Thursday, July 26, 2012

Everything, Volume 1: Collected and Uncollected Comics from Around 1978-1982, by Lynda Barry

Everything, Volume 1: Collected and Uncollected Comics from Around 1978-1982, by Lynda Barry, 176 pages



Lynda Barry is one of my absolute favorite artists and writers.  This ambitious project of hers, to compile “Everything” she’s done, starts strong with Volume 1.  This collects the beginnings of her comic career, including Ernie Pook’s Comeek, the Two Sisters comic strip, and Girls and Boys (with some others).  The Two Sisters comic was new to me, but it’s really charming, about two twin sisters who really want a dog.  Girls and Boys is where Barry’s style starts getting noticeably cruder, but it’s also where she subtly starts making the reader think about gender, relationships, abuse, and the cruelty of children.  In my opinion, she uses the crudeness of the art to bring out the grotesquerie of humanity.  It's not where I would advise someone who's never read her work to begin, but it's something any fan must read at some point.  

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