Lynda Barry

I admit that I'm biased and went in with an abiding admiration for Lynda Barry already in place, but hot damn. This book is brilliant. BRILLIANT. Get thee to a bookstore and buy it. You can check it out from the library, but that is only postponing the inevitable. If it wasn't 9:30 at night, I'd go out and buy a non-photo blue pencil right now. As it is, I'm starting my 4-panel daily diary tonight--I've been bummed that I haven't been able to write as much as I used to, and this method is show more perfect. BRILLIANT. I covet Syllabus and found an even deeper love for Lynda Barry than I thought possible.

So how soon can I go up to Madison for a semester with her? show less

I'm going to give this book five stars and I am going to suggest you buy a copy for your friends, foes, family, co-workers, co-slackers, cohorts, and anyone else you can think of and I am going to rave about everything I got from it and I am going to say that it has changed the way I look at creativity and creation and I am going to say that it opened brand new worlds, thoughts, and ideas for me.

I'm going to do all of those things and, for a certain group of you out there, you are going to show more say that I am insane and that it is none of those things and you bought the book and it didn't work for you and it has nothing to do with business.

And I don't care, because this book has, indeed, had a profound effect on me. And it is a book I will keep next to me on my desk because I will be revisiting it time and again to learn, to remind, and to (yuck – I hate this word, but I'll use it anyway 'cause it is the only one I know that really fits this particular point) motivate.

If you don't know who Lynda Barry is, I cannot give you a good, succinct description. Look it up on Google and Wikipedia and whatever your favorite source of misinformation and check out Amazon and Drawn & Quarterly and search for Ernie Pook's Comeek and, maybe number one and foremost, check out "The Near-Sighted Monkey", the site where Barry shares her teachings and whatever she is doing at the time.

Among her many skills is her ability to connect with artists (and non-artists) who are struggling with the concepts of creativity. This is evident in her classes and the afore-mentioned near-sighted monkey site. This book brings much of that information together and, in so doing, is a combination "how-to" for kick starting creativity and some deep thoughts about what we even mean when we talk about the subject.

It is put together in Barry's trademark style – a combination of her distinctive drawing with a collage technique (that's it, now I've definitely lost some of you). It immediately starts in by asking big questions about creativity ("What is an idea made of? ") and then jumps into the continuing series of autobiographically toned comics. Yes, you might call this "new-agey", but I don't think that is a bad thing. Any book that makes me start thinking about such things as "When did you first notice you were bad at something? And then what happened?" or "When images come to us, where do they come from?" or "What are we doing when we are looking?" is a good book. And, no, there are no answers; but what good is a book full of answers.

The second part of the book is specific training exercises for writing - for extracting images. And that is where it all comes together to speak to how creativity can be developed.

I work with business people on the development of creativity in a business environment. And, trust me, this all speaks to what they are trying to do. Most might shy away from it. But the ideas and concepts are ones that anyone, in any environment, can use to build their creativity. Do they all want to be creative writers? No. Can they use the concepts in this book to be better business writers? Yes. Can they use the concepts to be more creative and innovative? Yes, with a number of exclamation points following.

And, if it can do that for three-piece suited, corporate types, imagine what it can do for you. show less

Lynda Barry really has no peer; she is a genius. I truly mean that. One!Hundred!Demons! is a wonderful introduction to her work. It's a beautifully rendered book of vignettes that Barry refers to as "autobiofictionalography". There are very few authors who are able to capture the indelible essence of the simple and complicated world of childhood, in all its confusion and cruelty and anger and love and hate. I believe it's up there with the best works dealing with the themes of the loss of show more innocence and the inevitable, painful slide from adolescence into adulthood.

This graphic novel/memoir/comic is a treasure. Also, it's Barry's only book that is in color (I think), and the color really just makes it come alive.

I would also recommend Cruddy and The Best of Marlys, but, in my humble opinion, everything she's written is worth tracking down and reading. I cannot remember how I discovered her, but man, I'm sure glad I did. show less

Cruddy is dark. VERY dark. Kidnapping, child abuse, mass murder, drugs, desperation, violent adults - only Lynda Barry could incorporate such dire circumstances and keep the narrative afloat with morbid humor, wry observations, and a wise and world-weary protagonist. Never sentimental, populated with characters strange and cruel, this book is so compelling it had me anxious to leave work, just so I could curl up and devour the rest of the book.

I finished this book feeling raw and stunned and show more aching for Roberta, wishing there was more of her story to tell.

Harrowing, brutal, chaotic, darkly funny, strange, brilliant, and most of all, unforgettable. show less