by The Oatmeal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2011
Delightfully absurd musings on both everyday life and fantasy from an unusually creative mind.
Quirky, irreverent comic strips loaded with interesting and eclectic observations about the today’s society.
Web designer turned comic artist Matthew Inman (theoatmeal.com) offers a collection of cartoons that have appeared on his website over the past year, including some new material created especially for his debut release. Inman says his goal “is to entertain, inform, and offend.” He succeeds on all counts. Part sophisticated observation of modern society and part frat-boy humor, the book constantly surprises. His webcomics offer an ironic, hilarious and ultimately honest portrayal of everyday life—see one man’s descent into madness while trying to speak to an actual person in customer service. The unexpected awaits the reader at every turn. Browse through “7 Ways To Keep Your Tyrannosaur Off Crack Cocaine” before learning about Nikola Tesla and the development of AC electricity. A new-age Emily Post with a deep sarcastic undertone, Inman highlights a variety of social etiquette mistakes: “The 9 Types of Crappy Handshakes” is an especially effective greeting guide. The book contains some of the best explanations of how to use a semi-colon and sheds light on other grammarian pet peeves. The pullout poster on the end flap, “Why I Believe Printers Were Sent from Hell to Make Us Miserable,” will strike a responsive chord in anyone who has struggled with the simplest of modern technology.
Delightfully absurd musings on both everyday life and fantasy from an unusually creative mind.Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4494-0116-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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developed by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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