Strange Planet

Strange Planet #1

by Nathan W. Pyle

Straight from the mind of New York Times bestselling author Nathan W. Pyle comes an adorable and profound universe in pink, blue, green, and purple. Based on the phenomenally popular Instagram of the same name, Strange Planet covers a full life cycle of the planet’s inhabitants, including milestones such as:

The Emergence Day
Being Gains a Sibling
The Being Family Attains a Beast
The Formal Education of a Being
Celebration of Special Days
Being Begins a Vocation
The Beings at Home
Health Status of a Being
The Hobbies of a Being
The Extended Family of the Being
The Being Reflects on Life While Watching the Planet Rotate

With dozens of never-before-seen illustrations in addition to old favorites, this book offers a sweet and hilarious look at a distant world not so unlike our own.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Humor, Comics, Fiction, Comedy, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Hardcover

First published November 19, 2019

Reviews

[Jesse (JesseTheReader)]

i loved this so much! i don't follow the original instagram for these alien comics, but a lot of people i follow tend to repost them on their story. in some ways this reminded me of everyone's an aliebn when you're an aliebn too, which is one of my favorite books of all time! though this one definitely leaned more on the humor side of things. this is such a fun and quick little read. if you're looking for a little mood booster, i'd recommend checking this out!

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

1/8/2020: I have completed viewing the firm stack of paper with pictures! I will now pass unsolicited judgement upon it!

First of all, this firm stack of paper with pictures (in color!) is of surprisingly small dimensions. I have surmised that it is the perfect size for you to conceal with festive wrapping so that you can give it to another being to possess (after they destroy the festive concealment). The pictures are grouped into useful categories, including Young Beings, Friendship, Adulthood, and Recreation. You may have seen some of these same pictures on your communication device before, but the creator of this firm stack of papers has secretly kept back others until now. Is this deception? No! The creator intended to surprise us through subterfuge! Gratitude, creator!

Soon, the beings who work in the structure full of texts where I was given this firm stack of paper expects me to return it so that other beings may also chuckle at its contents. If I do not return this loan in a timely fashion, I will be asked to remit currency. Instead, I will remit currency somewhere that will let me keep this firm stack of paper permanently! (My creatures will also appreciate this, as they believe it to be a comfort cushion and rest on it frequently while vibrating.)

~•~•~•~•~•~

Previous syllables I have poked out about this same firm stack of paper:

10/15/2019: This will be a firm stack of paper with pictures that you can acquire in exchange for currency. I am digesting moths just contemplating its impending arrival.

12/18/2019: I report noteworthy information of the timely variety! There is a public edifice in the census-designated place of my domicile. There, one can remove firm stacks of paper from the property without remitting currency. This benevolent institution sent me a magically-transmitted, glowing epistle: They are “holding” a firm stack of papers with this very designation, and all I must do is “come pick it up”.

I do not comprehend why the firm stack of papers must be physically hoisted at all times, but I am gratified that I have been summoned to also lift the firm stack of paper with my own upper appendages.

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Throwback Review) If laughter is the best medicine in the world, this book should be your drug of choice to treat melancholy and anhedonia.

The Ikea Effect


Sadness


Seriousness


There is no need to think twice, just go for it :)

[Brittni Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t truly think this should count as a book I’ve read lmao. But I did buy it, and I did read it, and it does bring me joy. So.

[Kemper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of humorous drawings so I have posted this message on the part of the computer network known as Adequate Eye Scans. It is owned by the same large company from which I purchased the collection so that they might sell more of them and become even larger. I am mildly uncomfortable about this process.

I am also aware that if other beings disagree with my assessment of the drawings, they will tell me in rude tones that I am incorrect.

Ah, but seriously folks...

I find Nathan Pyle's cartoons of aliens going about their daily lives wildly funny. There's just something about how he uses language to describe common things that makes me laugh. For example, instead of teeth, they are your mouthstones, and most of us fail at the recommended daily task of pushing string through them.

Reading his cartoons on social media every day are the closest thing I get to that old feeling when I'd crack open a newspaper and read the comics so I was happy to support him by buying this. It's not long, but it put a smile on my face.

[Maede · Rating 4 out of 5]

خلاقانه درعین سادگی
در سیاره‌ی عجیب هیچی اونقدر عجیب نیست جز اینکه همه چیز رو دقیقا با اسم چیزی که واقعاً هست صدا می‌زنند
مثلاً کروات، پارچه‌ی جدیته و بادکنک مگه چیزی جز تله‌ی نَفَسه؟

در سیاره‌ی عجیب هیچی اونقدر عجیب نیست جز اینکه دقیقا همون چیزی که به ذهنشون میاد و همون چیزی که داره اتفاق می‌افته رو با کلمات قلمبه سلمبه میگن
مثلاً اگه احساساتی بشن میگن: پمپ خون‌ام داره بیش از حد کار می‌کنه
یا به جای خواب خوب ببینی میگن: مهملات دلپذیر تصور کن

نمی‌دونم چرا، ولی وقتی می‌خونیش حس می‌کنی خودت عجیب‌تر از موجودات سیاره‌‌ی عجیبی

اینم یکی از تصویرهاش که خیلی دوست داشتم و به سختی از بین کلی گزینه انتخاب کردم


کتاب رو هم مثل همیشه اینجا گذاشتم
M's Books

امتیاز واقعی ۳/۵
۱۴۰۰/۶/۶

[Dan Schwent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange Planet is a collection of cartoons from Nathan Pyle. It pokes fun at various aspects of human life through the eyes of some aliens.

Each Strange Planet strip is a single page with four panels, although some strips are linked. I don't normally do web comics but I couldn't resist this one. The cynical humor is right up my alley. The art is a little crude but it doesn't detract from the humor in the least.

That's pretty much it. Here's the link to Nathan Pyle's page for all the Strange Planet you can digest.

https://www.nathanwpyle.art/strangepl...

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The appeal lies in both the hilarious way he describes common things like fridges and cats and salad, and in the astute way he points out the ridiculousness of the things we humans do.

[Clouds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book changes the way you see the world.
I just shouted "Younglings! Gather, disrobe and submerge" to call my children for their bath.
It worked.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nathan Pyle’s adorable web comic about aliens has been a favorite of mine since I discovered it a couple of years ago. It’s a little cynical, but still gentle enough to make me feel like our weird human habits are forgivable. I personally can’t resist a comic that does such a lovely job highlighting the small absurdities of daily-life behavior, especially when it comes to sports and pets. But more than that, there is a great emotional intelligence and insight under the surface of these simple comic strips. The aliens’ hyper-literal way of talking can make things like sharing music or needing a hug sound much more empathic than you’d expect; I found some pages surprisingly moving and endearing.

A great little book to keep on your coffee table for when you need a little smile.

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Welcome to 2020 . . . .



Strange Planet snips had been all over my Instagram so I decided it was high time to check out the entire book out from the library. It was delightful. If you are looking to turn your frown upside down, this may just be the ticket . . .

[☠Kayla☠ · Rating 5 out of 5]

These little alien creatures are my absolute favorites. I love the way they speak and how they explain normal everyday human life. This book is perfect in so many ways and so funny to read. It's one of those books you can read over and over again and never get bored of. I recommend it to everyone because it's just so enjoyable and so funny. Nathan W. Pyle is such a talented person!

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable, cheerful, and funny. On an extraterrestrial planet populated by cute aliens, life is just as we know it on Earth but with a twist: interactions, concepts, and objects are rendered in literal terms (coffee is "jitter liquid"; balloons are "elastic breath traps"; vending machines are "gravity-induced sustenance releasers"; neckties are "seriousness cloths"). Our world really is strange, as is our blindness to all the strangeness. I love Nathan Pyle's color palette of pinks, purples, blues, and some soft greens (it looks like he deliberately avoids bright "alien green") and his astute observations and creativity in illustrating the strangeness of each.

[Henk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing reflections on "normal" life as observed by aliens
Why does your face malfunction?

I liked to read the Garfield comics of Jim Davis as a child and this book is kind of like it, just more clean. Everyday situations are made funny by aliens narrating their actions in a formal way. For instance an eating invitation becomes: Do you want to ingest with us?

Sometimes the effect is brutal, like an alien mom telling her child to eat her vegetables as a highlight:
Ingest your leaves
I do not desire leaves
Put the leaves in your mouth
It is an unpleasant sensation
Life will be full of unpleasant sensations
You need to experience a wide range so you can properly gauge which one are worst.

Slight and easy to breeze through, this was fun but I think my humour is a bit more dark and less clean than this.

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

CONGRATULATIONS, WINNER! goodreads choice awards best HUMOR 2020!

i love this guy and maybe someday i will get around to reviewing his books - eek!

[Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest


I do not follow the Strange Planet comics but I keep getting exposed to them anyway because they're constantly showing up in my Twitter feed. I always found them amusing, so when I found out that Nathan Pyle just released a collection of his work, I was excited to read it. How do I even begin to describe Strange Planet? Through the medium of aliens who talk like Vulcans, Pyle examines some of the strange things we do on the day-to-day, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary through the humorous lens of an outsider.



As these aliens act out human tasks as if by pantomime, we're introduced to a hilarious lexicon of new words for familiar things. Neckties become "seriousness cloths," honey becomes "plant liquid partially digested by insects and then stolen," sunscreen is "star damage limiter," and vacuum cleaners are "rollsucks," some of which have "filth windows," so you can closely monitor the rollsuck's progress as it sucks up the alarming amounts of filth from your foot cushions.



I find that it's hard to review graphic novels like these because they don't really have a cohesive "plot." But I think if you enjoy comics like Cyanide and Happiness and Sarah's Scribbles, you'll really enjoy Strange Planet. It brought a smile to my face after an exhausting day, and I can't say that about too many books I've been reading lately. I hope it warms your heart, too.



4 stars

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here it is on Instagram, the basis for this 2020 Goodreads Humor award-winning book, yaye, congrats:

https://www.instagram.com/nathanwpyle...

I was amused at this book which is really how aliens might find ordinary human behavior here on earth. And that's the joke. I think if I were to watch one of them every week or so I would like it (even) more, like pudding, which is really great once a week, but when I binge-read this because I was reading the top three GR Humor vote-getters and I read it ALL in ONE SITTING, I stopped smiling after awhile and. . . got a little sick to my stomach from all that pudding eaten all at once. . . or something like that. But it's good, Dave says to the 47 Goodreads who gave this FIVE stars, even Rod Brown whose Goodreads rating average is 2.75! Wow, I have had such a crummy year, why is it so hard for me to laugh when I go out of my way to find that??!! I guess I need to see the therapist again. . . .

[Tucker (TuckerTheReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to William Morrow Gift for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

This comic is seriously so much fun. It's one of the cleverest things I've read in a while. A comic that follows aliens who have come to earth and are still trying to figure out the oddities of our society is genius and it was brilliantly executed. I highly recommend checking this book out. Also, check out the Instagram Profile!



- - - - - -

AH I'm SO EXCITED TO HAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK IN MY HANDS

| Goodreads | Blog | Pinterest | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

The comics I’ve read before had me smiling. The new ones made me giggle, especially new terms that I had not seen before, like two-wheel foot pusher (bicycle) and dying plants (flowers) that you put into the death cylinder (vase). I greatly enjoy how these comics make you reevaluate what we say as humans and how sometimes even our normal sayings are funny, but they become extra funny when translated into alien.

And then the last comic!! Curious development.

[Rod Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple concept, huge laughs. Pyle has aliens re-enact/experience everyday human activities to expose the hilarious craziness of things we accept as perfectly normal.

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

[Michael || TheNeverendingTBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel more attractive.
Honestly, you are.
It’s the star damage.
I CRAVE STAR DAMAGE!

This one was a quirky and funny look at a distant world that's very similar to our own and how aliens deal with every day situations and scenarios that us humans do in our daily life.

Perfect little book to read in bed at night with a cuppa tea.

If you’re a fan of the comics, then you should love this book!

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caused me much amusement. There were many moments my mouth made sounds of joy. There were also moments when my mouth was silent, but that's okay. In those moments I had lovely images of grey-ish blue-ish blobs to gaze upon.

Rating: 5+

March 3, 2020

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It's going on my wishlist. Strange Planet has given me many a laugh just when I needed it and I shared the fun with others also. I would keep it longer, but I know someone else is waiting in the hold queue at the Library and we all need something to laugh about these days.

[Nostalgia Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

My facial orbs enjoyed visually intaking the artistic renderings applied to these pages!!

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these little beings too much and reading Strange Planet comics always gives me such a delightful little boost of serotonin. ♥ I've been following the comics on social media for years, so I had read most of these already, but it had been a long time, and it added in a dose of nostalgia for the little references my family and I used to make to some of these ("tiny trash!").

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twitter | booktok | bookstagram | blog

[Sara the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathan Pyle's premise with his lovely "Strange Planet" cartoons is simple but totally profound. Pale blue, dark eyed alien creatures living their lives just like we do, the only real difference is they speak entirely literally. Got a crush on someone? You have "a massive compression on that being." Kid got a loose tooth? Their "mouthstone has destabilized." Cat won't stay out of the Christmas Tree ornaments? "The erratic creature is obsessed with the festive objects."

Sometimes spelling things out, even the most mundane, gives them a deeper meaning or at least allows us to appreciate them a little bit more. It can also highlight exactly how absurd certain things are when we really break them down to their base components.

Nathan Pyle and his gentle, benevolent little humanoids do both with charm and grace. This is a delightful little read that deserves some time and attention, not just a quick read through. There's a lot of depth and understanding about human nature to be found here. Nothing is too simplistic or "ordinary" for Pyle. Everything from why we love dogs so much to the point of wearing two matching socks is up for grabs.

What he really does well though is get to the heart of human connection, of our biological need to make meaningful contact and forge relationships with others. My favorite cartoon and one that really nails this idea involves one creature approaching another one who is crying. "Why does your face malfunction?" it asks. Upon receiving no response it says "Request mutual limb enclosure" and when the distressed creature observes "You are absorbing my face fluids" the reply is "let me absorb, let me absorb."

That's like the pure essence of offering comfort and empathy. Just being there to absorb someone's face fluids. I love that.

[Timothy Urgest · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable and amusing gift from one of my best friends.

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

дуже мила книжечка, аби похіхікати з людства (в тому числі і з себе)