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110th out of 482 books
—
207 voters
Life With Mr. Dangerous
Somewhere in the Midwest, Amy Breis is going nowhere.
Amy has a job she hates, a creep boyfriend she’s just dumped, and a best friend she can’t reach on the phone. But at least her (often painfully passive-aggressive) mother bought her a pink unicorn sweatshirt for her birthday. Pink. Unicorn. For her twenty-seventh birthday.
Gliding through the daydreams and realities of a...more
Amy has a job she hates, a creep boyfriend she’s just dumped, and a best friend she can’t reach on the phone. But at least her (often painfully passive-aggressive) mother bought her a pink unicorn sweatshirt for her birthday. Pink. Unicorn. For her twenty-seventh birthday.
Gliding through the daydreams and realities of a...more
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
May 24th 2011
by Villard
(first published 2011)
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another sad book from paul hornschemeier.
not nearly as sad as Mother, Come Home, the book that makes most people cry, but more of the gentle sorrow that just permeates all existence. no?? just me, then? kay.
this one is about a girl in her late twenties, drifting. unsuitable men, awkward relationship with her mother, which spans the spectrum of love to embarrassment, crappy job, and a faraway friend who owns her heart.
he does the small internal terrors so well: the judgmental "this guy doesn't li...more
One of the things that distinguishes comics from text-only fiction is how much more clearly influence bleeds through. You can read Jonathan Lethem's As She Crawled Across the Table and not necessarily note the imprimatur of Don DeLillo. You would be hard put, though, in work even as solid as comics artist Paul Hornschemeier's not to see in his drawings and settings the presence of Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, James Kochalka, perhaps even John Pham, and others. That's fine, as those...more
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It's been awhile since I read any slice-of-life type comics and this reminded me how much I really love the genre. P-Horn's art is always pitch-perfect and is what really drives this story, which is super relatable. Spellcheck has just informed me that "relatable" isn't a word unless you hyphenate it, but eff that. I think this book is especially refreshing because of the over-representation of the same type of story from a male perspective where a character like Amy's is represented only by her...more
Having enjoyed some of Mr Hornschemeier's previous comix, I was unpleasantly surprised by this timid show'n'tell concerning several weeks in the life of a depressed slacker. Amy, 26, lives with her cat in a one-bedroom apartment in an unnamed city (in the Midwest, says the book's back cover); works in a retail clothing shop in a mall; has broken up with a boyfriend who just wasn't that into her; spends Friday nights watching an Adult Swim-esque cartoon called Mr Dangerous; and is inconveniently...more
Look at me..all reading graphic novels and stuff!
Okay I liked the tone of this one, I liked the way that Hornschemeier gets across the gloomy, depressed, slacker life of the main character Amy. To be honest I had to double check at the end that the author was in fact, not female. He hit so dead on some of the self defeating traps in which women often find themselves.
Amy is a 20-something, slightly depressed, kind of aimless girl who lives alone with her cat, has a friend/love interest who moved...more
Okay I liked the tone of this one, I liked the way that Hornschemeier gets across the gloomy, depressed, slacker life of the main character Amy. To be honest I had to double check at the end that the author was in fact, not female. He hit so dead on some of the self defeating traps in which women often find themselves.
Amy is a 20-something, slightly depressed, kind of aimless girl who lives alone with her cat, has a friend/love interest who moved...more
Amy is a 20-something year old in a dead end job, without many friends, and is suffering from some form of depression. She's just broken up with her latest bad boyfriend and there's seemingly nothing positive on the horizon. And her best friend lives in San Francisco. What's a girl to do? She drowns herself in reruns of a cartoon called "Mr. Dangerous" and trudges through the day to day job, takes care of her cat, and talks with her depressed, divorced mother. But...new people enter her world an...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Amy works in hateful retail, has a jerk for a boyfriend, a sad mother, and an addiction to a TV show in this graphic novel about being a bored 20-something.
Sigh. Amy is in love with a friend but can't seem to tell him. She has a nice cat. She watches a cartoon religiously to distract her from life. Her aging mother struggles to make ends meet. She makes poor choices when it comes to boyfriends, sex, and relationships in general.
Seriously, when I was reading this,"Go cry emo kid!" came on inside...more
Sigh. Amy is in love with a friend but can't seem to tell him. She has a nice cat. She watches a cartoon religiously to distract her from life. Her aging mother struggles to make ends meet. She makes poor choices when it comes to boyfriends, sex, and relationships in general.
Seriously, when I was reading this,"Go cry emo kid!" came on inside...more
"Life with Mr. Dangerous" is full of keen observations of personal tics, and its careful characterization of the protagonist, Amy, are realistic and lovingly observed (Amy may loathe herself, but Hornscheimer writes her as lovable, not despicable). The story itself is a relatively simple and sweet story of frustration and uncertainty. I also appreciated the fact that Amy was a dimensional working class protagonist (for once!).
Although I don't usually enjoy slice of life stories or graphic novels...more
Although I don't usually enjoy slice of life stories or graphic novels...more
Jun 17, 2011
Jess
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those interested
Recommended to Jess by:
Browsing Graphic Novels at CHn
Shelves:
z_11,
graphic-novel
Amy's just kind of there right now, if you know what I mean.
Oh it's a downer. There I was, sitting there, reading this, eating soup, and damn if the book didn't bum me out. You've got to hand it to Hornschemeier. The man can make a girl think "what if this is it?" like nobody's business.
Oh this is getting personal and depressing in itself. Let's just say he did a good job showing apprehension, moping, and some longing, too.
The one thing I didn't buy was Amy having that many men wanting to hang...more
Oh it's a downer. There I was, sitting there, reading this, eating soup, and damn if the book didn't bum me out. You've got to hand it to Hornschemeier. The man can make a girl think "what if this is it?" like nobody's business.
Oh this is getting personal and depressing in itself. Let's just say he did a good job showing apprehension, moping, and some longing, too.
The one thing I didn't buy was Amy having that many men wanting to hang...more
Amy is having a rough time: she has a dead-end job, a loving but awkward relationship with her mother, and her best friend / love interest just moved away. She watches a lot of TV, specifically a cartoon called "Mr. Dangerous". The book is about her days - often depressing, a bit paranoid, and obsessive rants about her favorite TV show. I probably would have enjoyed this book a bit more at a different time in my life, but it was just a little too depressing for me now.
That being said, I really...more
That being said, I really...more
Aug 18, 2012
Lauren
added it
This is at once reassuring and with some reluctance, but I found too many similarities between myself and this young lady. That sad feeling you get when looking at an empty playground, or witnessing another person's quiet embarrassment. Turning 26 and realizing it doesn't mean anything because birthdays are superfluous at this point. Good friends who are too far away. Forgetting how to make art (it's as simple as sitting down and doing it, idiot). This is a less clever, less affecting take on th...more
I'm not really into graphic novels, but I picked this one up. It was pretty good, a little weird, but it's supposed to be. I wasn't all that enthralled with it when I was done, but I keep thinking about it.
It's the story of a lonely 20-something woman and her dating woes. She's really into a cult cartoon TV show about Mr. Dangerous, who has an Easter Island head, and his neighbor the crazy farmer. The show makes no sense, but it's a good metaphor for whatever your own weirdness is, and how lone...more
It's the story of a lonely 20-something woman and her dating woes. She's really into a cult cartoon TV show about Mr. Dangerous, who has an Easter Island head, and his neighbor the crazy farmer. The show makes no sense, but it's a good metaphor for whatever your own weirdness is, and how lone...more
I have such mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it could be a feminist dream about a girl who gets shafted all the time. On the other hand,she shafts herself with dysthemia, bad attitude, laziness, and lack of lovingness. On the un-feminist side, the story is a romance. I hate both sides, but I couldn't help loving this book, maybe because all sides are actually there in real life. The drawings are irresistible suggesting Chris Ware and Daniel Clowes. This must be Midwestern style -...more
Pretty forgettable but likable enough. Hornscheimeier's art is nice to look at, the story is endearing up to a point, and he manages to portray post college aimlessness with just the right mix of tenderness and dread. I'm sure there's some symbolic story within a story going on with the television show the protagonist is obsessed with, but that show seemed mega boring and he might as well have just used the Simpsons because that seemed to be the touchstone and the Simpsons teaches many valuable...more
Hornschemeier’s Life with Mr. Dangerous is such an accurate depiction of being 26 that I don’t have words for it: the sense of aimlessness and isolation, the desire to not be alone set against the pessimism of past failures, the desire to accomplish something more against the lethargy of daily meaninglessness. Every moment in the comic mattered, building towards something more without losing the sense of sadness and frustrating. I felt, reading this comic, as if I was reading about my life befor...more
bahh. I can't understand people who melodramatic and wallow in their self pity...this book was like watching the neuroticism of Seinfeld without the funny. I think the Amy in this book liked being miserable and weird and I wanted to smack her. I have met people like her who are timid and scared and apologize constantly. I don't like those people. Oh yeah and there is some unexplained connection with a cartoon. Your guess is as good as mine. BUT--that bit about the time travel photos, now that wa...more
Amy's just turned 26 and she's just broken up with another boyfriend. After dinner with her mom, she feels worse about being a sales clerk, her best friend/crush having moved away from her, and she's worried she'll never get any further in life than where she is right now.
Woven into Amy's story is the plot of the television show "Life with Mr. Dangerous." In it, Farmer Greg is always after Mr. Dangerous, trying to defeat him. As readers, we're kind of on the outside of the show (as is one of th...more
Woven into Amy's story is the plot of the television show "Life with Mr. Dangerous." In it, Farmer Greg is always after Mr. Dangerous, trying to defeat him. As readers, we're kind of on the outside of the show (as is one of th...more
Oh, I'M SORRY did I just read this book and was it called EMPIRE STATE. Ugh yo. Sorry -- look, twenty-somethings having trouble finding and holding on to love, I get it! I have been there, and sometimes in my head, I am still there, ok! Full of fear and dread about living and dying alone! But I guess I feel like the way in which it so defines what should be sweet and pleasant experiences, like say, going out for ice cream (oh no, I'm getting fat! no one will love meeee!), eh, no.
Looking back on...more
Looking back on...more
Amy Breis is going nowhere fast. She just broke up with yet another loser boyfriend, and is feeling disconnected from all humanity. Between her passive-aggressive mother and dead end retail job, Amy seeks solace in reruns of her favorite cartoon (Mr. Dangerous) and phone conversations with her friend Michael.
I was drawn to this graphic novel because of the beautiful illustrations, and the sad-but-true theme of loneliness and singledom. Yet, the story feels a little flat and the best moments are...more
I was drawn to this graphic novel because of the beautiful illustrations, and the sad-but-true theme of loneliness and singledom. Yet, the story feels a little flat and the best moments are...more
Twee 2003 called; and its voicemail was just published by Villard. Zing? But seriously, this is bad. Stale. I kept asking myself "Why?" when I was reading it, "Why?" regarding all aspects of its production, dissemination, and content.
I mean, it's not "bad" in the sense of incompetency; no, that wouldn't warrant everything I've already said. Hornschemeier is clearly a competent cartoonist, which is why this book is like, "Fuck me reading this."
I mean, it's not "bad" in the sense of incompetency; no, that wouldn't warrant everything I've already said. Hornschemeier is clearly a competent cartoonist, which is why this book is like, "Fuck me reading this."
I really liked this book about Amy, a bit of a sad sack character who is just starting to see her current path may not be the right one. As always, his illustrations are superior, and the muted color palette he chose worked well with his story. Amy's rudderless life is something I think a lot of 20-somethings can relate to. Or even ex 20-somethings. Hornschemeier's books can get dreary, but this one doesn't end in tears.
The feeling I had while reading this book is similar to how the main character feels about her life (glum at best). That's not to say it's a bad read. I think instead it means that the author got me to empathize with an average character trapped in a dull life.
I remember thinking "meh" upon finishing it. But now, almost two years later I sort of want to read it again. So I guess it was a pretty okay read.
I remember thinking "meh" upon finishing it. But now, almost two years later I sort of want to read it again. So I guess it was a pretty okay read.
Not usually so into graphic novels--often they're way too busy for me--but Books on the Nightstand recommended this one, which is charming and quirky and moving and very real (and not too busy at all). The way the heroine's face changes, so subtly, from drawing to drawing, just blew me away... and the sort of mid-20s angst she goes through felt sad and believable and just right. There's also a very cute white cat.
I started this book in the library. I finished it within a half hour.
It was a really good quick read.
I could identify with much of the what the character was going through.
I loved the fact that though the mother was a bit of a nag, the author still made her human and lovable.
The ending was abrupt I guess when you only have 150 pages it has to be.
I recommend this:)
It was a really good quick read.
I could identify with much of the what the character was going through.
I loved the fact that though the mother was a bit of a nag, the author still made her human and lovable.
The ending was abrupt I guess when you only have 150 pages it has to be.
I recommend this:)
I liked the artwork, in fact, I picked up the book solely based on the cover art. It was beautifully drawn and well-written, but the story is about Amy, whose job, relationships and TV watching habits are depressing is... pretty depressing.
Three stars for effectively capturing so many expressions of discomfort, regret, unhappiness and boredom. But probably not a book I'll read again.
Three stars for effectively capturing so many expressions of discomfort, regret, unhappiness and boredom. But probably not a book I'll read again.
Paul Hornschemeier is a standout in the crop of graphic novelists, because he can write as well as he can draw, which is very, very well. His latest effort is no exception. Life With Mr. Dangerous sets the bar high for young graphic novelists- this is not just another book about an alienated youth searching for meaning. This book says so much about nostalgia, growth, retrospection and love with so little dialogue, and I really am grateful to have read it.
My first book by this author. I was charmed throughout with the art, the quiet observations, the spare frames, the odd cartoon world within, and eventually hit by the overall emotional wallop that this book packs. Reminded me in some ways of "Ghost World" without the snide irony. And always impressed when a man renders a female protagonist in such a realistic fashion.
In my review for "Mr Wonderful" I compared the artist/author Daniel Clowes to Woody Allen. In this review I wish to note the similarities in the work of Clowes and Paul Hornshemeier.
That said all artists are unique and so is each of their visions.
I think I liked this book more than I liked his previous works, but I am not sure
and also, I don't know why.
His books can be dry and matter-of-fact at times and also at other times be vague and also quite surreal.
I like this.
That said all artists are unique and so is each of their visions.
I think I liked this book more than I liked his previous works, but I am not sure
and also, I don't know why.
His books can be dry and matter-of-fact at times and also at other times be vague and also quite surreal.
I like this.
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Jun 09, 2011 05:27pm
good kitty.
Jun 11, 2011 08:33am