The Playboy

I read this super-short graphic memoir because I enjoyed the author's Paying for It earlier this year. This one centres around the shame and guilt that the author felt when enjoying Playboy magazine as a teenager in the 1970s. I feel bad for teenaged boys before the internet. But the basic concept, while sad, wasn't nearly as thought-provoking as that of Paying for It, where Brown decides to start hiring prostitutes. There were some amusing moments, like when he tries to burn a magazine in the family living room, but finds that it only blackens, and then his little brother walks in, and the author has to pretend that he's just playing with the fire while he's actually burning each page separately (and then he can't sleep from worrying show more that the charred spine might still be recognizable). But mostly I just felt bad for him, which might have been what he was going for. One of his girlfriends describes a friend's porn use as "disgusting" and says that it makes him a "pig". So then Brown can't even be fully honest or confident in his own relationships, but always feels like he has something to hide. I guess this helps me see why he ended up taking the route he did later in life, preferring prostitutes to girlfriends. But there's nothing really revelatory here. show less

3.5 stars: honestly portrays the author's experience with guilt and shame at looking at pictures of Playboy model's and masturbating, and with having to hide this from everyone.

A sensitive and moving cartoon memoir of a young man's masturbation. Neither sensationalized nor overly grotty (there is some grot though, it is after all about wanking).

Another autobiography by Chester Brown. 'The playboy', as the title suggests is about a playboy magazine that Chester acquires, which changes his life and causes him to question his morals. In some ways this book is a prequel to another of Chester's books 'Paying for it'.