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River Dead of Minneapolis Scavenged by Teenagers
Short stories, monologues, and dialogues in comics form. Words and images collected and/or generated by Mark Ehling, a person on Earth.
150 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 12, 2015
Hey dude, you like weird comics? Sure you fuckin' do!
And not like those other dudes like weird comics. You like 'em weird. Not like when someone gives you some druggy Grant Morrison whatever and they're like "hey bro, this shit's weird," cuz then you're like, "get lost hippie, don't even act like that peyote shit is my bag," and not like when some hipster fuck hands you some Johnny Ryan and they're like "hey man, you like the weird shit?", cuz then you're like, "don't mansplain your exploitationist racist-ass irony up in my face you glasses-wearing lumbersexual motherfucker."
You like the weird shit. And brother, River Dead... is the weird shit.
I picked this up at AWP from a guy who's way too nice to be real, and this book is way too bizarre to come from a guy this nice. Really the easiest way for me to express this to you is to direct you to his Tumblr, but really I kind of feel like you're going to click it and still not get it, or you won't believe you're getting it, and between me and you, being real, you probably aren't.
First thing, River Dead is a collection of tightly-constructed surrealist short stories. They're so damned tight you can hardly breathe reading them, and you gotta read them twice to get what you just got. Not that they're plot-heavy or character-driven, but it's just that not a detail is wasted -- they're assemblages of anecdotes and found dialogue and memories, often running into each other all pell-mell.
Second thing, they're a series of compartmentalized high-contrast drawings -- somewhere between life drawings, clip art, and chiaroscuro, if you're hip to it. Third thing, they're whatever the fuck you get when you run tightly-woven associative short stories, ambiguous imagery, and black and white grids together and call them comics.
Clownheads try to save each other from running a farm into the ground. Blank-faced men tell stories about their fathers who wore too many fedoras. Disassociation and speaking in tongues leads to a discussion of Sundown Syndrome. And sometimes the comics aren't comics at all -- just empty panels, for pages, occasionally graced with words.
Of course, none of this would be weird at all, or interesting at all, if it didn't work. If it didn't make me laugh and shake my head around and read each story twice after I read it once.
But it did. It does. It might for you. If, y'know dude, if you like weird comics.
And not like those other dudes like weird comics. You like 'em weird. Not like when someone gives you some druggy Grant Morrison whatever and they're like "hey bro, this shit's weird," cuz then you're like, "get lost hippie, don't even act like that peyote shit is my bag," and not like when some hipster fuck hands you some Johnny Ryan and they're like "hey man, you like the weird shit?", cuz then you're like, "don't mansplain your exploitationist racist-ass irony up in my face you glasses-wearing lumbersexual motherfucker."
You like the weird shit. And brother, River Dead... is the weird shit.
I picked this up at AWP from a guy who's way too nice to be real, and this book is way too bizarre to come from a guy this nice. Really the easiest way for me to express this to you is to direct you to his Tumblr, but really I kind of feel like you're going to click it and still not get it, or you won't believe you're getting it, and between me and you, being real, you probably aren't.
First thing, River Dead is a collection of tightly-constructed surrealist short stories. They're so damned tight you can hardly breathe reading them, and you gotta read them twice to get what you just got. Not that they're plot-heavy or character-driven, but it's just that not a detail is wasted -- they're assemblages of anecdotes and found dialogue and memories, often running into each other all pell-mell.
Second thing, they're a series of compartmentalized high-contrast drawings -- somewhere between life drawings, clip art, and chiaroscuro, if you're hip to it. Third thing, they're whatever the fuck you get when you run tightly-woven associative short stories, ambiguous imagery, and black and white grids together and call them comics.
Clownheads try to save each other from running a farm into the ground. Blank-faced men tell stories about their fathers who wore too many fedoras. Disassociation and speaking in tongues leads to a discussion of Sundown Syndrome. And sometimes the comics aren't comics at all -- just empty panels, for pages, occasionally graced with words.
Of course, none of this would be weird at all, or interesting at all, if it didn't work. If it didn't make me laugh and shake my head around and read each story twice after I read it once.
But it did. It does. It might for you. If, y'know dude, if you like weird comics.
April 27, 2015
"River Dead of Minneapolis Scavenged by Teenagers" is a graphic novel comprising twelve short stories (calling it a collection of 12 graphic short stories implies something I don't intend). Each piece is extraordinarily well crafted and thoughtful. I can't recall the last time I read a collection of stories that communicates as much as these works do in so little space. I marvel at Mark Ehling's ability to create fully-realized characters through statements or events that might, in the hands of others, not promote the portrait of a persona at all. These stories are, by turns, poignant, funny, compelling, thoughtful, captivating, weird, and witty. They are memorable - individually and together. Every story is outstanding, I mean that sincerely. But, to this reader, "Fitness" and "Notes Toward an Essay on the Meaning of Art" are masterpieces. I read them over and over again. The book itself is spartan and beautiful. It felt great in my hands. As with all the written art I love, I found myself slowing down as I got near the final pages. I did not want "River Dead" to end. We're not half way through the year yet, but I know this will be the book I trumpet in 2015. I want all my friends who love reading and books to have this in their collection. It's outstanding.
September 7, 2015
I've heard Mark read from this book and now when I read it I hear his voice. I wish there was a Read Along Adventure version with Mark narrating... you can turn the page when you hear the chimes like this.
July 19, 2015
Read this! Mark Ehling is a good human and writer!
January 27, 2016
It's like being inmerse in a really deep psycological states of other people.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews