Somewhere in the Midwest, Amy Breis is going nowhere.
Amy has a job she hates, a creep boyfriend she’s just dumped, and a... read full description
Amy has a job she hates, a creep boyfriend she’s just dumped, and a... read full description
reviews
Jun 09, 2011
karen
rated it: 
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 w More...
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(22 people liked it)
Oct 13, 2011
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
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(1 person liked it)
Aug 07, 2011
Russ
rated it: 
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 represente
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Aug 07, 2011
Mza
rated it: 
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
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Dec 01, 2011
Lori
rated it:
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 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 More...
Oct 19, 2011
Andrew Shuping
rated it: 
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 he
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Jan 07, 2012
Rosalia
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 30, 2011
Kate
rated it:
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 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 More...
Nov 15, 2011
E
rated it:
"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 sto More...
Although I don't usually enjoy slice of life sto More...
Jun 17, 2011
Jess
rated it:
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 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 More...
Aug 14, 2011
Lauren
rated it:
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.
Tha More...
Tha More...
Oct 06, 2011
Heidi
rated it:
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, an 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, an More...
Dec 28, 2011
Beverly
rated it:
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 -
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Sep 06, 2011
Ian
rated it:
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
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Dec 18, 2011
Alex
rated it:
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
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Oct 08, 2011
Mickie
rated it:
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
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Aug 29, 2011
Emilia
rated it:
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.
Look More...
Look More...
Nov 11, 2011
Curtis
rated it:
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 be 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 be More...
Aug 03, 2011
Kate
rated it:
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.
Sep 07, 2011
Kasey
rated it:
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.
Jul 13, 2011
Sara
rated it:
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.
Jun 08, 2011
Maureen
rated it:
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.
Jul 31, 2011
Sonic
rated it:
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 qu
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 qu
Jan 03, 2012
Shannon
rated it:
I don't read graphic novels on regular basis but found this one on a "Best of" year-end list. I read it over my lunch break and found it entertaining and reflective. Her year 26 felt a lot like my own. Or at least my own year 25. A good read for those who like realistic graphic novels, or single girls in love with friends and hating their job.
Sep 10, 2011
InfoShaman
rated it:
For the past couple of years, when I need light reading, I gravitate more and more to graphic novels. A reversion to childhood's addiction to comic books? I compare them with the best of the genre: "Fun House" by Alison Bechtel. This one didn't reach that standard, but was entertaining.
Sep 11, 2011
Kokeshi
rated it: 
Unfortunately, this graphic novel did not impress me very much. The story is boring and the graphics dull. I am sure it will speak to some readers, but a story about a 27 year old woman who can't get her life going and who is constantly depressed is as DULL AS DISHWATER.
Jun 26, 2011
Nancy
rated it:
Swoopingly readable. Though now I feel a bit ill. (All that darn ennui?)
I did not find the Mom passive-aggressive (as the publicity suggests) but wished her to have more depth. I wished for more of something. More of being less lost? (I know, then it wouldn't be what it is.)
I did not find the Mom passive-aggressive (as the publicity suggests) but wished her to have more depth. I wished for more of something. More of being less lost? (I know, then it wouldn't be what it is.)
Dec 08, 2011
Nan
rated it:
This story of a lonely, isolated twenty-something was at times hard to read because of her mood and inability to connect with others. Great portayal of evenings of the depressed watching TV reruns in the dark and eating frozen dinners.
Nov 13, 2011
Claire
rated it:
I usually eat these kinds of sad sack 20-something graphic novels up, but for some reason, I didn't really feel much of anything. I wasn't bored, though. I just didn't get anything out of it. Like a not-great Daniel Clowes.
Jun 17, 2011
Jerry
rated it:
Well written and drawn. I would have given it another star if the ending hadn't disappointed me - a little too pat. (How the hell do you do the half-star thing?) But I will definitely look for other books by Hornscheimer.
