that the hero doesn't have a strong enough tempation/conflict to overcome as presented,though the opportunity is there in the love relationship. (Actually, there's a similarity to Rand's fiction here as well: it is not the main character Will who progresses, but the feminine character, a la Dominique Francon from THE FOUNTAINHEAD or Dagny Taggart from ATLAS SHRUGGED.) I'd say there was a limitation in the amount of pages, so that this all was painted in large strokes. But I'd also defend the artistic choices using the definition of art offered by Ayn Rand: a selective re-creation of reality according to an artist's value judgments, paraphrasing Aristotle, a recreation as the world might and ought to be. What we get in TABLE FOR ONE is just that, and on this reasoning, I'd say the artist succeeds in presenting his vision. The fact that the character is an uncompromising idealist struggling to keep his art pure is simply icing on the cake for me. I'll take the bold stance over a subtle, finely-detailed portrait of a flawed gray everyman any day.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Neo-hardboiled, June 3, 2009

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Table for One (Perfect Paperback)

Fawstin offers a new view of the hard-boiled genre - a claustrophobic, night-time faceoff, where strength of personality means everything. Strong B&W artwork supports the encounter, even if I'm not quite sure what the back-story was that led to this evening's encounter.

The artistic style is a bit raw, something that works in this story, but I look forward to seeing it mature. These characters and this artist has a lot to offer, and I hope I see more of both.

-- wiredweird