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Octopus Pie (definitive collection)
Octopus Pie Volume 4
In the fourth installment of Octopus Pie, dreams and harsh reality are beginning to blur. In print for the first time, this volume follows our Brooklynite heroes as they descend into the throes of heartbreak. “Filled with fully-formed characters, Gran has been just as interested in exploring being in your twenties as she is at making jokes and crafting absurd stories... the strip has matured alongside the characters, resulting in an emotional and very natural journey.” -Comic Book Resources
220 pages, Paperback
First published May 25, 2016
214 people want to read
About the author
Meredith Gran
88 books94 followersMeredith Gran lives and work in Brooklyn as a freelance comic artist & occasional animator. She's been drawing the webcomic Octopus Pie since 2007. She teaches a weekly webcomics course at the School of Visual Arts. She also wrote and drew the Eisner-nominated Adventure Time comic book spin-off, Marceline & the Scream Queens.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 20, 2016
This series continues to get better. We've now moved from strip to comics format, and started to experiment with color. I do like how Gran's cast grow and change and evolve. Too often, comic books and strips will stick with an initial formula and keep it going year after year. The last story, in particular, was very well done. Hanna is growing dissatisfied with her life, and attempts some changes. The ending is beautifully done, though a bit ambiguous. There are fewer and fewer panels per page, with lots of repeated imagery. The encroaching white space and the expressions on her face ... on the one hand, it feels futile, like nothing is changing. But she is sticking with the life changes and not just giving up. Anyway, the emotional content of those last few pages is really powerful. Gran has really evolved as an artist over the years. What started out as kind of a mediocre web comic has become this gorgeous, lush story with characters you care about. This is quality work.
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December 30, 2019The volume where, as the creator herself says in the introduction, it "gets good". Within layers of quotation and ironic distancing, of course, but as with most things in Octopus Pie, all the self-awareness in the world can't conceal the yearning for connection and approval. It's a benefit to webcomics, I suppose; you can keep plugging away at them for as long as you need, whereas comics comics now so often go under before they've really had a chance; I've read plenty of volume 1s which weren't great, but were better than the first volume of Shade, and how many of them might, if they'd had chance to build a head of steam, eventually have produced something as amazing as Hotel Shade? Here, though, while I can see why this is the volume that gets more respect, I miss the lighter, more fun tone of the early stuff. Yeah, the leads have always been skint, directionless, but young New York life is definitely getting darker - the focus now is on bad decisions, pushing people away. There are jokes and hijinks, but they're more in the margins, often tinged with regret; people get beaten up, depressed, above all frustrated. And then right before the end it threw me by going colour, in mid-chapter - and worse, apparently because someone has started working out! Mercifully, I think that was a coincidence.
March 24, 2017
'Octopus Pie, Volume 4' by Meredith Gran continues the lives of people living in Brooklyn, this time in color, sometimes.
I haven't been the biggest fan of the series, and this volume didn't help. The story still follows Eve and her mismatched roommate Hannah. There are additional supporting cast. There are house parties, and Eve's job at an organic grocery store. Breakups and boyfriends. Will considers a career change from being a pot dealer. A writer comes to do a party on how Eve and her friends hang out together.
I found some of the earlier volumes a bit more humorous. I didn't find this volume to be so. I'm not of the age group portrayed, and maybe that's the problem. I don't feel like I would want to hang out with any of these characters. I know this series has it's fans. I'm just deciding I'm not one of them.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Image Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
I haven't been the biggest fan of the series, and this volume didn't help. The story still follows Eve and her mismatched roommate Hannah. There are additional supporting cast. There are house parties, and Eve's job at an organic grocery store. Breakups and boyfriends. Will considers a career change from being a pot dealer. A writer comes to do a party on how Eve and her friends hang out together.
I found some of the earlier volumes a bit more humorous. I didn't find this volume to be so. I'm not of the age group portrayed, and maybe that's the problem. I don't feel like I would want to hang out with any of these characters. I know this series has it's fans. I'm just deciding I'm not one of them.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Image Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
November 14, 2023
I read the strip in the 2010s, when most of it was originally posted online, but never knew it was eventually published in book form. I hadn't forgotten how much I liked it, but Vol. 4, chosen more or less randomly, reminded me how dense with great dialogue, background/throwaway jokes, and character development it was. The [SPOILER ALERT]
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gradual, and then not so gradual, way Eve (crabbed, depressive) and Hannah (carefree, socially adept) swap personalities over the run of the comic was remarkably well done, and especially notable in this portion of it.
The all-night party in guy whose name I don't remember's backyard; the scene at the bar where Marigold, urged on by her morbidly curious co-workers, says hi to Will, her ex; the encounter between Eve and the NYT freelancer doing a story on Brooklyn hipster trends (I choose to interpret it as a comment on the lameness of the Style section); and Hannah's big song-and-dance number in the park -- all here.
I have next to nothing in common with the people Gran depicted or aimed the strip at, but I enjoy both the writing, which swerves wildly between funny and dramatic, and the art, which can be funny or dramatic all by itself. Shame she went from doing a comic to creating a video game as her next act.
...
...
...
...
gradual, and then not so gradual, way Eve (crabbed, depressive) and Hannah (carefree, socially adept) swap personalities over the run of the comic was remarkably well done, and especially notable in this portion of it.
The all-night party in guy whose name I don't remember's backyard; the scene at the bar where Marigold, urged on by her morbidly curious co-workers, says hi to Will, her ex; the encounter between Eve and the NYT freelancer doing a story on Brooklyn hipster trends (I choose to interpret it as a comment on the lameness of the Style section); and Hannah's big song-and-dance number in the park -- all here.
I have next to nothing in common with the people Gran depicted or aimed the strip at, but I enjoy both the writing, which swerves wildly between funny and dramatic, and the art, which can be funny or dramatic all by itself. Shame she went from doing a comic to creating a video game as her next act.
July 4, 2017
Volume 4 has been the best yet, and while I continue to enjoy this series, it still suffers from a few pacing issues. While it can be funny, fresh and poignant at times, each arc will end just as it begins getting interesting, and sometimes will just delve into confusion. That said, I am looking forward to finishing out the series with volume 5 when it arrives.
September 2, 2017
less funny, still excelent
September 25, 2020
The ending of this book nearly made me cry. One of the best depictions of the emotions after a break up I've ever experienced in any medium.
December 23, 2020
Cute artwork. Story and format improved.
April 18, 2021
Oh no! It's getting sad! 😭
January 10, 2024
2.5 stars
March 28, 2017
I have really tried to like this series. I made it to the fourth one but I just did not like it. I know a lot of people love it but I just can't get into it.
June 27, 2017
I won this volume as part of goodreads giveaway
But that in no way affects my love of Octopus Pie. I cannot even begin to express the amount of joy I have at finally owning a physical copy. I remember finding this webcomic a few years back. The characters are amazing, the way they're designed, the variety of body types, the silly faces. The story is a nice slice of life piece with people close to the age to most of my friends, so there's a lot of relatability for most millennials of this day and age [even if the story was started in 2007]. It's a story of trying to carve away neat little nook for oneself in an overpopulated and overstimulated wold where individuals have very little say in exactly how they live their life.
There's plenty of highs, and a lot of disparaging lows, and while we do feel along with the characters I find that by going on this growing journey with them gives a sense of closure [this may be the wrong word but bear with me] to the readers. Even if they're fictitious, they feelings they are going through and the problems they are facing are very real in the world, and it's just comforting watching someone go through the same things, makes you feel less alone. And, as the reader, you can see a sort of what's a good plan vs. what's a bad plan for dealing with certain situations.
I love this comic, and I plan on making all my friends read it. If you love comics and a personal journey to self discovery and adulting come join us on this adventure.
But that in no way affects my love of Octopus Pie. I cannot even begin to express the amount of joy I have at finally owning a physical copy. I remember finding this webcomic a few years back. The characters are amazing, the way they're designed, the variety of body types, the silly faces. The story is a nice slice of life piece with people close to the age to most of my friends, so there's a lot of relatability for most millennials of this day and age [even if the story was started in 2007]. It's a story of trying to carve away neat little nook for oneself in an overpopulated and overstimulated wold where individuals have very little say in exactly how they live their life.
There's plenty of highs, and a lot of disparaging lows, and while we do feel along with the characters I find that by going on this growing journey with them gives a sense of closure [this may be the wrong word but bear with me] to the readers. Even if they're fictitious, they feelings they are going through and the problems they are facing are very real in the world, and it's just comforting watching someone go through the same things, makes you feel less alone. And, as the reader, you can see a sort of what's a good plan vs. what's a bad plan for dealing with certain situations.
I love this comic, and I plan on making all my friends read it. If you love comics and a personal journey to self discovery and adulting come join us on this adventure.
December 2, 2016
This is my favorite ongoing comic. You should definitely be reading it, and these new editions from Image are the best way to start.
Octopus Pie is one of those comics where, if you just say the premise, it sounds pointlessly generic. "Young people in Brooklyn struggling with life, work, and adulthood." Yeah, I'll clear my calendar immediately. So what I've been telling people lately is that it's a more formally and visually ambitious successor to Dykes to Watch Out For or the classic run of For Better or For Worse — a comfortably slow burn that builds up drama from layer after layer of small events, whose characters grow, backslide, and grow in what feels like real-time. Which is kind of the promise of all ongoing contemporary slice-of-life strips, but god, it's so rare to see it fulfilled in a way that feels at all real or dangerous. I've bailed out of so many strips like this because they wouldn't fucking go anywhere, but OP goes all kinds of places.
Volume 4 ends with "The Witch Lives," which was the arc where OP went from "a favorite" to "my actual favorite." It's one of the best stories I've read about the slow, grinding shittiness of heartbreak and resentment, and the way it uses and abuses the twice-weekly serial comics format is so mercilessly perfect. Best breakup album since Interbabe Concern.
Have I mentioned it's funny? It's also really goddamn funny.
Octopus Pie is one of those comics where, if you just say the premise, it sounds pointlessly generic. "Young people in Brooklyn struggling with life, work, and adulthood." Yeah, I'll clear my calendar immediately. So what I've been telling people lately is that it's a more formally and visually ambitious successor to Dykes to Watch Out For or the classic run of For Better or For Worse — a comfortably slow burn that builds up drama from layer after layer of small events, whose characters grow, backslide, and grow in what feels like real-time. Which is kind of the promise of all ongoing contemporary slice-of-life strips, but god, it's so rare to see it fulfilled in a way that feels at all real or dangerous. I've bailed out of so many strips like this because they wouldn't fucking go anywhere, but OP goes all kinds of places.
Volume 4 ends with "The Witch Lives," which was the arc where OP went from "a favorite" to "my actual favorite." It's one of the best stories I've read about the slow, grinding shittiness of heartbreak and resentment, and the way it uses and abuses the twice-weekly serial comics format is so mercilessly perfect. Best breakup album since Interbabe Concern.
Have I mentioned it's funny? It's also really goddamn funny.
July 23, 2016
I received a copy of this through Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
Disclaimer: I haven't read any of the other Octopus Pie comics so I am probably missing out on a lot of background information.
The storylines were kind of up and down for me. Some were humorous (I really like Hanna), but others were a bit dull and confusing. On the whole, it didn't really captivate me. Everything seemed very simple and flat. The characters showed a lot of emotion, but the context and reasoning behind those feelings weren't necessarily always expressed.
The artwork was simple and cutesy, but often it was difficult for me to tell the characters apart. The hardest thing for me was figuring out who all of the characters were and remembering them because of the similarities in their depictions. It was much easier in the section that was in color.
I did really enjoy the partially-colored scene in which Hanna is at the museum. Really, most of the scenes I liked had Hanna in them. She was the character that really popped for me.
So overall, it was a decent work. I'm sure I would have understood more depth having read the other books, but it was still readable. Cool depiction of the lives of twenty-somethings.
Disclaimer: I haven't read any of the other Octopus Pie comics so I am probably missing out on a lot of background information.
The storylines were kind of up and down for me. Some were humorous (I really like Hanna), but others were a bit dull and confusing. On the whole, it didn't really captivate me. Everything seemed very simple and flat. The characters showed a lot of emotion, but the context and reasoning behind those feelings weren't necessarily always expressed.
The artwork was simple and cutesy, but often it was difficult for me to tell the characters apart. The hardest thing for me was figuring out who all of the characters were and remembering them because of the similarities in their depictions. It was much easier in the section that was in color.
I did really enjoy the partially-colored scene in which Hanna is at the museum. Really, most of the scenes I liked had Hanna in them. She was the character that really popped for me.
So overall, it was a decent work. I'm sure I would have understood more depth having read the other books, but it was still readable. Cool depiction of the lives of twenty-somethings.
June 21, 2016
Octopus Pie Volume 4 by Meredith Gran shows Gran's growth in every aspect of her art. This volume has much more depth as far as plot lines and the artwork is wonderful, and colorful.
Even in the early days of this being a web comic the stories were never simplistic but they were fairly simple. As one would expect in a novel series but is often lacking in graphic series, the characters are developing, changing and their emotions are deeper than most of what we saw before.
I would highly recommend this series to any fan and for newcomers I would suggest starting with volume 1. This is not because this volume can't be read as a standalone but you will really appreciate how this has developed from a good web comic into a superb comic, no longer just a collection of strips in the traditional sense.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Even in the early days of this being a web comic the stories were never simplistic but they were fairly simple. As one would expect in a novel series but is often lacking in graphic series, the characters are developing, changing and their emotions are deeper than most of what we saw before.
I would highly recommend this series to any fan and for newcomers I would suggest starting with volume 1. This is not because this volume can't be read as a standalone but you will really appreciate how this has developed from a good web comic into a superb comic, no longer just a collection of strips in the traditional sense.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
August 10, 2016
Octopus Pie never disappoints, but in this fourth volume of archived strips, all of which were previously published on the internet, Meredith Gran takes the strip and, most importantly, its characters' relationships and personal growth, to a more complex level, in conjunction with her ongoing artistic evolution, which includes color comics by the end of the anthology. This is the point in the overall Octopus Pie story when it starts to become a single, vast story arc, with more unified character development and a less episodic storyline as it moves towards its conclusion. The only thing negative to be said about it is that new readers should absolutely not start here -- Octopus Pie is ultimately a vast, complete novel, and should be read in order.
August 6, 2016
Disclaimer: I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel was an interesting and vivid read of how harsh reality can be. From breaking up with a significant other to failing at successfully performing at a job one can see the characters go through their struggles in their own lives. The characters are well drawn out, are relatable, and are realistic.
I would recommend it to anyone, in my honest opinion.
If you want to see the rest of my review, check it out here: http://elisbookdepository.blogspot.co...
Thank you and I hope you all enjoyed this graphic novel!
This graphic novel was an interesting and vivid read of how harsh reality can be. From breaking up with a significant other to failing at successfully performing at a job one can see the characters go through their struggles in their own lives. The characters are well drawn out, are relatable, and are realistic.
I would recommend it to anyone, in my honest opinion.
If you want to see the rest of my review, check it out here: http://elisbookdepository.blogspot.co...
Thank you and I hope you all enjoyed this graphic novel!
June 29, 2016
Octopus Pie is sometimes referred to as "absurdist" web comic. But, really, the most absurd thing about it is how lived-in these two-dimensional characters feel, and in a fraction of the characters overwrought novels and shows like GIRLS spend on similar of coming-of-age-in-New-York stories. Hanna's arc in this volume was particularly spot-on.
July 9, 2016
Welp. So now Eve dating Will? (Mar's ex) their friendship is so weird. Also whatever happen with Park?
I'm so excited they added colors at the last section. I prefer it that way. I hope they keep it up.
Thanks to publisher who gave me free digital copy via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review!
I'm so excited they added colors at the last section. I prefer it that way. I hope they keep it up.
Thanks to publisher who gave me free digital copy via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review!
July 18, 2016
Younger 20-somethings in the big city go through functional and dysfunctional relationships, break-ups, career questions, roommate and friendship growing pains, self-doubt and self-encouragement. This volume is best understood in context of prior volumes, although as a new reader I got enough to understand most of what was going on.
April 23, 2017
Volume 5 of Gran's inner city drama.
April 19, 2017
So many feels.
May 1, 2017
It was fine, but... Its a bit difficult for me to keep reading sometimes. There are a lot of dialogs but I just don't get them if they mean to be funny...or serious...Or....yeah, have any meaning. Is it because I'm not north american and there's something in their local life I can't comprehend?
I love Eve and Hannah, but sometimes the strips focus in whoever else who I don't care and just want to pass pages to move on. I think that's a problem. At least for me. Nice way to use colors, though.
I love Eve and Hannah, but sometimes the strips focus in whoever else who I don't care and just want to pass pages to move on. I think that's a problem. At least for me. Nice way to use colors, though.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews