John Callahan (1) (1951–2010)

I'm not gonna lie - I thought that Callahan's artwork sucked until I learned that he was a quadriplegic with limited use of his arms. But his physical disability certainly had no effect on his wit and humor. I actually laughed out loud at some of the strips. It does get pretty dark at times, and some of the comics are about disabilities, which some people complain about as being 'ableist'.

Fuck that noise. If a disabled man can laugh at disabilities, the rest of us should be able to.

Of show more course, by that I certainly don't mean mocking or mistreating disabled people, any more than we should mistreat people based on race, sex, orientation, etc. But admit it, we've all laughed at sexist jokes, racist jokes, etc, there's a time and place to do so and Callahan really nails it. show less

The only negative thing I can say about this book is that I wish it were longer. I really could barely put it down. It's a touching and engrossing story of John Callahan's addiction, paraplegia, recovery, rehabilitation, and ultimately his ability to harness his demons and hitch them to his wheelchair for a joyride.

Callahan took gen-X guy humor to his personal demons, applying black humor to mental illness, disability, addiction, etc. In my youth, I found this collection, at least, humorous, despite tackyness and 1980s boy humor (including misogynist and homophobic tendencies). I've discarded it because It is now irritatingly juvenile etc.

I know exactly what the guy on the cover feels like because I was actually in a situation almost identical to that, lol. And I think that's one of the things that make Callahan's work so appealing. There's a lot of dark humor, and situations that many of us can identify, or at least sympathize with, even if we laugh at it.