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Celebrated Summer
Two disaffected teens take a spontaneous summer road trip after dropping acid. But instead of escapism, the LSD exacerbates their ennui, fear, and doubts about the world. A funny and moving story of escalating humor and tension.
70 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 20, 2013
3 people are currently reading
338 people want to read
About the author
Charles Forsman
38 books374 followersCharles Forsman was born in Pennsylvania in 1982. He is arguably the most acclaimed talent to come out of the Center for Cartoon Studies, a school founded in 2004 by graphic novelist James Sturm and educator Michelle Ollie in White River Junction, VT. Forsman graduated in 2008 and is a two-time Ignatz Award-winner for his self-published minicomic, Snake Oil. He lives in Hancock, MA, where he runs Oily Comics. - See more at: http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.ph...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
August 16, 2016
A pair of alienated teen-aged boys, Wolf and Mike, drop acid one summer looking for a life-altering experience, but end up with a reality altering experience that changes little in their lives.
The trip doesn’t go much beyond heightening their sense of disassociation with things and increasing their paranoia.
Much of it is told from the perspective of Wolf, a kid who’s able to think about what he’s going through, but never able, sadly, to articulate it with anyone.
The spare black and white artwork might put off those graphic novel readers, like me, who look for the flashily illustrated comics, but it works particularly well here, in capturing the general sense of ennui that permeates the boys’ lives.
Bottom line: This is a heartfelt, engaging book for those graphic novel readers (again, like me) who are afraid to occasionally branch out from the capes and cowls. The lone caveat is that I could have done without the multiple pages of transforming shapes during the boys’ acid trip in the arcade.
The trip doesn’t go much beyond heightening their sense of disassociation with things and increasing their paranoia.
Much of it is told from the perspective of Wolf, a kid who’s able to think about what he’s going through, but never able, sadly, to articulate it with anyone.
The spare black and white artwork might put off those graphic novel readers, like me, who look for the flashily illustrated comics, but it works particularly well here, in capturing the general sense of ennui that permeates the boys’ lives.
Bottom line: This is a heartfelt, engaging book for those graphic novel readers (again, like me) who are afraid to occasionally branch out from the capes and cowls. The lone caveat is that I could have done without the multiple pages of transforming shapes during the boys’ acid trip in the arcade.
June 2, 2014
“Sad bastard comics” sounds like a derogatory label but it’s not, at least not to me – I like sad bastard comics! Seth and Jason both create sad bastard comics and I love Seth and Jason’s work (I highly recommend It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken by Seth, and The Left Bank Gang by Jason – melancholic but beautiful comics).
Charles Forsman’s Celebrated Summer is along the same lines of those great cartoonists’ work, exploring themes of nostalgia and loneliness as two teens, Mike and Wolf, drop acid and take an impromptu road trip… to the end of their adolescence?!
Because that’s what we’re witnessing in the comic – the end of childhood for these two teenagers as they finish high school and begin their uncertain first steps into adulthood. But we’re also seeing other things, like the end of their friendship as Mike begins moving on with his life, getting a job, spending more time with his girlfriend, and we’re also catching a glimpse into the sad life of Wolf, an overweight boy with no other friends and who lives with his grandmother.
There’s a tangible sense of vague fear, doubt and sadness in the book as the boys realise their childhoods are behind them and they don’t know, or can even imagine, what adulthood will be like for them. The acid trip is a symbolic transformation of perception in more than one way.
And while psychedelics play a part in the story, it’s not a psychedelic book at all – it’s presented in black and white rather than filled with zany colours, and, save one sequence towards the end, Forsman keeps the reader’s perspective separate from the boys’ so we’re watching them on acid but we’re not experiencing it ourselves.
Parts of the comic hit the themes a little too hard on the nose, like when a young woman propositions Mike to make out in a driving simulator booth and he can’t do it, preferring to walk away – the arcade was the background to his adolescence, now marred with grown-up pursuits he’s not fully prepared for yet. Or when Wolf morphs into a child by the end.
But for the most part Celebrated Summer shows confident and sophisticated storytelling from Forsman – the nuances in Mike and Wolf’s relationship showing the two growing apart were really well executed and convincing, and, despite the brevity of the book, you get a strong sense of character from the two boys, Wolf especially, so that they come across as believable and real.
One of the rules of sad bastard comics is to be relatively short and Forsman adheres to that with his book which comes in at a shade over 60 pages. I can understand some readers disliking it’s shortness but, as a fan of Jason’s books, most of which are 40/50-some pages in length, I can’t fault it for that – though I can understand the impulse to want more, especially when you’re just getting into the story.
Celebrated Summer is a bittersweet story of lost youth and the fragility of friendship, and a really good sad bastard comic that doesn’t wallow in self-pity or sentiment but tells its story well and in a genuine heartfelt way. But it is a sad bastard comic so y’know - miserable gits will like this; everyone else? Eh…
Charles Forsman’s Celebrated Summer is along the same lines of those great cartoonists’ work, exploring themes of nostalgia and loneliness as two teens, Mike and Wolf, drop acid and take an impromptu road trip… to the end of their adolescence?!
Because that’s what we’re witnessing in the comic – the end of childhood for these two teenagers as they finish high school and begin their uncertain first steps into adulthood. But we’re also seeing other things, like the end of their friendship as Mike begins moving on with his life, getting a job, spending more time with his girlfriend, and we’re also catching a glimpse into the sad life of Wolf, an overweight boy with no other friends and who lives with his grandmother.
There’s a tangible sense of vague fear, doubt and sadness in the book as the boys realise their childhoods are behind them and they don’t know, or can even imagine, what adulthood will be like for them. The acid trip is a symbolic transformation of perception in more than one way.
And while psychedelics play a part in the story, it’s not a psychedelic book at all – it’s presented in black and white rather than filled with zany colours, and, save one sequence towards the end, Forsman keeps the reader’s perspective separate from the boys’ so we’re watching them on acid but we’re not experiencing it ourselves.
Parts of the comic hit the themes a little too hard on the nose, like when a young woman propositions Mike to make out in a driving simulator booth and he can’t do it, preferring to walk away – the arcade was the background to his adolescence, now marred with grown-up pursuits he’s not fully prepared for yet. Or when Wolf morphs into a child by the end.
But for the most part Celebrated Summer shows confident and sophisticated storytelling from Forsman – the nuances in Mike and Wolf’s relationship showing the two growing apart were really well executed and convincing, and, despite the brevity of the book, you get a strong sense of character from the two boys, Wolf especially, so that they come across as believable and real.
One of the rules of sad bastard comics is to be relatively short and Forsman adheres to that with his book which comes in at a shade over 60 pages. I can understand some readers disliking it’s shortness but, as a fan of Jason’s books, most of which are 40/50-some pages in length, I can’t fault it for that – though I can understand the impulse to want more, especially when you’re just getting into the story.
Celebrated Summer is a bittersweet story of lost youth and the fragility of friendship, and a really good sad bastard comic that doesn’t wallow in self-pity or sentiment but tells its story well and in a genuine heartfelt way. But it is a sad bastard comic so y’know - miserable gits will like this; everyone else? Eh…
July 24, 2014
A heart-on-the sleeves account of a recently graduated, overweight mope who goes on a spur-of-the-acid-fueled-moment day trip to the beach with his chain-smoking, lanky buddy. Several moments of tripped-out awkwardness follow.
Being a teenager sucks. Being fat sucks. Girls are scary and Parents are the worst. Nobody wants to die alone. When is life going to start feeling meaningful?
Since reading, have had Husker Du's (sorry, no umlauts) album New Day Rising stuck in me head all day long - which is to say, I'm a happy enough camper with this comic.
Being a teenager sucks. Being fat sucks. Girls are scary and Parents are the worst. Nobody wants to die alone. When is life going to start feeling meaningful?
Since reading, have had Husker Du's (sorry, no umlauts) album New Day Rising stuck in me head all day long - which is to say, I'm a happy enough camper with this comic.
April 18, 2020
"I'd give anything to not be scared."
December 25, 2016
Two anti-heroic guys have a sad acid trip while taking a tiny road trip. The leading sad-sack is nostalgically looking back at this day, not because things were better then, but because he sees it as a kind of crossroads. The moment he could, perhaps, still have chosen to take a path other than the one he's traveling (one of debilitating social anxiety and unfulfilled dreams). It's a short, atmospheric, painful little book and also beautiful in its attention to minute social and family dynamics and mundane yet overwhelming anxieties.
March 1, 2016
A pretty meager demonstration of adolescent wandering. Lots of acid tripping, not much of a story. A brief glimpse into an overweight character named Wolf's self esteem issues. It wasn't bad; I just wanted more substantial development of characters and plot.
August 4, 2021
Два парня закидываются кислотой и решают поехать на море. И вот я, в общем-то, рассказал вам весь сюжет короткого комикса Чарльза Форсмана. Но у Форсмана обычно дьявол кроется в деталях, точнее даже в каком-то особом настроении юношеской тоски и редком умении двумя-тремя штрихами показать глубокий, сложный мир героев, нарисованных будто бы чересчур примитивным образом (а кислота вообще остаётся где-то на бэкграунде).
Я уже раньше имел возможность убедиться в том, что комиксы Форсмана на первый взгляд обманчиво просты и как бы ни о чём. Нужно снять целый сериал, чтобы хорошенько интерпретировать и развить сюжетные линии, показать героев с разных сторон, украсить дело крутыми интерьерами и общей постановкой. Так было и с The End of the Fucking World, и с I Am Not Okay With This. Но вот в чём засада: второй сезон TEotFW, уже не основанный на комиксе, показывает, что именно комикс является тем необходимым базисом и той изюминкой, которая превращает всё произведение в нечто особенное. И, может, мне просто не хватает воображения (или чего-то иного), чтобы разглядеть её на бумаге. Но может, конечно, тут нужен некий симбиоз двух медиумов и сотрудничество разных людей.
В целом же новелла про укурков неплохая, и было бы интересно глянуть её толковую экранизацию (до полного комплекта). Прикладываю небольшое превью.
Я уже раньше имел возможность убедиться в том, что комиксы Форсмана на первый взгляд обманчиво просты и как бы ни о чём. Нужно снять целый сериал, чтобы хорошенько интерпретировать и развить сюжетные линии, показать героев с разных сторон, украсить дело крутыми интерьерами и общей постановкой. Так было и с The End of the Fucking World, и с I Am Not Okay With This. Но вот в чём засада: второй сезон TEotFW, уже не основанный на комиксе, показывает, что именно комикс является тем необходимым базисом и той изюминкой, которая превращает всё произведение в нечто особенное. И, может, мне просто не хватает воображения (или чего-то иного), чтобы разглядеть её на бумаге. Но может, конечно, тут нужен некий симбиоз двух медиумов и сотрудничество разных людей.
В целом же новелла про укурков неплохая, и было бы интересно глянуть её толковую экранизацию (до полного комплекта). Прикладываю небольшое превью.
August 4, 2021
ولف به همراه دوست عجیبش مایک به یه سفر کوتاه میره و در حین سفر هر دو تحت تاثیر ال اس دی هستن. نکته جالب برای من نشون دادن حال و هوای این دو تا با جزئیات زیاد بود، یه جورایی انگار تجربیات خود نویسنده بود.
February 17, 2018
Two young “losers” go on a road trip.
I found this story very simply, but effect – especially the isolation / regrets of the physically ‘large’ character.
I found this story very simply, but effect – especially the isolation / regrets of the physically ‘large’ character.
November 26, 2014
I only read this maybe a week or two ago, and I remember being pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. But the fact that (even after flipping through the pages) I don't remember basically anything about it other than the aesthetic chalks it up as forgettable. I do remember I read it in about a half hour one morning.
It's the story of two guys on drugs. I do remember appreciating the window into their brains, particularly the kid who used to be a bully. I feel like it's a perspective we don't get too often.
It's the story of two guys on drugs. I do remember appreciating the window into their brains, particularly the kid who used to be a bully. I feel like it's a perspective we don't get too often.
May 5, 2014
Very spare story, very spare art, of two guys in their late teens, maybe 20, who decide one evening to drop acid and then take a road trip to the beach, stay out all night…. Not much happens, which is pretty much the point, slice of life, and at the end we look back on this night….. I like slice of life minimalism, but this is really minimal….
December 15, 2013
A slow-paced graphic novel of two teens, who recently finished school, taking a road trip after dropping acid. Their conversations explore the fears of entering adulthood and the existential phase following the conclusion of a major part of one's life.
June 2, 2017
A nice little book, though not much happens honestly. I enjoyed it for the art, more than anything. I'm just not a big fan of these kinds of stories where friends get high together and then wonder around. Still, the art is really top notch.
October 28, 2021
Nostalgik hiss elətdirdi. Sonluq qəşəng idi.
Ümumən də qəşəng idi: sakit axışı var idi komiksin. (Baxmayaraq ki, çox şey baş vermir, amma ümumi hiss elətdirdikləri qəşəng idi. Bilmirəm, bəlkə də, şəxsidir deyə).
Başlanğıc ideyası da qəşəng idi. Bəlkə saykodelik - halüsinatik hissələri daha fərqli və daha qəşəng (həmçinin də rəngli) çəksəydilər, daha çox bəyənərdim. Amma belə də pis deyildi.
Çərəzlik qəşəng qiraət idi.
Ümumən də qəşəng idi: sakit axışı var idi komiksin. (Baxmayaraq ki, çox şey baş vermir, amma ümumi hiss elətdirdikləri qəşəng idi. Bilmirəm, bəlkə də, şəxsidir deyə).
Başlanğıc ideyası da qəşəng idi. Bəlkə saykodelik - halüsinatik hissələri daha fərqli və daha qəşəng (həmçinin də rəngli) çəksəydilər, daha çox bəyənərdim. Amma belə də pis deyildi.
Çərəzlik qəşəng qiraət idi.
October 19, 2025
J’ai beaucoup aimé le petit livre à l’intérieur du livre
January 1, 2014
Pretty barebones in the story-telling dept., but a book that creates isolated feelings from characters trying to escape isolation is a book that doesn't have to try too hard, but succeeds anyways. I wish there was more here, though. Breezing thru in about 20 min makes some of th more experimental parts feel like wasted paper, but the char interaction (or lack thereof) during th trip on the trip makes up for it. I wish there was more here, though. The black and white works pretty well in psychedelic waves as the eye is confused about what is negative what is positive and what conclusion Wolf will come to. It's actually similar to some trips I've had where I've wanted to break thru my shell only to feel more constrained by it. Fun little blotter book this is, it leaves one wanting. Probably the intended effect. I wish there was more here, though.
June 21, 2014
I love comics where it feels like I'm spying on people. in this case it feels like you're spying on someone's momentary nostalgia for a time that wasn't so great in retrospect, but it still feels like it was great. forsman gets the feeling of hot lazy restlessness right, and also the power dynamic between teenage friends.
January 26, 2018
Cool insight into masculinity that I wasn’t expecting to enjoy as much. Well paced and chilled out. I like books about friendships and wandering around at night. I guess the only thing I didn’t like was the art style.
March 22, 2014
Hey everyone, da book is as scared as me!
March 13, 2022
To tell the truth, nothing much happens in Celebrated Summer 😅 The reader is introduced to Mike and Wolf, suburban teens who decide to take LSD one morning. After hiking, both teens decide to drive to a beach further east 🏖️ Along the ride and while high—Wolf reminisces about his lonely childhood. That's pretty much it. Sounds dull at first, but I find the graphic novella rather accurate in depicting what it looks like to come of age to common folks. Often the reality of growing up comes in a quiet realization, and while participating in unsavory activities 😅 Comic artist Chester Brown is right in this regard—the comic is a calming, straightforward exploration of the lives of two troubled teens on the cusp of adulthood 💆♂️💆♂️💆♂️ Forsman's Celebrated Summer is a breath of fresh air amidst colorful comics depicting adolescence ending with a bang 💥 It makes me feel seen, especially since I felt like my teen years ended in a lackluster way (I graduated and found a job, that's it) 😅😅😅
February 16, 2018
When I was young, a friend referred to that period of burnout after a LSD trip as being “crisp.” CELEBRATED SUMMER by Charles Forsman is crisp. It’s weirdly mundane, hilariously sad and unsentimentally sentimental about that early time in one’s life when dropping acid and going on a road trip was boringly exhilarating. Forsman switches his drawing style from comic to comic, and the deceptively simple line drawings here are some of my favorites. I could have followed his sad sacks anywhere, and maybe shared a tab with them too. But that time has gone and these kids aren’t ignorant of its passing, even as they soak in it.
October 9, 2019
I just kinda didn't enjoy this, at all.
It was lame, I did not find a reason for this to exist (not even a first purpose the writer has in mind before making it a reality).
Nothing actually happens XD
I guess I give it 2 stars just because of the texts where the characters talk about themselves (because that was pretty nice) and because of the drawing (because I actually enjoyed the art).
It was lame, I did not find a reason for this to exist (not even a first purpose the writer has in mind before making it a reality).
Nothing actually happens XD
I guess I give it 2 stars just because of the texts where the characters talk about themselves (because that was pretty nice) and because of the drawing (because I actually enjoyed the art).
April 17, 2022
Towards the end of high school, Mike and Wolf drop some acid and take a road trip to the nearest beach. As the acid hits, the best friends talk through their insecurities and fears of joining the adult world. Sparsely drawn with carefully doled out dialogue, this is a moving tale of the frailty of childhood and turning the page into the next phase of life.
March 14, 2018
Forsman has a knack to pull you in.
As a reader, usually, I like to savor each book, take my time understanding the scene, the characters but I finished Celebrated Summer all within 30 minutes.
As a reader, usually, I like to savor each book, take my time understanding the scene, the characters but I finished Celebrated Summer all within 30 minutes.
March 26, 2018
A short graphic novella following two teen stoners, Mike and Wolf, as they drop acid and take a spontaneous road trip to the beach. Funny and somber, the story reflects on teens’ angst for the future while trying to enjoy themselves in the present.
April 17, 2018
I don't know why I read this in a Southern accent.
Two distinct personalities enjoyably executed, and it was more thoughtfully presented than one might expect from the subject matter and style of drawing.
Two distinct personalities enjoyably executed, and it was more thoughtfully presented than one might expect from the subject matter and style of drawing.
May 7, 2018
A fascinating, beautifully-drawn evocation of adolescent angst. While the surface of the book is placid and quiet, there's something very troubling and sad bubbling beneath its surface--something that never fully comes to light but lingers after the book is put down. A very interesting work.
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September 27, 2024Una historia bastante corta e intima, y sin mucho drama, bueno si tiene sus momentos de conflicto, pero no tanto como estaba acostumbrado. Historia necesaria y pulcramente dibujada, quería leerla hace mucho.
June 20, 2018
Brilliantly captures those teenage years.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews