Reza Farazmand

While maybe not as strong as the previous collections, I still found plenty to chuckle about in this collection of absurd and bizarre short strips about a strange group of animal friends with the odd tendency to whip out knives without warning.

Welcome to sideways world.

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through NetGalley and Edelweiss.)

If you've ever read Reza Farazmand's web comic Poorly Drawn Lines, then you know more or less what you're in for here: irreverent humor, a dash of commonsense observations, and just the right about of black comedy.

Comics for a Strange World is a bit hit-or-miss; a equal number of the pieces had me guffawing in happy shock as did those that stumbled and fell flat. A fair show more number seem a direct response to this crazy, heart-wrenching Drumpf era we now find ourselves in; see, e.g., the opening panel, which is the first of five favorites I included below.

But don't worry: Ernesto the talking bear and his duck sidekick Kevin make several appearances, and this strange world is also populated with a fair number of talking animals, self-aware ghosts - and even a dinosaur packing heat. ("It's his right.")

Try it! You won't be sorry, and you just might help Ernesto out of that slump.











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Wednesday evening my beloved spouse was otherwise engaged, so the high school junior and I had a classic Library Night: ramble around the local collecting a stack of things, a brief show and tell of everyone's selections, followed by dinner at my favorite cheap restaurant, The Armadillo, for tacos and seemingly endless chips and salsa and queso.
One of us has an enormous encampment of books from multiple libraries all over then den, and so felt no need to go up to the main floor and root show more around for more. But it happened to be Read Down Your Fines time, so I grabbed a couple of cute picture books to peruse while I waited. Well, that was the plan. Every other picture book on display looked good for one reason or another. I read a small stack there to donate the reading time to others, and brought the rest home.
Meanwhile, someone happened to a spot a book that might appeal to me, from amidst the graphic novels. Turns out everyone in the house has been reading and loving Poorly Drawn Lines online. Understandably so.
Dinner was splendid, by the way, because game three of the Hurricanes/Islanders series was on, and there was much scoring excitement. We lingered much longer than usual, gorging ourselves on chips and hockey superiority. One of the really lovely things about the Offspring growing up is how our routines expand and grow: what began as the alternative dinner plan of the bookish parent who lacked cooking skills became over time an irregular routine which morphed into this group sports-fan experience I never would have expected to find myself in.
With one thing and another I hadn't yet picked up this until I was mildly goaded into it last night, between updates on that winning game. So yes, hockey and Poorly Drawn Lines have been forced upon me and I am happier for it.

The comics are sufficiently amusing, but the intersticial text pieces were a totally unexpected delight. Weird and funny and surprising. I'll have to read the next book soon.

Library copy, in case that wasn't clear. show less

Party or Daiya

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review on NetGalley.)

If you use the internets, chances are you've encountered a Poorly Drawn Lines strip at some point in your travels. Creator Reza Farazmand has a generous fair use policy (non-commercial attribution; also, they're kind of genius, so there's that), and they really seem to get around. Which is good: though I count myself a fan, I often forget to keep up in the absence of an email newsletter. I know, how show more quaint! So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I learned of Farazmand's new book on NetGalley!

Filled with a mix of old and new material, Poorly Drawn Lines highlights the same irreverent humor and uncanny insight that the web strip is known for. Here you'll find plot twists old and new: douchey owls, birds who are totally judging you, smack-talking robots, cheese goals you should adopt like yesterday, mountains that want to be human, various apocalypse scenarios - and yes, Ernesto the bear from space.

In with the new stuff are a smattering of essays which are enjoyable enough, but not nearly as rad as the comics. Since they have the same weird, off-beat vibe as the strips, sometimes the essays feel just a step or two removed from explaining a joke. (Excessive elaboration, no want!) I could easily envision them more artfully done up as three- to nine-panel strips.

I read this on a Kindle and was surprised to find that the comics actually look okay: small, yet readable enough. Naturally the art is much more impressive on my laptop and iPad, but options are good.

Try it if you like: Calvin & Hobbes; Hyperbole and a Half; animals behaving badly.

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