Misery Loves Comedy (Hardcover)

~ Ivan Brunetti (Author)
Key Phrases: Ivan Brunetti, Fantagraphics Books, Lake City Way (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. An introduction written by the author's therapist describes the process of creating these comics as excruciatingly painful and painfully frightening. This puts Brunetti's minimal output—three issues of his cult favorite comic Schizo in 12 years—into psychological perspective. Brunetti's work does its malevolent work with an eye to the author's psychological underpinnings. Brunetti constantly offers up the worst possible image of himself alongside his portraits of a despised society. His festival of self-loathing, sexual depravity and brutal cynicism, is, however, amazingly clever and incisive. Whether from the point of view of a miserable comics artist and workaday hack, a nihilistic Jesus Christ or a raging feminazi, these rants are fascinatingly convincing, readable and smart. Not all readers will be able to tolerate the scatologically violent sensibility that is so brilliantly manifested in these pages, but for those with a taste for the most jaded views of our society and its inhabitants, Brunetti has long been a hero. Sharply self-aware, Brunetti informs his readers, I have a gift.... I can articulate what most people won't even face.... and it is this concise and energetic articulation that makes his work so great.
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From Booklist

Lately, Brunetti has distinguished himself as a comics-art authority by curating museum exhibitions and compiling An Anthology of Graphic Fiction (2006). Since the early 1990s, he has also produced his own comics, rife with monumental misanthropy and misogyny, not just in ostensibly autobiographical pieces indicatively entitled "Work Equals Degradation," "Life Is Shit," and "1,784 Things That Make Me Want to Vomit" (fortunately, the list sputters out at 50) but also in repulsive-yet-funny gag cartoons depicting perverted sex, scatology, and extreme violence. Distinguishing Brunetti from such other rudely transgressive alt-cartoonists as Johnny Ryan (Angry Youth Comix) are his artistic chops. As the collection documents, Brunetti's growth in mastery of the comics medium now allows him to give each strip the most effective, particular visual treatment. Like fellow comics creator and wretch Joe Matt, Brunetti, who draws himself as a dwarfish, huge-nosed schlemiel, is harder on himself than on anyone else, somewhat mitigating his relentless negativity. If the less-inspired pieces here are little more than text-heavy screeds, the best spin cynicism into pure comic-strip gold. Flagg, Gordon

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (May 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560977922
• ISBN-13: 978-1560977926
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #639,888 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbingly brilliant!, May 26, 2007

By	Keith N. (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

I have been a fan of Ivan Brunetti for many years and this compilation of his work is long overdue. He is not everyone's cup of tea and you definitely need a sick sense of humor to fully enjoy this book. I wish the publishers had included his other books, "Hee" and "Haw" to this collection. My only complaint is that Mr. Brunetti does not work at a fast enough pace to put out more material. I love his stuff!

4.0 out of 5 stars You have to at least appreciate Brunetti for putting this one out., September 4, 2009

By	A. Golbeck (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ivan Brunetti is a brilliant artist and his perspective is extraordinary and unique. You have to thank him for releasing his early work in this hardcover volume. If this was my work, I would not release it a first time, let alone a second. I would have destroyed the evidence. This is Brunetti at his unrefined, most self-indulgent raw self. In the introduction his therapist says that this work is a cathartic release for Brunetti. At any rate there is something in this book of Kafka's journals (which were never meant to be read) and the Marquis De Sade (whose work was written in his own blood on the walls of his prison cell).

I recommend this book if you are already a fan of Ivan Brunetti. His work is infrequent and you are no doubt craving more. This book will complete your collection.

If you are just getting acquainted with Brunetti's work, I suggest you start with a survey of modern graphic artists that will show you a few examples of his later, more 'mature' work. McSweeneys 13 comes to mind; it has some of Brunetti's lovely little graphic bios of famous artists and thinkers. Read that. You will be charmed and impressed. Misery Loves Comedy, however, is not for the faint of heart. Your girlfriend/boyfriend (or any discerning person) will be disturbed if they absent-mindedly select it from your bookshelf and start flipping through.

You have to know what you are getting into.

5.0 out of 5 stars What a depressing view of life!, April 16, 2009

By	Charles M. Smith II - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You know you're messed up when R. Crumb, of all people, suggests you might want to consider taking Prozac. Ivan is not for everyone, but for those who can take his bile, and stand up to it, you will find it worth the effort.

Misery Loves Comedy is one of the most disturbing comic collections I've ever read, but it is also one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. Ivan holds nothing back. He attacks everything and everyone. At first I thought he would just rant against conservative thought, which he does, but he also rants against liberal thought. The guy hates everyone equally.

This book is crude, rude, and disgusting, but it is also incredibly thought provoking. Be warned though, this is powerful stuff. Make sure you are up to it before you spend your money.