Customer Reviews

Zits Supersized: A Zits Treasury

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

He is your son, your brother, your neighbor's kid, and your kid's best friend. He is Jeremy Duncan, the sullen star of the hit comic strip "Zits." In the third treasury, "Zits Supersized," Jeremy continues with the typical troubles of a teen -- clueless parents, a longing for freedom, hijinks with pal Hector, and a commitment-phobic girlfriend.

Living in the suburbs with his orthodontist dad Walt and child-shrink mom Connie, Jeremy longs for the wild, dangerous life of a rock star. Unfortunately, he's mired in a relatively quiet life. But even if he's not a rocker, Jeremy has plenty of excitement in his life -- he makes the mistake of sleeping nude on the roof, starts calling his dad "Walt," and gets a summer job digging koi ponds. If only he knew what a koi was.

A new guy arrives at school -- Pierce, who lives up to his name by having several pounds of metal sticking through various body parts. Jeremy makes the mistake of having an all-night horror-movie marathon... while his parents are out of the house. And Jeremy has a bad breakup, then encounters a beautiful orthodontist's daughter at a convention, but he still can't forget Sara.

Remember "Calvin and Hobbes," which so aptly showed the inner thoughts of a six-year-old? Fast forward about nine years, and Calvin has transformed into Jeremy Duncan. (Hobbes has turned into a stocky Hispanic teenager) With the same sort of whimsical realism, "Zits" appeals to all age groups by spoofing both teens and parents at once.

Jim Borgman and Jerry Scott (of "Baby Blues" fame) also add in the unedited "Good Night Dude" spoof of the classic kids' book. It's a few stanzas longer, with some wink-nudge naughty material ("And a picture of.../a girl with some big bazooms"). "Good night clutter/good night dust/good night week-old pizza crust!" Jeremy says joyously.

Jeremy himself is the contradiction of a teenager -- he wants to be a bad boy, but is locked in the personality of a good boy. His long-suffering parents try desperately to understand him, which only drives him crazier. His high school is inhabited by an amusing array of freaks: the airhead patrol, the militant vegetarian, the gooey couple who never stop hugging, and the barb-tongued gossip.

"Zits" has lost its initial freshness, but the fifth and sixth books in this treasury show that it's still solidly in its groove. Funny and goofy for anyone who has either been a bewildered parent or a disgruntled teen.

Zits is fast becoming a modern classic comic strip, and with good reason. It is consistently funny. The authors, Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, use every humor tool available to them to get their point across. And, no matter whether it's exaggeration, sarcasm, understatement, or a hilarious sight gag, this book is sure to entertain.

The collection starts with the "director's cut" of "Good Night Dude." The original strip appears later in the collection, but here we get a full spoof of the classic picture book.

From there, we launch into the daily strip. This book contains strips from sketchbooks #5 and 6, "Unzipped" and "Busted." As an added bonus, the Sunday comics are in color. We get about a year and a half of strips all in one place. Not only do we get the latest on Jeremy and Sara's rocky relationship, but we get to see Jeremy and Hector start their own summer business for no fun and little profit. Pierce also joins the band this time around, with the most amazing intro to the most amazing drum solo you've ever heard. Along the way, gentle fun is poked at teens, parents, peers, and school equally.

Actually, the peers seem to have come into their own this go around. I don't remember enjoying Jeremy's friends from school so much. And Hector's put downs remind me of Hobbes from "Calvin and Hobbes." I especially loved his stuff from the week about the internet intelligence quiz.

Any teen or anyone living with a teen will love this strip. If you aren't careful, you might even starting laughing at yourself a little more.

There are multiple problems with the Zits series, mainly pertaining to Jeremy's mother (I mentioned this in my review of Random Zits) but this edition gets it pretty well. However, both Big Honkin' Zits and Random Zits were better in terms of plot. Regardless, there are some funny strips here.

It has always been blatantly obvious that the situations in the strip were inspired by real teenagers somewhere, and here it doesn't get any better. Sadly, this treasury probably has the highest number of undoubtedly real situations. Despite that, there is not a total absence of plot. Another reviewer said that the buddies come into their own more this time. This is very true- Hector has some pretty awesome comebacks here (yes, even better than his ones during the Amber incident in the last book) and Pierce is introduced. Pierce would be better developed later, but I like to think of this book as the Last Stand of Tim, the one where quiet Tim Olsen left the scene in favor of Pierce for a while.

Anyway, not much else to say. Out of the four currently out (haven't gotten Crack of Noon yet), probably the third best. Not a good introduction like Big Honking Zits, or with the sheer comedic value of Random Zits, but a welcome addition to your collection.

The kids and I have worn the book out! Great for laughs, especially if you have a teenager!

This collection pales in comparison to the two earlier Zits' treasuries, and some of the jokes in this collection are duplicates of earlier strips with only minor changes. The Richandamy character has gotten extremely tired at this point in the strip, and Pierce isn't the most engaging of supporting characters.

As ever though, the strip hits close to home with its depiction of teen/parent relationships, and the biggest laughs come from Jeremy's mother's attempts to bond with her son.

Worth a read, but maybe not a reread.

This is the 3rd Zits treasury. It contains comic strips from the books "Unzipped" and "Busted." Unlike the individual Zits comic books, the treasuries feature all Sunday comics in color. "Supersized Zits" begins with a full-color version of "Good Night Dude," a parody of "Goodnight Moon" that was not printed in "Unzipped" or "Busted."
Zits is a classic for anyone who has ever had close contact with teenagers, because its humor rings true! It makes me laugh, (I'm in my 20s and have many teenage siblings); and it makes my 70-year-old grandpa laugh (a father and retired teacher). Scott and Borgman's fodder is the hilarity found in the so-called mundane and ordinary world of tennagers and parenthood.

If you want a supersize fun loving read, this Zits treasury is for you! A great bargain for the price to boot! The cartoons hit home whether or not you have a teen, after all we've all been a teen! So many hit home! A great purchase for all ages, especially teens.

if you like comics, or even if you don't, you'll find this book funny and awesome (assuming you are somewhat youthful.)

If you're a parent, this book is for you. This book is going to help you find out what your teenager is thinking, and how they think.

If you're a teenager, this jokes in the strips strike so close to home it's impossible not to laugh. For example, having high school fantasy about girls, or guys, or teachers!

I think every teenager and parents can relate to Zits. It's almost like a documentary, told in panels, to the point of déjà vu.

I also love the art drawn by Jim Borgman as well.

I've all series of Zits treasuries, and will buy if there are more in the future.

This volume contains comics from Zits Unzipped and Busted!

(Check out my Amazon profile for other books I've reviewed.)

If you are a teen or "live" with one or more of these funny and strange beings, you'll love this treasury