Funny Misshapen Body
A Memoir
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5.0 • 4 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Funny Misshapen Body is the story of Jeffrey Brown's evolution as a cartoonist, from his youthful obsession with superhero comics to his disillusionment with fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Drawn with Brown's scratchy, spare, trademark style, Funny Misshapen Body resonates with true-to-life observations on love, fear, and ambition. Through his bare bones graphic style, he reveals his most embarrassing personal moments in raw, intimate detail -- including how he survived high school, binge drinking, mild drug experimentation, doomed friendships, and being diagnosed with Crohn's disease.
Ultimately coming to terms with his art and identity, Brown describes the ups and downs of his adolescence with understated simplicity, dark humor, and charm.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Previous books by Brown (Clumsy; Little Things) have explored his romantic life and eventual progression to a steady relationship and fatherhood in his trademarked slice-of-life style, leavened with awkward, self-deprecating humor. His latest explains how he began making comics, with each chapter focusing on a topic or event leading up to Brown's early comics, with many of the episodes overlapping and out of order chronologically. As Brown explains in the epilogue, "I try to arrange stories to express the idea of figuring things out," leading to some meandering at times. Painful college art critiques, health problems (Crohn's disease), forays into substance abuse and a stint working in a wooden-shoe factory make up the bulk of the events, but Brown doesn't stay long enough on any one topic to get tiresome. The art is simple and crude at times, but has a comic strip's direct appeal Brown's facial expressions are exaggerated, but make him likable. While some may find this extended trip to one cartoonist's past egotistical, Brown is still an engaging companion on the journey.
Customer Reviews
Good stuff!
So I devoured this book in one sitting essentially. I couldn't put it down. I initially got this because I knew there would be something about Crohn's in it, but it really drew me in. This memoir was done flawlessly. I'm not a person who reads tons of comics and comic type books, but when I do, it's gotta grab me. It was a sort of coming of age and finding your place and purpose in the world type of book. Highly recommended for a quick and engaging read.