Royal Reviews: I Thought You Would Be Funnier
- Written by Royal Nonesuch on Tuesday, June 15 2010 and posted in Reviews
Royal Nonesuch looks at I Thought You Would Be Funnier, by Shannon Wheeler and published by Boom! Town.
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Credits & Solicit Info:
I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE FUNNIER TPB
Written by Shannon Wheeler
Drawn by Shannon Wheeler
TPB, 120 pgs, FC, SRP: $9.99
Diamond Code: FEB100763
ISBN13: 9781608860340
A new cartoon collection from the mind of Eisner Award-winning, Harvey nominated and current New Yorker Magazine cartoonist, Shannon Wheeler! It’s the best-of-the-best of what’s left on the cutting room floor from Wheeler’s cartoon submissions to The New Yorker Magazine. Never seen in print before anywhere else!
Review:
Cartoonist Dan Pirarro opens his introduction to Shannon Wheeler's new compilation I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE FUNNIER with the claim that "no graphic art form says more about human creativity than the single panel comic." Wheeler sets out to prove him right.
In a nice collection by Boom! Town, the literary comix arm of Boom! Studios, The New Yorker cartoonist presents a series of single-page gags that range from truthful to absurd, but are always hilarious. These short bursts of funny have a lot to say about modern day humanity and relationships. Amidst moments of grander social critique, these are comics about expectations: the ones we have for ourselves, our lives, and the people in our lives. Wheeler illustrates these all too human foibles with simple yet effective drawings that are as expressive as they are humorous.
The nature of this collection is interesting. Wheeler submitted these to be published in The New Yorker but they seem to work better here than they might have as a single panel out-of-context at the bottom of an op-ed article. Here, the comics can stand on their own and support each other. The humor is bolstered by having the gags come one right after the other with a great sense of rhythm that highlights Wheeler's natural playfulness (it's amusing that one of the chapters is named "Death and Clowns"). The book makes for a very pleasant read.
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About the Author - Royal Nonesuch
As Senior Media Correspondent (which may be a made-up title), Royal Nonesuch tends to spearhead a lot of film and television content on The Outhouse. He's still a very active participant in the comic book section of the site, though. Nonesuch writes reviews of film, television, and comics, and conducts interviews for the site as well.
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