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159th out of 1,500 books
—
3,021 voters
Bottomless Belly Button
by
Dash Shaw
Bottomless Belly Button is a comedy-drama that follows the dysfunctional adventures of the Loony Family.
After 40-some years of marriage, Maggie and David Loony shock their children with their announcement of a planned divorce. But the reason for splitting isn't itself shocking: they’re "just not in love any more." The announcement sparks a week long Loony family reunion at...more
After 40-some years of marriage, Maggie and David Loony shock their children with their announcement of a planned divorce. But the reason for splitting isn't itself shocking: they’re "just not in love any more." The announcement sparks a week long Loony family reunion at...more
Paperback, 720 pages
Published
June 17th 2008
by Fantagraphics
(first published 2008)
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a massive brick of cartooning, shattering the staid glass window panes of other so-called graphic novels with its "exhuberance" & its visual swagger -- using maps, rebuses & secret codes to detail the tale of a family, where no one resembles another*, impacted by the divorce of the parents after forty years of marriage.
It's almost overwhelming, but I totally ignored one of the caveats of this graphic novel and read all three parts all 700 odd pages straight through early Friday morning....more
It's almost overwhelming, but I totally ignored one of the caveats of this graphic novel and read all three parts all 700 odd pages straight through early Friday morning....more
This review is kind of like an "it's not you, it's me" break-up, because I should really acknowledge that Dash Shaw's The Bottomless Bellybutton represents a certain side of art-house indie cartooning that just doesn't resonate with me. There is a scene late in the comic when the grandmother is at the grocery store, and the man in line in front of her gives her an angry look for not putting a divider between their items. It seemed like an outrageous response to a fairly common situation, and I r...more
5 likes · like · see review
A friend had recommended I read everything Dash Shaw had ever done. I started on his bewildering earlier books THE MOTHER'S MOUTH and GODDESS HEAD, but I put them both aside when I learned BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON had arrived. This is by far the best graphic novel I've read in several years, impressionistic, textured, synechdotal (?). Whatever. It's incredible. I've been putting this book, at once cosmic and deeply personal, in the hands of everyone I know who likes graphic novels. (and also, Das...more
Aug 10, 2008
Brian
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
jackasses with soul patches
Shelves:
read-2008
Let's see...dysfunctional white family; goofy low self esteemed guy who can't make it with chicks but has a quirky chick quick to go for his sausage conveniently pop up solely for the purpose of going for his sausage; did we mention unsympathetic bored whiney dysfunctional white family...
This is the kind of stuff Daniel Clowes and Jeffrey Brown make sing. This does not sing. This is like Parker Lewis Can't Lose compared to Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
If Zach Braff were a graphic novelist this woul...more
This is the kind of stuff Daniel Clowes and Jeffrey Brown make sing. This does not sing. This is like Parker Lewis Can't Lose compared to Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
If Zach Braff were a graphic novelist this woul...more
The things that Shaw does with light, with water, with sand will confound your eyes and uproot your mind.
There is detail here. Shaw has paid attention to it and so should you. Note the coming of dusk. Note the one "true" glimpse of Peter. Note how the "x" marks the "spot."
Sound is not usually something you think of when you think of comics. Shaw offers up a cacophony. A melodic cacophony. His is a noisy book.
Floor plans. Portraits. Cinematic scenes. I felt like I was watching a movie directed...more
There is detail here. Shaw has paid attention to it and so should you. Note the coming of dusk. Note the one "true" glimpse of Peter. Note how the "x" marks the "spot."
Sound is not usually something you think of when you think of comics. Shaw offers up a cacophony. A melodic cacophony. His is a noisy book.
Floor plans. Portraits. Cinematic scenes. I felt like I was watching a movie directed...more
This is a challenging book and it is hardly surprising that it polarises people. Personally I loved it
It is superficially simple and the drawing may appear rough- even crude (it is actually highly accomplished). The storyline - a family coming together for a last time in the house they grew up in to mark their parents' separation - does not create much narrative drive and is really a framework for Shaw to explore characters and themes.
But the remarkable quality of this book is Shaw's very subtl...more
It is superficially simple and the drawing may appear rough- even crude (it is actually highly accomplished). The storyline - a family coming together for a last time in the house they grew up in to mark their parents' separation - does not create much narrative drive and is really a framework for Shaw to explore characters and themes.
But the remarkable quality of this book is Shaw's very subtl...more
Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button takes its navel-gazing seriously, as its title suggests. In it, grown children deal with their elderly parents' decision to divorce late in life, and (to varying degrees of self-consciousness) how the end of their parents' marriage illuminates their own relative states of indecision -- and a grandkid gets in on the act, too. May the circle be unbroken.
If the main character didn't have a face like a frog, and if occasional forays into the literal architecture o...more
If the main character didn't have a face like a frog, and if occasional forays into the literal architecture o...more
Initially I was not crazy about this book. As good an artist as Dash Shaw is, he certainly isn't very adept at drawing pretty people - or at least he doesn't try very hard. The story in itself is depressing, as are the various deconstructions of the main characters, but on top of all of that we don't need numerous scenes of sad naked people being sad and naked.
Anyway, that's how I felt at the beginning. As it went on, I grew more into it, though I still couldn't say exactly why one brother is a...more
Anyway, that's how I felt at the beginning. As it went on, I grew more into it, though I still couldn't say exactly why one brother is a...more
Writing a review means thinking about the book, which gives me chills all over again. This is by far the worst graphic novel I've read.
First of all it seems as if a 10-year old without any sense of drawing was responsible for the artwork: No proper depth and horrible depictions of the simplest things (faces, couch, limbs, door, etc). This guy draws so bad he needs to explain the actions/movements by adding the word to it ('nodding', 'shake', 'drop', etc) - why, why, why can anyone enjoy such ho...more
First of all it seems as if a 10-year old without any sense of drawing was responsible for the artwork: No proper depth and horrible depictions of the simplest things (faces, couch, limbs, door, etc). This guy draws so bad he needs to explain the actions/movements by adding the word to it ('nodding', 'shake', 'drop', etc) - why, why, why can anyone enjoy such ho...more
Dash Shaw's visual style, technique, and storytelling is innovative and gripping. His use of text-as-art reminds me of Hope Larson's (much prettier) work. He has the guts (or patience or balls) to leave blank space halfway through 9 or 16 panel grids. He wastes pages, either with half panels or full page, full impact splashes like no one since Craig Thompson. Every single prominent review mentions that one panel where you see Peter's face. (It's pretty great.)
This book is long. Shaw's art made m...more
This book is long. Shaw's art made m...more
I can't be pleased lately, or so it seems. I really like Shaw, and have been blown away by his two previous books, which I thought were really wonderfully strange, simultaneously engaged and skewed approaches to narrative comics. I heard this was the next step in his really ambitious evolution as a creator.... and for me, it kind of fell flat.
There are elements of this I really like-- the color scheme is really wonderful, as is the essential humanity of these characters; despite the almost iconi...more
There are elements of this I really like-- the color scheme is really wonderful, as is the essential humanity of these characters; despite the almost iconi...more
I've been having extraordinary luck hitting on extraordinary examples of graphic novels recently. Here's another one. The semi-primitive drawing and confessional tone put me in mind of David Heatley's 'My Brain is Hanging Upside Down,' although this is a full-blown, even epic narrative (if a week with a dysfunctional family reuniting to inaugurate the parents' divorce can be epic in scope). The weightiness reminded me of Yoshihiro Tatsumi's 'A Drifting Life'--some 700 plus pages--a format that i...more
At over 700 pages, this is the longest graphic novel I've ever encountered, yet I read the whole thing in a day, taking breaks between each of the book's three sections (as recommended by the author). As far as comics go, the artwork in Bottomless Belly Button might not be described by most readers as "beautiful" or even particularly polished. But Shaw's visual storytelling techniques are still quite striking, incorporating all kinds of blueprints, diagrams,handwritten letters and even secret co...more
I did not heed the advice of the author but read this straight through in one sitting, taking no breaks between each part. The result was simply enjoyment and the somehow animated quality the characters have taken in my memory.
The style is cartoonish but the content is not. Truth be told I was not sure if I would enjoy the book as I started to read but, I was sucked into a fairly realistic plot. It chronicles the development of a family, building the characters somewhat loosely but in a way that...more
The style is cartoonish but the content is not. Truth be told I was not sure if I would enjoy the book as I started to read but, I was sucked into a fairly realistic plot. It chronicles the development of a family, building the characters somewhat loosely but in a way that...more
The Bottomless Bellybutton is an absorbing mammoth graphic novel for a rainy day or two. There are some great "comic-matic" moments without dialogue and a great use of cartoon space, and a clever use of the lack of color and a fancy use of diagrams and letters and zany gimmicky stuff like that I usually really enjoy. Ultimately, though, there's not much substance to this big thing, a case of style trumping sensation in the end (and by style I mean more book design than the actual art, which is f...more
2 likes · like · see review
As much as I loved this book, it's unsurprising to me that it has produced highly divisive reviews. The book covers a subject that's been exhausted to death (middle class white family drama), and there is absolutely no sense of resolution to any of the various plot threads running through the book. I have to say, though, if you're looking for 'resolution' and 'coherence' when reading this book, then you are Doing It Wrong. A work must be met on its own terms, and in Bottomless Belly Button Dash...more
The spine of this book was intriguing enough to make me want to know more, so I picked it up on a whim.
Overall, I enjoyed it... and you will to if you like the sort of quirky slice-of-life independent films that never really go anywhere.
A lot of questions I had at the start were answered (chief of which was - Why is Peter a frog and why is no one addressing it?) but many weren't (e.g. What's with all the secret passageways in the house?). Usually unanswered questions make me cranky but I think i...more
Overall, I enjoyed it... and you will to if you like the sort of quirky slice-of-life independent films that never really go anywhere.
A lot of questions I had at the start were answered (chief of which was - Why is Peter a frog and why is no one addressing it?) but many weren't (e.g. What's with all the secret passageways in the house?). Usually unanswered questions make me cranky but I think i...more
The story of one family - including elderly parents, three adult children, one daughter in law, and two children - as the kids come home for a visit after the news that the parents are getting a divorce. Everyone reacts in their own ways.
For one thing, this seemed pretty blatantly autobiographical. The title infers self-inspection, and one character (and only one) is depicted as having the head of a frog in all but one frame (where he is asking a love interest if he looks like a frog). I admire...more
For one thing, this seemed pretty blatantly autobiographical. The title infers self-inspection, and one character (and only one) is depicted as having the head of a frog in all but one frame (where he is asking a love interest if he looks like a frog). I admire...more
Far and away Dash Shaw's best work yet; the story is a little more straightforward/less surreal than some of Dash's other books, except for a character who appears as a frog, but he continues to play with the comics form, and without doing it in such a way that it distracts from the narrative. A huge thick book that maybe reads quicker than it looks it will, but undoubtedly will reward repeat readings...
This is alt-comics by the numbers. The obsessive attention to mundane details, the diagrams, the quirky page designs, the daddy issues, the sarcastic and confused teen girls, the general patheticness of the majority of the cast: all these elements come straight from previous books by Chris Ware and/or Daniel Clowes.
Fortunately, Dash Shaw knows how to entertain. The dialogue is uniformly sharp, and a few bits are even laugh-out-loud funny. Some favorites of mine include Chill Jill meeting "the n...more
Fortunately, Dash Shaw knows how to entertain. The dialogue is uniformly sharp, and a few bits are even laugh-out-loud funny. Some favorites of mine include Chill Jill meeting "the n...more
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This is one big and heavy book! I had it mailed at work and had to carry it all the way home with me and it really weighed on my shoulder. Once home I got into it right away but followed the author advice and forced myself to take a 24-hour break between the different parts of the story. This was quite a good advice because in spite of its hugeness it is a fairly quick read - which can be a little disappointing because when you get that big a book you expect it to last ages.
It was great to get t
...more
If you read about the Bottomless Belly Button anywhere, you will see the word dysfunctional. Even here!
Oddly, the most notable dysfunction about this book is its weight. I was reading it in bed one night and I accidentally dropped it on my face. I was so angry that right then and there I decided to never finish reading it. That's how much it hurt. I was sure I would end up with two black eyes, not much unlike the time I was reading Atlas Shrugged at Habitat for Humanity. And they say objectivis...more
Oddly, the most notable dysfunction about this book is its weight. I was reading it in bed one night and I accidentally dropped it on my face. I was so angry that right then and there I decided to never finish reading it. That's how much it hurt. I was sure I would end up with two black eyes, not much unlike the time I was reading Atlas Shrugged at Habitat for Humanity. And they say objectivis...more
Read this in a few hours--very compelling reading. A look at the complicated push-and-pull dynamics in a family gathered around their elderly parents who have just broken the news that after 40 years of marriage they're getting a divorce. Their three children grapple with the news in their own different ways while they're still noticeably coming to terms with changes in their own relationships.
His style felt very familiar, though I can't seem to place it--I like the little details the author cal...more
His style felt very familiar, though I can't seem to place it--I like the little details the author cal...more
Though bulky in size, this graphic novel reads quickly, detailing the sexual and emotional dysfunctions of the Loony family. The novel depicts the gathering of the Loony's adult children as their parents (now well into retirement age) announce their divorce. Each character is given a distinct storyline, which Dash depicts honestly and authentically. Each character's particular quirks are dealt with in roughly equal fashion, providing a nice overview of a family in various stages of relationships...more
Really, really good. For graphic novel readers who want an involving story at a quick pace, Shaw's the man for the job. The artwork is simple enough that readers need not pour over the frames as if they were standalone paintings (something that often holds me up), but the editing is very much like that of a multi-perspective film and makes the flow pitch-perfect.
I thought about giving it 5 stars because everything worked for me, but the drawing style (the same element that made the reading so sm...more
I thought about giving it 5 stars because everything worked for me, but the drawing style (the same element that made the reading so sm...more
I finished this big fat graphic novel in two consecutive nights (while camping! it's good tent reading). It might read pretty quickly - but it packs an emotional punch. Style-wise, Shaw has a nifty little visual shorthand for movement and color, and takes the time to establish the space in which his story unfolds, a special beach house inhabited by this family in crisis. A nice spectrum of angst-y moments fans out from the central problem (a couple married for 40 years with grown children decide...more
I was original enticed into reading this giant graphic-novel because I thought the title was interesting and the plot seemed mysterious and intriguing. Any story that involves bizarre family elements earns my attention even if it turns out rather lame or dull. This is definitely suitable for the "odd" book shelf. I am somewhat disturbed by some of the pornographic images, if you will. However, further thought led to the realization that many books have explicit sex scenes with descriptive detail...more
I really didn't like this at the beginning - it just seemed to be another (and not very good) dysfunctional family book. However, it grew on me. The aimless chat between family members and friends was just right, as were Peter (the Frog person - our main character) and Kat's awkward first conversations. The artwork was uneven - Peter's young nephew was so strangely drawn that, although behavior-wise he seemed to be between 1 and 2 years old, he looked like a 4-year-old cancer patient. Oh, and th...more
A very thick graphic novel in three parts. The author suggested to take breaks between reading each part, which I did.
Grown children (and their children) come together for a reunion only to hear the announcement that their elderly parents are filing for divorce after 40 years of marriage. Each child comes to term with this separation in their own way. Hidden passageways in the family home are discovered.
The artwork is great. I especially like the attention paid to water and sand. The narrative...more
Grown children (and their children) come together for a reunion only to hear the announcement that their elderly parents are filing for divorce after 40 years of marriage. Each child comes to term with this separation in their own way. Hidden passageways in the family home are discovered.
The artwork is great. I especially like the attention paid to water and sand. The narrative...more
I must say, I enjoyed this but don't know if it is worthy of some of the hyperbolic praise it received from critics. After all, Shaw is mining some pretty familiar territory--a dysfunctional middle class family shocked by the news of the elderly parents' divorce, each child reacting in different ways while also having relationship difficulties that echo that of their parents, etc. Shaw does manage some very evocative moments, though. In particular, he is extremely adept at crosscutting between t...more
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Aug 21, 2008 03:09pm