Joe Wilkinson: My Autobiography

by Joe Wilkinson, Henry Paker (Illustrator)

‘Joyfully absurd and hilarious.’ ADAM KAY
'One of the funniest things I’ve ever read. It is brilliant.' CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN

Here before you is Joe Wilkinson's brilliantly absurd and utterly fictional account of his time on - and briefly off - planet Earth.

Through cartoon stories (illustrated by Henry Paker) Joe recounts the defining moments and bizarre encounters of his imaginary life – from his schoolboy misfortunes to his formative years on the dating scene, to his money-making schemes and globetrotting adventures.

With tall stories including…

-Winning ‘most nits’ at school
-That time I threw a turd into a tornado
-Becoming the bad boy of fly tipping
-The disastrous double date
-My car airbag addiction
-The time I tunnelled too far out of prison and ended up in the prison next door
-The real reason Bigfoot went into hiding

…this book is a delightfully absurd journey into the mind of a comic maverick.

Hilarious, heart-warming and utterly unique, Joe Wilkinson: My Autobiography is the off-the-wall life story of one of our most beloved and unorthodox comedians.

Genres: Ebooks, Biography, Graphic Novels, Humor, Autobiography

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2020

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

As silly as you'd hope. Done in less than an hour with a good few chuckles.

[Kieran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilariously surreal and weird, many of the comics/sketches in here had me laughing out loud. I absolutely loved it and would recommend it to anyone who finds Joe even remotely funny.

It's a short book, you'll be done in an hour, but it's one to look back through and take in some of the fantastic little details dotted throughout the drawings.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the illustrated autobiography of comedian Joe Wilkinson, abandoned as a baby only to be brought up by Wolverhampton Wanderers who helped to make him the man he is today. Later in life he would experience challenges such as an addiction to airbags, nits and alien abductions but despite this he still managed to turn his life around to become a successful comedian.

As you can (hopefully) tell by the above description, this isn't actually a true autobiography of Joe Wilkinson but rather an absurd and surreal peak into his mind as he fabricates his origin story with the help of fellow comedian and illustrator Henry Parker. The whole book is told in the form of comic strips and I am pretty confident that not a single page is based upon any actual truth from Joe's life. If you are familiar with his comedy then you will know what to expect on the pages in this book, if not then you might find it quite odd. I enjoyed it, it perhaps wasn't quite as funny as I was expecting but there were a number of pages that had me laughing, even the very first page where he has written a dedication to his 12 Alsations, it's just a simple list of names but the names he has chosen are hilarious. Overall, a short, funny and surreal read.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I put unexpected items in the bagging area just to hear a woman's voice.
"Please remove the item...."
"God, I've missed you."

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of British comedy panel shows, you’ll probably be familiar with Joe Wilkinson, the substitute teacher-looking chap. He’s written a book which is as much a real autobiography as Dr Pepper is a real doctor. Unusually for “celebrity” autobios, he’s opted to present it in comics form and it’s drawn by Henry Paker in a Rick and Morty-esque fashion.

I didn’t hate it but I definitely didn’t love it either. It’s full of somewhat amusing sketches that aren’t all that funny, and some are plain hacky (nailing pictures in a submarine, finishing each other's sentences). The Richard Branson one goes on for way too long and was only ever tedious.

A few are kinda funny, like pooping in the airing cupboard, the sawn-off shotgun, the alcoholic alien, and the bloopers at the end. It’s a quick read and the sketches are varied enough to keep you turning the pages even if the reaction to most of the punchlines is “...meh”.

I’m not sure if there are any Joe Wilkinson fans out there but if you enjoy his surreal sense of humour then you’ll probably get something out of this book. For more casual comedy/comics fans, My Autobiography is no must-read.

[Oscar Dent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this. I find Joe entertaining, and I'm a big Paker fan; but this was not the book I wanted. There are a couple of strong laughs, but they are surrounded by thin or mediocre gags. The illustrations are fun, but I feel Paker was given insufficient material here.

I enjoyed the comic format, but It meant the whole thing was done in less than an hour, despite feeling a fairly weighty tome. Not great all in all.

[Matt King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Funny

Great book, funny with great illustrations. The only downside is that it’s just very short. You’ll burn through it in an hour or so. One to revisit from time to time though.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good thing about comic books is that you can read them very quickly!

[iamjacsmusings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geni-arse.

Wilkinson and Paker join modern comic dynamic duos Brubaker and Phillips and Staples and Vaughan thanks to their perfect match-up of style and substance.

More please.

[David Meiklejohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A silly account of Joe's life, mostly (all?) made up, and well illustrated with cartoons. Not much more to say, it was fun to read.

[Emily Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious! Full of Joe's wacky, silly personality. The whole thing made very little sense and I loved it!

[Andy Conduit-Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light, entertaining, surreal, funny, wonderfully illustrated read.

Perfect for placing on the coffee (or tea) table for a quick burst of laughter after a long day.

[Kexx · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh Dear. He does make me laugh but this was not a good advert for his humour. 15 ‘surreal’ jokes does not a £19 book make.

[Patrick Geddes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody stupid and amusing

[Richard Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's up there with some of the greatest autobiographies of all time, Rags to Richie by Shane Richie, Being Jordan by Katie Price, Mien Kampf by A Hitler and now this book by Wilkinson and Paker.

[Heather Flippence · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny. Loved all the little details. And I could hear Joe's voice in my head as I was reading it

[Tasha Binfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typical Joe Wilkinson, very funny and super quick to read

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this but it was a bit too crazy.

[Matt Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully silly, this is a brief but very entertaining read.

[Daniella Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and funny. Loved the illustrations. Plenty of ‘dad jokes’. What I needed after a couple of thriller books I’ve been reading.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, daft and fun.

[Podge · Rating 3 out of 5]

silly stuff. good fun.

[Honey · Rating 4 out of 5]

really funny, have always enjoyed Joe's humour. the illustrations were fantastic. read this in only a few hours!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

very funny and inventive

[Ethan Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

👍👍👍👍👍

[Hannah]

3.5
As wonderful (and weird) as the author.

[Khloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a very 'Joe Wilkinson' book. It made no sense and had no point to it. Loved the pictures. Easy to read. Funny. Not much more to say on it 😂

[Methuselah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny, and the illustrations perfectly match the surrealist style of comedy. Obviously it's not a real autobiography, and anyone who finds Joe Wilkinson funny will get that fact!