An Acknowledged Classic returns gorgeously re-designed.
In his first graphic novel, "It's a Good Life, if You Don't Weaken"--a best-selling D &... read full description
In his first graphic novel, "It's a Good Life, if You Don't Weaken"--a best-selling D &... read full description
reviews
Aug 21, 2011
Talita
rated it: 
Ok, is everybody listening? Ok, cartoonists: This is what you're supposed to be doing. Learn with Seth. Draw with your heart. Write with your soul. Don't be afraid to include awkward or seemingly unnecessary details. Be shamelessly self-centered. And be a genius. Seriously, how hard can it be?
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Sep 01, 2008
Nan
rated it: 
Okay, don't ask me why I picked up the book in the first place. Because the new bookstore on the block specializes in comics? I suppose. I also suppose that I never gave graphic novels or comics a chance, and I'm willing to try. And the cover appealed to me. I liked the colors, the homesick feel of the grays and blues. The cartooning world has always seemed to me the narrow world of lonely men. There was some of that in this collection -- Seth's mother, his geeky brother, the used books
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Feb 13, 2012
Liam
rated it: 
Firstly, I'll say that It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken has many good qualities. The novel, in both its words and pictures, has a very calming and contemplative attitude that is very appealing, and often quite touching or truthful. It's style is philosophical but down-to-earth and concerned with everyday living, although it's quite a specific kind of everyday living, that I unfortunately think slightly panders to a like-minded audience.
The autobiographical story concerns Seth him More...
The autobiographical story concerns Seth him More...
Aug 22, 2011
Dani
rated it:
One thing that all readers should know about me is that though I love graphic novels, I am extremely picky. However, this graphic novel was perfection! It tells the story of Seth who is depressed and feels lost in the world until he discovers an obscure cartoonist named Kalo. Though there is little information on this man, Seth decides to devote years of his life to discovering the man's true identity. He even goes as far as to find Kalo's house in a small town and visits the man's family. As he
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Jun 28, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
If I wanted to be really cruel, I could sum this up in one sentence: Self-involved hipster tracks down misogynist cartoonist, writes book other self-involved hipsters hail as work of genius.
It's a little more complicated than that, to be fair; besides, it feels unkind to take a poke at something that is clearly at least semi-autobiographical. I just found it disappointing to open what looked like a pretty cool book, only to find another beta-dude narrative about an emotionally-stunt More...
It's a little more complicated than that, to be fair; besides, it feels unkind to take a poke at something that is clearly at least semi-autobiographical. I just found it disappointing to open what looked like a pretty cool book, only to find another beta-dude narrative about an emotionally-stunt More...
Mar 13, 2011
Lars
rated it:
The New York Times Magazine section called ‘The Funny Pages,’ unfortunately no longer around, introduced me to Seth. So you can look at a complete work of his online and for free (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/magazine/funn...). Fabulous.
It might be wise to take a look at ‘George Sprott,’ before delving into ‘It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken,’ just to test out your tolerance for Seth’s elegant portrayal of the quotidian. If you’re looking for action comics or dramatics, you are More...
It might be wise to take a look at ‘George Sprott,’ before delving into ‘It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken,’ just to test out your tolerance for Seth’s elegant portrayal of the quotidian. If you’re looking for action comics or dramatics, you are More...
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Jun 17, 2010
Nicki
rated it: 
It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken is about a man who feels more than a little out of place in our modern, fast-paced world and who longs for a less complicated time. Seth’s captivation with the charm of the past makes is difficult for him to find contentment and happiness in the present. When he finds a kindred spirit in a lesser known comic book artist from the 1940s, the story then becomes a mini-journey of Seth’s endeavors to find out more information about him.
The simplic More...
The simplic More...
Apr 22, 2008
Kirsty
rated it: 
Seth is not a comic writer; he is a thwarted novelist. The graphics in this 'graphic novel' are incidental, as most of it is people walking down the street and having long, rambling conversations.
At one point the protagonist says 'Why do I waste my energy on this self-pitying, maudlin crap?'. That is exactly how I felt reading this navel-gazing whine of a first novel.
At one point the protagonist says 'Why do I waste my energy on this self-pitying, maudlin crap?'. That is exactly how I felt reading this navel-gazing whine of a first novel.
Dec 08, 2011
Jeff
rated it:
While not quite as strong as some of his other works, It's a Good Life, if You Don't Weaken is still enjoyable for the story of discovery that Seth presents. And the artwork is wonderful, as is pretty much always the case with Seth. My main complaint with this book is that it tends to fall into the category of tedious autobiographical navel-gazing that is disturbingly popular these days. While the quest for the cartoonist Kalo that forms the heart of this book is intriguing, it lacks the narr
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Jun 20, 2011
Spencer
rated it:
Ultimately I really liked this book. At first I found the Seth character to be very annoying. Now I understand that he is young and self-absorbed. I was pretty bored with the longer passages of "navel-gazing", as Seth himself puts it. The narrator has no real insights even though every person around him constantly says wise things.
I absolutely loved every detail about Kalo and the people in his life. The pages at the end are amazing. Seth created a real person out of that fi More...
I absolutely loved every detail about Kalo and the people in his life. The pages at the end are amazing. Seth created a real person out of that fi More...
Jun 16, 2011
Robert
rated it:
Read this beautifully drawn melancholia as it was originally published in single issues of the cartoonist's Palookaville comic book from Drawn & Quarterly back in the 90's. I think it worked better for me on a 3 times a year, issue-by-issue basis, as the protagonist's remarkable self-absorption becomes a little much midway through a full-length graphic novel. But the author's poetic, grey-skies drawings perfectly capture the mysterious power of past eras, forgotten things, and bittersweet memo
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Oct 07, 2009
Luke
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Feb 11, 2012
Willy
rated it:
Nick Mount did a wonderful lecture on this novella through the Big Idea's podcast network on iTunes, and, either fortunately or unfortunately I chanced to listen to it before I cracked this book open. The setup Mount creates for this book is rather ostentatious, citing it as the 'best graphic novel around', referencing its many awards and literary status in the annals of Canadian literary culture. Perhaps, in my case, the gauntlet of these words weighed too heavily on my mind as I first dove int
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Feb 01, 2010
Damon
rated it:
This is good - Seth's stuff is usually better, but this isn't bad by any means. Slight, and more autobiographical than usual, but entertaining, and the art is great as always. More than anything, it seems a little unfocused - the main conflict seems to be the search for this "lost" cartoonist, but things are muddied by other personal details and life events that never gel into the connections you can tell he's trying to make. Ultimately, while you pick up that parallels are supposed
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Jan 30, 2008
Joe
rated it:
I like how unabashedly self-centered this guy is.
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Apr 19, 2010
Emilia
rated it:
The quiet tale of a fairly unrewarding search for the story of a gag comic artist. I dunno, it is a good life. I, like Seth, like sad historical things and have a quiet disdain for the present day. The methodical pacing and inking of the story didn't do anything new, but they did their job of being quiet and a little sad, and I guess I liked it just plenty. I'm not sure why the four stars, except that it didn't distinctly irk me and I liked the idea of searching for the exciting history of someo
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Mar 28, 2011
Adeleh
rated it:
A slow moving story where a creatively acclaimed fellow searches a cartoonist named Kalo. The story highlights Seth's frustration and impatience with the people around him; his mother, brother and girlfriend; regarding them as "unimportant stuff".
The telling of the story unfolds when Seth discovers his cartoonist paragon, Kalo, quit his artistic career to have a family. Ironically Seth had avoided his own affairs to focus on something insignificant, when in fact, his pursu More...
The telling of the story unfolds when Seth discovers his cartoonist paragon, Kalo, quit his artistic career to have a family. Ironically Seth had avoided his own affairs to focus on something insignificant, when in fact, his pursu More...
Jun 10, 2011
Christina
rated it:
When I talk to people about graphic novels here in Canada, Seth often comes up, so I thought I should give him a go. I generally like this genre of GN (slice-of-life, autobiographical, navel-gazing), but this didn't really resonate with me. I'm willing to give Seth another chance, though, because I thought the novel was well-executed and there were a few frames that I lingered on.
Also - I realized about 2/3 of the way through the book that his friend "Chet" is Chester B More...
Also - I realized about 2/3 of the way through the book that his friend "Chet" is Chester B More...
Nov 24, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
I re-read this a few days ago, and I wanted to see what I had written about it. NOTHING! I never even gave it a rating! I'm shocked b/c I love this book. I love Seth's style, the blues and the greys and all the ciggarettes. I love how so much of the novel is introspective. My favorite part of the book is the first few pages, where Seth is walking though the snow and finds The Office Party at Book Brothers, then goes home and has the dialouge with his brother. I've read this book at least 1
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Jul 17, 2008
Joy
rated it:
copied from my blog:
This was not a book that I was really wowed by, but it definitely kept my attention. Though the book is not plot driven, I wasn't thinking, "That was it?" when I was done. Seth's search for information on an obscure cartoonist Kalo from 1930s-1950s periodicals leads him to ultimately discover much about himself as he openly discusses his personal ticks along the way. The style was clearly heavily influenced by Seth's love of classic comic art; I enjoyed the cl More...
This was not a book that I was really wowed by, but it definitely kept my attention. Though the book is not plot driven, I wasn't thinking, "That was it?" when I was done. Seth's search for information on an obscure cartoonist Kalo from 1930s-1950s periodicals leads him to ultimately discover much about himself as he openly discusses his personal ticks along the way. The style was clearly heavily influenced by Seth's love of classic comic art; I enjoyed the cl More...
Mar 10, 2008
Josh
rated it:
There's little sense to make a big production about this book, but it was a yawner. The artwork was decent: Simple, round characters drawn with blue, black, grey and white and clearly affected how the piece was received. So good job for that. But I'm easy to please with art, I'm more interested in the writing.
The problem then is that the writing is trite. Coming of age itself is a difficult theme to address in a fresh way, and this book suffers from what I think of as forced epiphany More...
The problem then is that the writing is trite. Coming of age itself is a difficult theme to address in a fresh way, and this book suffers from what I think of as forced epiphany More...
Sep 04, 2007
Cody
rated it:
What saves this graphic novel from navel-gazing misanthropy is Seth's awareness that he is a navel-gazing misanthrope. That and his subtly beautiful artwork. It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken is both a manifesto of sorts and a condensed autobiography. The simple story is framed by Seth's fascination with and search for an obscure cartoonist — likely a stand-in for every other cartoonist he has been interested in and a personification of the "good-old-days," which Seth admits never r
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Feb 02, 2011
Jason
rated it:
The narrator reminds me of my best friend--a good-hearted, curmudgeonly aesthete born a couple decades too late. The well-drawn imagery supports an introspective narrative that explores misery and depression, family histories, creativity, the well-lived life, and the work of an obscure Canadian cartoonist-turned-realtor. A little too self-absorbed at times for my taste, but it is obvious to me why the editors of Comics Journal selected this as one of the 100 best comics of the 20th century.
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Jan 26, 2011
Nathanael
rated it:
It's a beautiful book which captures the essence of 'collecting' and 'obsessing' as a form of escapism and a distraction from a world of decay and modern ugliness. Much has already been said about the autobiographical nature of the book and it's themes of nostalgia and romanticism so I won't elaborate on those points, however if your the kind of person who has any of the aforementioned traits then I think you will really enjoy this book and relate to the protagonist in a real way.
Sep 10, 2011
Amy
rated it:
I've owned this book a while but I actually just pulled it off the shelf to read it on Wednesday. It's neat. I love the illustration style and I enjoyed the philosophical bits sprinkled throughout the story -- it was thought-provoking without being preachy. My only criticism is that I don't know that the story needed a romance to be complete -- I'd have liked it better without it and with more focus on the protagonist's self proclaimed "navel gazing."
Jan 01, 2010
Sonic
rated it:
One review here at Goodreads describes Seth as "loathsome," and while that is a pretty strong word, I mean he is not an evil person, but I can see what they mean. I appreciate the courage of the unflattering self portrait, but I really enjoyed the portrayal of Chester Brown who puts up with Seth and is his friend. On the whole it is not much of a story, plot-wise, but I enjoyed the read, and the concept of a fan (short for fanatic) who obsesses over an unknown artists work!
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Jun 22, 2007
Summer
rated it:
I liked the art and design, but it was difficult for me to enjoy this book, as it's an autobiography of a rather repellant person. He's a 30 year old who has renamed himself "Seth" (no last name) and has contempt for modern pop culture and affectations while dressing like Clark Kent and obsessing over slightly older pop culture. He's vaguely depressed for no apparant reason, and starts and ends a relationship that has nothing to do with the story.
I want to reach into the fr More...
I want to reach into the fr More...
Jun 18, 2009
Tania
rated it:
This is the first work by Seth that I have read, and I really enjoyed it. It reads much like a novel, but in a way that you are able to delve into the mindset of the character. It was a lot different from the minimalistic use of dialogue that is found within a lot of other comics I have read, but it really worked in this comic. I really like Seth's style, and I plan to read some of his other work soon.
Apr 12, 2011
Jay
rated it:
This should be chocolate for me. There is a the introspection, the charming style, the appearances by a quietly bemused Chester Brown. Yet how the book turns on nostalgia for a better simpler time, even as it sort of acknowledges that this is a pose, a bullshit delusion, a way of escaping the unpleasant messiness of NOW - it sours the book for me.
Jan 04, 2011
Chris
rated it:
Comic books really lend themselves, formally, to metatextuality and intertextuality and all that. That's probably one of the greatest narrative playgrounds the dimension of illustration offers. Seth always knows how to play that up, and can balance the cerebral chilliness of formal experimentation with delicate emotional textures.
