Thrilling Tom the Dancing Bug Stories [Paperback]

Ruben Bolling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

Cartoonist Ruben Bolling's oddball strip, Tom the Dancing Bug, makes waves on a weekly basis. Recognized the past two years by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) as Best Cartoon, Tom the Dancing Bug is "consistently funny, pointed without being dogmatic, and takes on subjects that no one else does . . . an oasis of keen intelligence in the comics page," according to the 2003 AAN judges. Here are just a couple headlines from the quirky strip's "News of the Times":¨ Computer Loses to Human Candy Land Champion: Despite progress made in developing a computer program that can defeat a human chess champion, computer scientists confess that they have been unable to launch a significant challenge to human supremacy in the game of Candy Land.¨ Scientists Discover Media Has Quantum Effect on Reality: A team of physicists discovers that an electron is in an uncertain state until the media report on it. For example, once an electron was measured and reported upon by Mary Hart on the "Celebrity Corner" segment of Entertainment Tonight, it instantly assumed its nature as a particle.Tom the Dancing Bug's client list is diverse, representing the breadth of contemporary journalism: alternative newspapers, such as Dallas Observer and the Village Voice; prestigious daily newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times; Salon.com, an acclaimed online magazine; and the New Yorker magazine.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ruben Bolling started Tom the Dancing Bug while a student at Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1987. He launched the strip professionally in a small New York City newspaper in 1990 and self-syndicated until Universal Press Syndicate signed it up in June 1997. Bolling lives in New York City with his wife and three children..

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740747371
• ISBN-13: 978-0740747373
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,375,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Comic, but only Good Collection, January 23, 2006

By 

Jason (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thrilling Tom the Dancing Bug Stories (Paperback)

First things first: Bolling's TDB is the best newspaper comic being written today. If you are considering buying this book, you probably already know that, and I encourage you to purchase this volume; you will enjoy it.

This book was very entertaining, but I had some problems with it unrelated to the quality of Mr. Bolling's talent. Mainly, that this collection omits many strips from the sequence; it is not a comprehensive collection. I first noticed this when I came to where the first post 9-11 strip should have been. The Super Comix Fun Pak 9-11 strip is a classic, one of Bolling's most famous cartoons, and i was surprised to see it omited. I considered that this was perhaps because it was "dated" material, but many other topical strips are reprinted including several other terrorist themed strips from late 2001. This struck me as an odd editorial choice. In fact, only one of the 221 strips in this collection is a Super Comix Fun Pak, which was disapointing considering it's one of my favorite features. On the other had, dozens of the less stellar "Did You Know?" strips are included.
Additionally, several redux strips are printed. For example Bolling draws "Bad Meat" a mock ad for meat made only from animals "convicted of a capital crime" and then a few years later uses the same format to revisit the subject with "smart meat" for "those morally opposed to the slaughter of mentaly retarded animals." To me these two strips were basicly interchangeable: the joke is that food animals are being executed. It's fine that bolling revists material when he thinks of an additional twist, but if strips are going to be omited from the book, why not omit one of the strips that is a slightly improved version of an earlier joke? There are a few of these pairs, and normally it would be fine to include them, but in this book they are bumping out other material that has fresh jokes.
I hope that someday we'll get the sturdy comprehensive collection this strip deserves. Given how few papers TDB runs in, I won't hold my breath for when this will be a marketable reality. I guess we'll just have to settle for reading them online until then.
Also of note is that nothing (or almost nothing) is reprinted from Bolling's two earlier out-of-print books, so once you've read this volume, don't be afraid to go ahead and spend the extra money it costs to get those.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jesus! Towel! Electronic Towel!, March 17, 2006

By 

Chainsaw Hands "Master of the Universe" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thrilling Tom the Dancing Bug Stories (Paperback)

I've been reading Tom the Dancing Bug since '99 and I finally have all my favorite comics in one place. Now I can retire the torn-from-the-newspaper copy of "Crazy Morty" from my refigerator door. I would've liked to see more Super Fun Pack Comix in the compilation, but really, it's all good stuff.

4.0 out of 5 stars Tom the Dancing Bug, March 28, 2009

By 

Nelson Hitchcock - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thrilling Tom the Dancing Bug Stories (Paperback)

The political and social insights from years past are remarkable. One laughs while realizing that much of the humor is dead on serious business. I recommend this collection.