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Troop 142
by
Mike Dawson (Goodreads Author)
Paperback, 268 pages
Published
August 8th 2011
(first published August 5th 2011)
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Man, teenage boys are jerks. This book sure made me glad that I am no longer a teenager. I kept expecting for there to be some moment when they realized that they were jerks and would be nicer, even just for a moment, but in fact not only did they not learn any lessons, the characters were perhaps bigger jerks by the end. Though frustrating, it is probably more realistic that boy-scouts was not actually teaching any of these boys to be less jerky and if anything seemed to be encouraging it.
So,...more
So,...more
This is a hilarious and insightful coming of age story about a group of boy scouts spending a week at summer camp. Dawson captures the sense of humor of pre-teen boys and the way they relate to each other in group settings like this. Some kids are teased and poked fun at while others are more severely treated as outcasts. Yet deep friendships also seem to form. Including one that is implied to be sexual in nature. I especially enjoyed the way Dawson characterizes the dads in this story though. T...more
With the BSA back in the news, I just revisited this timely and honest portrayal of Boy Scout camp and its petty cruelties. The camp Dawson imagines is a very thinly veiled version of the very camp I attended and staffed as a young Scout, back in the early nineties. He hits it right on the head.
The picture is unflattering, but not unsympathetic. It's so easy with camp stories to let nostalgia whitewash hazing and bullying. Dawson keeps his eyes wide open, and he represents with particular deftne...more
The picture is unflattering, but not unsympathetic. It's so easy with camp stories to let nostalgia whitewash hazing and bullying. Dawson keeps his eyes wide open, and he represents with particular deftne...more
A graphic novel that cover's a Boy Scout's week at summer camp, it's filled with cruelty and profanity and the million different ways that teenage boys can destroy each other. So...it's pretty accurate. There is humor, there is some hope in Troop 142, but it's a pretty bleak book. The black and white illustrations are cartoony, but manage to capture the spirit of this group of boys and their adult leaders, most of whom seem shipwrecked at this summer camp, not really wanting to be there. If you'...more
I had recently been talking to my husband about our 7-year-old son joining scouts. After reading this graphic novel, I really don't want him to join scouts or go camping with scouts. I'm sure some of this graphic novel is over-the-top for the reader's benefit, but it paints a disturbing (to me) picture of how boys act and treat each other.
Mr. Dawson seemed to jump right into the middle of the story without introducing any of the characters or setting. As the reader continues along, they find out...more
Mr. Dawson seemed to jump right into the middle of the story without introducing any of the characters or setting. As the reader continues along, they find out...more
Easily the funniest book I've read in a looong time. And easily the most honest portrayal of boy scouts I've ever seen. Having been one and knowing how raunchy and racy the jokes can get when you put a bunch of teen-aged boys together, he hits it dead-on. Add to it that Dawson's cartooning and sense of timing is even stronger here than in Freddie & Me, and this one's a big winner. The humor can get a bit adult at times...so be warned that this one is for readers who can enjoy a really dirty...more
This book was about the lives of a BSA troop at summer camp for a week. You follow each day through multiple characters. Some parts I loved, as an Eagle Scout I could really connect, I got nostalgic. Some parts dealt with homosexual/religion issues in scouts, and we're relatively anti-scout. I wasn't too much of a fan of those heavier topics in the book, although they are important. Some good art, some page layouts I loved, overall a really fun read especially if you were a scout.
Ahhh, the cruelty of boys "in the wild," and of the men who are overseeing them. I kept waiting in anticipation (so I could get appropriately rageful) for the boy scouts rejection of gays, and I wasn't disappointed. I did have to wait until almost the end of this book for my righteous anger to find full voice, however. The rest of the time it was just annoying boys being annoying boys. Ostracism, bullying, your run-of-the-mill sort of stuff.
Reading this book I felt like the author was just really still very angry about his time at camp. This book definitely shows boy scouts is not for everyone and just like everything else can definitely be corrupted. It wasn't your happy go lucky memory type book. I did like the artwork though. Not overly complicated but not too simple either.
I was thrilled that the library I work in started buying graphic novels, but this boy scout coming of age story is a questionable call for our all women's catholic college. I see how Troop 142 does what graphic novels do well and tells very personal stories, but I really couldn't relate to boys going through puberty at boy scout camp.
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An introduction to boy scout culture, summer camp, and manhood--whether you're a teen or an adult. The extremely strong language makes me seriously think if I should make this book available in my class library. A few ambiguous strands are never wrapped up. Blazed through this. A few funny moments.
I had really high hopes for this book since it was on all the graphic novel must read lists, but I was decidedly underwhelmed.
What I learned from this: Boy Scouts is horrible. Being a boy is difficult and gross. Boys are mean and gross. Boy Scout camps seems like hell on earth.
A charming look at a week at Scout camp and a reminder why I never could be a Boy Scout.
Darker side to boy scouts
Mar 10, 2012
Nicole
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fellow "nimrods"
Shelves:
gave-ups,
graphic-novel-comics
I was intrigued by the flap copy. "...reveals the hilarious and brutal truths about boys and men, the hypocrisy of institutional morality and the resilience of the human spirit. Be prepared."
But apparently the truths about boys and men were more brutal than hilarious for this non-boy. I just couldn't get past all the "nimrod, dickweed" and objectifying women. If this is what boys and men are like in packs, then I'd rather not know.
But apparently the truths about boys and men were more brutal than hilarious for this non-boy. I just couldn't get past all the "nimrod, dickweed" and objectifying women. If this is what boys and men are like in packs, then I'd rather not know.
This story, which occurs at a Boy Scout camp, isn't something I could identify with, as it seems that boys bully each other in different ways than girls do in Girl Scouts (yeah, I was a Girl Scout), but it was interesting nonetheless. It was addicting, went by quickly, and is worth more reads in the future.
Apr 14, 2013
Michael Gregori
marked it as to-read
Apr 05, 2013
Steph
marked it as to-read
Jan 28, 2013
LB
is currently reading it
Jan 16, 2013
Dawn Rutherford
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Mike Dawson was born in England, and emigrated to the United States in 1986, where his family settled in Red Bank, New Jersey. He studied painting at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Since 2005 Dawson's work has appeared in a number of comics anthologies, including AdHouse Books successful Project: Superior collection, and issue #1 of the spin-off series, Superior Showcase....more
More about Mike Dawson...
Since 2005 Dawson's work has appeared in a number of comics anthologies, including AdHouse Books successful Project: Superior collection, and issue #1 of the spin-off series, Superior Showcase....more
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