Blog Archives
Zaben, Andrew – Tuesday and Thursday
Tuesday
and Thursday
See? Sometimes it’s the right thing to do to wait for an
artist to develop a little bit. I was probably a bit harsh in
the last review too. I did have legitimate complaints about
it, it’s just that hindsight is always 20/20… Anyway, this
book. It’s the story of a man on his days off and what he does
with them. Along the way we meet his shrew of a wife and his
drunken friends, and we learn about his kleptomania. The only
problem I had in this book was the ending, and that was only because
it seemed like an easy solution to the story. Maybe not, maybe
I’m being too hard on it, but it doesn’t really matter because I
loved the rest of it. His characters have gained levels since
Dream Big Dreams, the dialogue has improved when it was already
pretty damned good, even the art has stepped up a notch or two.
This is a thoroughly engaging read from start to finish and his
subtle but dead-on take on male-female relations is one of the
truest things I’ve read in some time. Spend $8.95, check it
out. I don’t see it anywhere online currently, but you can
always ask Fantagraphics
if they have it. Or you could just mail the man direct at:
75-05 217 St. Bayside, NY 11364.
Zaben, Andrew – Dream Big Dreams
Dream Big Dreams
Enough already. I’ve given this book every chance that I can,
and I’m afraid that the bad things outweigh the good. I read
it a couple of times before this. Didn’t like it the first time,
found more to like the second time around and now, trying to read it
the third time, I just can’t do it. What problems do I have
with it? Well, the art, for starters. Technically, it’s
fine, if a little bland. Still, I shouldn’t have a problem
distinguishing characters the third time through, and I could still
barely tell them apart. I don’t care for most of the dialogue
either. It feels stilted and contrived most of the time.
So why did I read it two and a half times if I hated it so much?
It’s not like I’ve heard any buzz about it at all, so there’s no
standard that I keep expecting it to hit. It has some really
great concepts and plot ideas. The idea of the little hole in
the wall bar (one of the true places left in the world for actual
conversation about politics and important topics) being franchised
out is a great idea. That’s the strongest part of the book,
even if I still don’t like some of the dialogue. If any of you
are still reading this after my initial rant, I think this guy has a
voice. He didn’t have it with this book, not by a long shot,
but I’m hoping that this was a learning experience for him. I
think Fantagraphics is
putting out another book by him in a couple of months (which is
where you can get this one, if you’re curious. Just go to the
page and type in his name once you get to the catalog), and I hope
to have enough money to give it a shot, because I’m curious.
Here’s that art I was talking about.
