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Hoggatt, MarYanna – Adult Babysitting #2

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Adult Babysitting #2

Bartenders of the world, you should probably have copies of this handy at your jobs as a way of quickly explaining to drunk customers what life is like behind the bar. Then again, most drunk people are not particularly interested in reading, so maybe that’s not a great idea. This issue continues the adventures of MarYanna in her bartending job, this time with crime! Subjects include the reaction of a woman who tasted the drink of the guy she was with after drinking her sugarbomb, two different job-related nightmares and the fact that bad dreams seem to come with the territory, one overly drunk woman who tried to get behind the bar with hilarious results, a Phil Collins jam session, various methods of delivering drinks and picking up the empty glasses, and the time that she went to a bar across the street after closing and got stuck in an armed robbery. The fact that she stopped in the middle of that chaos to pick up her drink is fantastic, as is the fact that the surveillance video clearly showed her doing it. Also included are a few color pages of various types of drunks and one tip on how to avoid citrus destroying your nails if you work with it all day. And drink recipes, including the dreaded (for bartenders) mojito! This is another pile of interesting stories about stuff that’s probably never crossed your mind, but if you go to a lot of bars it wouldn’t hurt to have some idea of what’s going through the bartender’s head. $5

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Hoggatt, MarYanna – Adult Babysitting #1

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Adult Babysitting #1

First things first: that is the perfect title for a comic about MarYanna (I’m just going by the spelling of her first name on the cover) and her adventures in bartending. She’s also making badges, and it would be lovely to see bartenders from all over the place start wearing them. Anyway! This is her first comic, which either means that she’s been working on it for ten years or she’s professionally trained, as it’s a gorgeous book in every way. There are four two page color spreads in the center of the book depicting the four seasons and the changing bar crowds that come with each, and they are a thing of beauty. The rest of the book details various conversations/interactions she’s had with drunken and not-so-drunken customers while tending bar over the years and a few drink recipes (although it’s hard to call a beer and a shot a “recipe”). There are a few of the lessons she’s learned along the way, the necessity of assigning nicknames to regulars, how drunk customers are never right, the older rocker lady and her unique bathroom habits, names she’s been called while bartending, an older infrequent customer and his amorous intentions (that’s putting it so much more nicely than just about any other way to describe that scene), a very busy night and the fantastic punchline to it, and the story of a camouflage shrubbery that arrives too late. It’s a hell of a book, and my only complaint is one of omission. She sent a nice letter along with it and she has maybe the best cursive handwriting I’ve ever seen. Granted, comic book convention says that you have to letter your books in more easily legible print, but maybe she could be a trendsetter to start to turn that around. Pick it up, give it a chance, you won’t be disappointed. Unless you’re one of those people who hates booze and everybody associated with it, in which case, other than my general bafflement at your existence, you’ll probably like this one quite a bit too, as it’s not like the drunks are usually the heroes of their stories.

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