Chad in Amsterdam

by Chad Bilyeu

Chad grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. As a young adult he moved to Washington DC, and in 2009, he moved to Amsterdam. For a number of years he has been writing stories about his new home, which he has illustrated by fellow artists. The first six volumes were sold separately by himself. But now they have been bundled together as a hardcover, with additional material, at Scratch.

Hardcover

Published November 1, 2023

Reviews

[Joana]

A friend of mine at work lent me this book and this was such an interesting read!!! This was a look into the life of Amsterdam, and I really like how it shows you this city, through the eyes of the Chad's life (I also really like the introduction and how he came to write this book), now the con here is I wish we had more of a view of the Dutch people - the book very much focuses on the city as seen by tourists or people who move into it!!
On the art side, I really love how it has multiple artists working together, and there's some different styles I like better than others, but I LOVE the merging of them all, and giving a different feel to each issue :)
Definitely an interesting read and I would be curious to know what Dutch people think of it...

[Wouter]

Chad verhuisde van de VS naar Amsterdam voor "American studies" maar dan vanuit Europees oogpunt. De grap van dit boek is dat ie het omkeert. Dus niet lachen en wijzen naar gekke Amerikanen met hun pistolen en coca cola, maar de alledaagse Nederlandse cultuur onder de loep van een buitenstaander. Ongemakkelijke observaties met een relaxte dosis humor.

Hoewel Chad hartstikke goed kan tekenen, staat in dit boek maar 1 prent van zijn hand. Die begeleidt een hilarisch verhaal van twee ambtenaren die in het cafe een glas melk bestellen bij hun bammetjes. Voor alle andere tekeningen vroeg hij tig andere artiesten. Veel verschillende stijlen, never a dull moment in (Chad in) Amsterdam.

[Chris Barsanti]

Casts a wary expat's eye on this frequently misunderstood city while still getting what is truly lovely about it.