One of the most promising young talents in cartooning makes his debut with a dazzling collection—part freakish dreamlife, part quirk-o-rama a...
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Sep 28, 2008
Jeremy
rated it: 
Do you like comic-book memoirs? The sweetly conflicted adolescent remembrances of Craig Thompson and Chester Brown? The insistence on exposing ones least attractive habits and behaviors that drives the work of Joe Matt? The gawky innocence and heartbreak conveyed by the out-of-control doodles populating the world of Lynda Barry? The absurdist suburban nightmares of Daniel Clowes and Charles Burns? The dense pages and bright melancholy of Chris Ware? The brilliant hindsight of Alison Bechde
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Mar 30, 2010
Dave-O
rated it: 
After reading this, I was left wondering is hindsight such a great thing. David Heatley's book has all the contradictions of someone baring it all. He forgoes the contrivances of politeness and privacy and puts his life out there which is both daring and awkward. The subject of Heatley's comics are what other writers and artists might shy away from in their whole careers. "Sex History" is a chronicle of every sexual experience, and this version of that comic includes a one-page addendu
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Nov 18, 2008
Malbadeen
rated it: 
Holy schmigarolly! My Brain is "hanging upside down" after reading this too, as are my heart and just about every other major organ.
It's pretty amazing how detailed and seemingly honest Heatley is in depicting his life.
As I said in a comment before, this book was hard to read and hard to stop reading.
I realize I can be a little too glib at times about difficulties but I find it strange that people can face their childhoods without providing them/us with any comic reli More...
It's pretty amazing how detailed and seemingly honest Heatley is in depicting his life.
As I said in a comment before, this book was hard to read and hard to stop reading.
I realize I can be a little too glib at times about difficulties but I find it strange that people can face their childhoods without providing them/us with any comic reli More...
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Jan 16, 2009
Will
rated it:
This graphic memoir is filled to the brim with a ton of tiny crude strips chronicaling the cartoonist's life from birth 'til now. The first section was my favorite - "Sex History". He's vulnerable, exploitative, and extremely frank as he goes over every minute detail of every sexual experience he has ever been a part of. It's really interesting to actually see comics of kids fumbling around figuring out the birds and the bees. The scenes are pretty explicit, but really engaging in tha
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Dec 04, 2008
Lars
rated it:
There are reasons not to like this memoirish collection of comic-strip vignettes commemorating events and dreams from Heatley's life. The drawings look simplistic and crude. Its frankly dead-pan confessional tone is disarming and even initially off-putting. It turns out that the illustrative rawness is a perfect match to the realness of the content, and Heatley's fearless examination of his own neuroses, prejudices and failings are liberating and empathetic. He divides this examination themat
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Nov 30, 2008
Ron
rated it: 
Heatley's "graphic memoir" is broken up into five sections, most of which begin with short, surrealistic dreams that lead into intense narratives recounting his sexual history, his encounters with black people, his relationships with his mother and father, and his family tree. These sections are broken down into 6x8 grids which, even in the book's oversize format, can be hard to read for long stretches... and that's even before getting into the actual details of those stories. (When He
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Sep 09, 2009
Brett
rated it: 
my sexual history was a very funny comic the first time I read it. here it's reprinted for the billionth time and he's decided to censor it and add a new ending that changes the tone and to me ruins the comic. his black history comic, an attempt to document every black person he's ever met, is printed for the first time here. it seems to be trying to recreate that kind of insane self exposure of "my sexual hstory". but it just comes off as very presumptuous. drawing himself as a ewwtsy
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Jan 06, 2009
Dave
rated it:
Look, just because something happened to you doesn't mean you should tell me about it. Just because you had a dream about black girls being mean to you doesn't mean you should tell me about it. Nothing wrong with personal life. That's O.K. But if you pissed on the campers while they were sleeping in their bunks, you might decide to write about it. But have it go somewhere. Don't tell me about it for the sake of being honest, and especially don't try to make me think that I need to be shock
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Feb 24, 2011
Michael
rated it:
http://bentspine.blogspot.com/2011/02/my...
The first of David Heatley’s stories I read was part of an anthology published about four or five years ago. I can’t remember if it was one of those Best American Comics books or the hardbound issue of McSweeney’s filled with indie comics. One thing I do remember is what the story was about. In a few sloppy panels, Heatley told about living with his father after college, sitting on the toilet and wondering what it looks like when he wipes h More...
The first of David Heatley’s stories I read was part of an anthology published about four or five years ago. I can’t remember if it was one of those Best American Comics books or the hardbound issue of McSweeney’s filled with indie comics. One thing I do remember is what the story was about. In a few sloppy panels, Heatley told about living with his father after college, sitting on the toilet and wondering what it looks like when he wipes h More...
Nov 20, 2008
Will
rated it:
Intense! The pages are packed with grids of tiny little comic frames. The autobiographical subject matter- a record of all the black people he's known, his sexual history and his awkward relationships with his parents - is brutally honesty but feels true and familiar - makes you think of R. Crumb in it's frankness - but it's not a creepy and depressing read - it's actually pretty funny throughout - maybe because Heatley is sincere and actually likes people and the world- the opposite of the misa
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Jan 29, 2010
I really, really like David Heatley. I think his illustrative style is beautiful;his caricatures are endearing,his panel composition is quick and engaging, and he uses a LOT of color.
I have friends who feel lukewarmly towards David Heatley, which I just don't get. His autobiographical comics hilarious, sympathetic, and brutally honest;they don't spare any mortifying details,yet he never comes across as a self-pitying nebbish. Thank goodness!
Recommended for fans of Lynda Barry, More...
I have friends who feel lukewarmly towards David Heatley, which I just don't get. His autobiographical comics hilarious, sympathetic, and brutally honest;they don't spare any mortifying details,yet he never comes across as a self-pitying nebbish. Thank goodness!
Recommended for fans of Lynda Barry, More...
Sep 27, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Woah, this book was pretty overwhelmingly over-disclosing. But good, in a very intense way. I feel like I know how boys really think now (see the 'Sex History' section). But I'm probably fooling myself. I just know how David Heatley thinks. Actually I probably don't even know that, since it was all a bit much for me and I had to keep skipping forward to the section on his mom and dad. The artwork was felt a little like outsider art - naive and highly detailed.
Jan 26, 2009
Danimal
rated it:
So great! With amazing detail, this cartoonist chronicles his entire sexlife, his entire experience with black people, his family history, and (most amusingly) his prickly relationship with his parents. The early stories aren't beautifully drawn or that funny, but taken altogether they have the power of a steamroller. I couldn't put it down.
It helps that he's so daring, able to make himself (or his poor family) look foolish. Great stuff!
It helps that he's so daring, able to make himself (or his poor family) look foolish. Great stuff!
Jan 11, 2009
Andrew
rated it:
My favorite comic of 2008. Heatley just kind of came out of nowhere and killed it. His style reminds me most of Joe Matt, with a bit of Kevin Huizenga in there. Heatley puts everything out there to the point of turning oversharing into an artform; there's brutally honest and then there's this, no pathos but pure gut-busting hilarity, hitting too close for comfort on almost every page. Every neurosis, every sexual/racial/familial wart and blunder is laid bare. Awesome.
Nov 05, 2009
Anina
rated it:
The master of the quirky short autobiographical sketch. I had seen the section on his father in some collection and loved it. The one about his mother is awesome as well, and the one about his family history and wife are sweet. The ones I liked the least were the section on his sex life and the one on his experiences with racism, call me grandma but they just weren't as humorous.
Nov 27, 2008
Isa
rated it:
I have a serious problem with anyone who uses the the same expression to describe both orgasms and childbirth.
Heatley's attitudes about sex, race, and his family, which he draws and describes ad nauseam under the guise of honesty and artistic license, should be called out for what they really are: narcissistic, exploitative, and disrespectful.
Heatley's attitudes about sex, race, and his family, which he draws and describes ad nauseam under the guise of honesty and artistic license, should be called out for what they really are: narcissistic, exploitative, and disrespectful.
Nov 04, 2011
Maureen
rated it:
For a graphic novel, reading this was tedious as hell- and it only took 2 days. I think that's because he stuck to a really rigorous panel structure throughout most of it, though. It felt forced and the dream sequences were a serious snooze. I did like the way the author segmented memories into various categories, though. Just not my cup of tea.
Dec 06, 2008
Meghan
rated it:
Confessional autobiography divided up into six sections: Sex, Race, Mother, Father, Family History, ... and I forget one other. Tiny square panels. Reminds me of Joe Matt, occassionally gets into the self-reflexiveness of him writing comics about himself, and what if it's too personal, what if his kid reads it, etc. He artfully skips over any graphic details about him and his wife in the Sex section, but chronicles every other sexual experience he's ever had.
Nov 25, 2008
Spencer
rated it:
dont read this. tmi on the sex. potty mouth. excellent unnervingly honest stuff in the "race" section on every black person he has ever met. he is so open on everything that perhaps he is more an exhibitionist than the brutally honest/forthright fellow.
Dec 04, 2008
Raina
rated it:
It was interesting as a confessional/documentation of controveral issues as manifested in daily life/self-exploration exercise, but after a section and a half I decided my valuable ys reading time was better spent in the ys section...
Nov 26, 2008
Jessica
rated it:
I liked this book a lot. I definitely was not expecting to find out all the details about David Heatley's life, but it was refreshing in some way. Not many people are that willing to offer their "darkest" thoughts about friends and loved ones to the world the way he did.
Jun 09, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
Loved this -- could not put it down. It even inspired a little bit of a blog post: http://satsumaart.wordpress.com/2011/06/...
Dec 26, 2008
Becca
rated it:
There was a lot of repetition with the sex history and race sections. I didn't need to see quite so many strips devoted to Heatley as a tot kissing girls and jerking off his boy friends.
Jul 15, 2009
Amar
rated it:
He's been in a lot of orgies, relatively speaking
Not a bad memoir but seriously, enough with the white boys who go to art school, have awkward sexual experiences, get married and have kids. It's such a tiny slice of the human experience pie! Can we PLEASE get more graphic memoris from anybody who's not a white boy who went to art school etc etc as above?
Stuck Rubber Baby was a start... I'd recommend trying that one
I did like how Heatley listed every black More...
Not a bad memoir but seriously, enough with the white boys who go to art school, have awkward sexual experiences, get married and have kids. It's such a tiny slice of the human experience pie! Can we PLEASE get more graphic memoris from anybody who's not a white boy who went to art school etc etc as above?
Stuck Rubber Baby was a start... I'd recommend trying that one
I did like how Heatley listed every black More...
Dec 07, 2011
Justin
rated it:
Self-indulgent but incredibly honest. At first, I really liked this collection, but as I read on, I grew increasingly annoyed with Heatley. By the end, the elements of his comics that I initially found endearing seemed contrived and obnoxious (stop crying, already). The "slice of life" narratives became simply pointless. When is it ever interesting to read about someone else's dreams or family histories? Very rarely. The artwork is completely banal and uninspired as well. I do not want
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Dec 16, 2009
Megan
rated it:
Maybe a 2.5. The candidness is noteworthy, but not sure if the book or art really is... I'd sacrifice some of the private details for a little more insight or depth.
Aug 26, 2009
Citizen
rated it:
Hilarious, touching, deceivingly simplistic artwork. Seems more like interesting fiction than memoir.
