Book Review: Strange Planet and Stranger Planet by Nathan W. Pyle

Strange Planet and Stranger Planet
by Nathan W. Pyle (741.5 Pyl)

These two volumes are small hardback collections of the comic strips that appeared in Pyle’s web comic “Strange Planet”. comics — usually four-panel strips — look at life from a typical “fish out of water” perspective. The central characters are simplistically-drawn “aliens” — long stretchy bodies, rounded oblong heads, and huge eyes. But the main alien family is just a typical suburban family dealing with typical suburban issues. The main difference is that the aliens don’t have traditional terminology for the everyday things WE take for granted, and the terms they end up using are often very utilitarian, in a “Captain Obvious” sort of way. One alien finds a cat that is happily purring and can only describe it as “This being is vibrating”. The straightforward, seemingly unemotional humor this juxtaposition of terminology creates can lead to lots of silly observations on life.

 

The art is intentionally very basic, and yet Pyle manages to convey a great deal with a limited number of details. For instance, the otherwise expressionless faces take on a totally different dimension when an alien squints his eyes to convey an unexpected emotion. But it is mainly through dialog that the humor comes through.

 

At its heart, this is a humor strip — and both volumes ARE very funny, in a wry, tongue-in-cheek fashion.

[If you like these two volumes, you’ll probably want to search for Pyle’s strip online — you can follow him directly on his website, and via various social media platforms.]

[ official Strange Planet/Nathan W. Pyle web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Adulthood is a Myth: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen

Adulthood is a Myth: A Sarah’s Scribbles Collection
by Sarah Andersen [741.5 And]

I’d seen various friends sharing single examples of the Sarah’s Scribbles webcomic in their social media — Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. — and enjoyed Sarah Andersen’s wry, self-deprecating humor. So, when I saw this oversized collection of her work on the library’s “new books” display, I couldn’t pass it up. Andersen is a member of the Millenials generation, and pokes a lot of fun at all the standard Millenial tropes. There are themes that run through many of the strips or stand-alone panels included in this volume. I found myself smiling or laughing frequently, however, I also found a lot of her art to be uncomfortably or awkwardly amateurish, so I have a hard time giving it a full recommendation. The introduction of her rabbit character was fascinating — I found myself really enjoying the strips in which the rabbit appears. All in all, this is lightly amusing, with some serious looks at Millenial attitudes — If you like the online Sarah’s Scribbles comics, you’ll love this. If you prefer your artwork a little more…polished…you have have reservations about this one.

[ official Sarah’s Scribbles web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Ice Cream and Sadness by Kris Wilson and others

Ice Cream and Sadness
by Kris Wilson and othrs [741.5 Wil]

This latest collection from the web comic “Cyanide and Happiness”, created by several different artists/writers working together, captures the sarcasm and occasionally sick sense of humor of the comic series perfectly. These artists work on taking standard presumptions about jokes and humor, and putting unexpected twists on them — a punch line that would normally be a “feel good” line turns into something that makes you wince or cringe even. If your sense of humor is open-minded and willing to be bent in strange directions, you’ll probably appreciate this collection and the ongoing web comic. If you prefer more traditional humor strips, you’ll probably want to avoid this one!

[If you like this item, you might like these too – The web comics (and related print collections) by The Oatmeal and possible xkcd.] [ official Cyanide & Happiness web comic site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!