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The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Omnibus
All the Freak Brothers stories, book covers, posters and merchandise collected together in one big volume! The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers were created by Gilbert Shelton, one of the greatest American underground cartoonists. The Freak Brothers are timeless clowns, and it's Shelton's mastery of satire and slapstick, silly punchlines and the traditional forms of humour at the heart of these tripped-out cartoons that have kept them fresh and mirthful for over 45 years. Unlike many cults from the Sixties which have since faded away, the Freak Brothers are still going from strength to strength and acquiring new fans all the time. They are published in 15 languages and worldwide sales are now over 40 million copies plus millions of items of merchandise, T-shirts, postcards, badges, posters and more.
621 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 27, 2008
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260 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 10, 2021
A completely ridiculous, utterly useless but classic celebration of youthful depravity for the sheer hell of it.
October 3, 2020
I've never been a big fan of underground comics, but as a comics completist I feel obliged to read big compilations like this when I come across them. I actually read a few Freak Brothers comics back in the 1980s during the "Idiots Abroad" arc, and they didn't do much for me since I hadn't read the preceding issues. Having more context now, I still don't much care for that story . . . or the ones around it.
What I did not realize is that Freak Brothers is a sort of homage to classic comic strips, with structure and characters borrowed from Little Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, and Little Nemo in Slumberland to name just a few. The Little Nemo influence was most unfortunate, as way too many strips ended with one of the characters waking up from a dream. (I HATE dream sequences.)
Other stuff I didn't like: The poor reproduction and tiny panels of the first 100 pages really strained my eyes. It seems a missed opportunity to not reprint everything in chronological order, but things seemed sort of random at times, with all the color materials having to be shoved into two narrow sections of the book (to keep costs down I suppose). Also, it seems stingy to not give more prominent credit to long-time collaborators Paul Mavrides and Dave Sheridan.
Mainly, as a total square who does not drink or do drugs, I could not find anything relatable about the comics. The Freak Brothers are slobs and substance abusers who are sexist and just not that funny.
What I did not realize is that Freak Brothers is a sort of homage to classic comic strips, with structure and characters borrowed from Little Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, and Little Nemo in Slumberland to name just a few. The Little Nemo influence was most unfortunate, as way too many strips ended with one of the characters waking up from a dream. (I HATE dream sequences.)
Other stuff I didn't like: The poor reproduction and tiny panels of the first 100 pages really strained my eyes. It seems a missed opportunity to not reprint everything in chronological order, but things seemed sort of random at times, with all the color materials having to be shoved into two narrow sections of the book (to keep costs down I suppose). Also, it seems stingy to not give more prominent credit to long-time collaborators Paul Mavrides and Dave Sheridan.
Mainly, as a total square who does not drink or do drugs, I could not find anything relatable about the comics. The Freak Brothers are slobs and substance abusers who are sexist and just not that funny.
November 3, 2020
Having wasted a fair share of my young-adulthood collecting all the FFFB comics I can fairly say
"FAR F'IN OUT MAN!!!"
It's a special breed that appreciates the Furry Freaks for what they are. No good substance abusing sexist unwashed anarchist loitering pinko commie righteous hippies!
I love it!!
I expect to be surprised with a few stories I haven't seen before, but either way this edition will have it's place on the shelf.
As of spoilers.... WEED WEED WEED WEED!!! Get it?
"FAR F'IN OUT MAN!!!"
It's a special breed that appreciates the Furry Freaks for what they are. No good substance abusing sexist unwashed anarchist loitering pinko commie righteous hippies!
I love it!!
I expect to be surprised with a few stories I haven't seen before, but either way this edition will have it's place on the shelf.
As of spoilers.... WEED WEED WEED WEED!!! Get it?
December 13, 2015
The Freak Brothers comics are a series of time capsules. Having all of them collected in an omnibus illustrates how the authors' (and perhaps America's) attitude towards '60s counter culture changed through the '70s and '80s.
The good: weird, creative, and overall awesome art. Storylines are amusing and some of the political jabs still resonate, although the Freaks (as true hippies) are never really about politics ;)
The bad: as with any piece of pop culture from our culture's yesteryears, racial caricatures (thankfully few) and strong sexist imagery can make reading uncomfortable. It's good to be reminded of the progress we've made as a society, but if you need a reminder that it's not ok to make rape jokes, please don't read this book and instead spend the time in self-reflection or doing whatever else you need to do to clean your brain.
The interesting: as the omnibus proceeds, the Freak Brother plots get zanier and the amounts of hallucinogens consumed skyrockets, but the Brothers themselves essentially stay a group of three grungy drug-fueled hippies squatting in a nameless decaying American city. What does change is the world around the Freaks. The Freak brothers have always lived in a dangerous part of town, but what in earlier episodes seemed like an ideal place for the Freaks to be practicing their dubious lifestyle, in later issues is a grim confining urban jungle. The Freaks are hemmed in, carrying on their circus in spite of a world growing darker. At times I could almost sense fatigue in the characters, the plots.
But at the end of every story, one can always rely on the Freaks to give you the wink of the eye as they light up another joint, keeping the "spirit of the '60s" burning strong.
The good: weird, creative, and overall awesome art. Storylines are amusing and some of the political jabs still resonate, although the Freaks (as true hippies) are never really about politics ;)
The bad: as with any piece of pop culture from our culture's yesteryears, racial caricatures (thankfully few) and strong sexist imagery can make reading uncomfortable. It's good to be reminded of the progress we've made as a society, but if you need a reminder that it's not ok to make rape jokes, please don't read this book and instead spend the time in self-reflection or doing whatever else you need to do to clean your brain.
The interesting: as the omnibus proceeds, the Freak Brother plots get zanier and the amounts of hallucinogens consumed skyrockets, but the Brothers themselves essentially stay a group of three grungy drug-fueled hippies squatting in a nameless decaying American city. What does change is the world around the Freaks. The Freak brothers have always lived in a dangerous part of town, but what in earlier episodes seemed like an ideal place for the Freaks to be practicing their dubious lifestyle, in later issues is a grim confining urban jungle. The Freaks are hemmed in, carrying on their circus in spite of a world growing darker. At times I could almost sense fatigue in the characters, the plots.
But at the end of every story, one can always rely on the Freaks to give you the wink of the eye as they light up another joint, keeping the "spirit of the '60s" burning strong.
May 24, 2020
I included this in my 2020 reading list as I needed something light and it fulfilled on that. During the 80s I came across the Freak Brothers and liked the fact the characters were contemporary and at the time I was a bit of a weekend hippy so it seemed right to read it. On one level the Freak Brothers are not a great advert for the radical 60s but their adventures are probably a more accurate reflection on the hippie movement. I think the highlight of the omnibus it where they took the characters out of their normal scene and spun a yarn that covered the dangers of religious and political ideology. But let's not get to significant about the content. It's well drawn. You do feel you know the characters and it is all a bit of fun. Just before finishing it someone posted a short animation of the Freak Brothers (Facebook) who were commenting on the present day 'scene'. The fact they are still around sees something of their appeal.
January 13, 2016
The Freak Brothers Omnibus by Gilbert Shelton (Knockabout Comics 2008)(741.5). This is the full collection of the adventures of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, those loveable miscreants from the 1960's "Dope Comix" days. The Brothers are known for their unremitting and unapologetic recreational drug dealing and drug use. The Freak Brothers (Phineas, Freewheelin' Franklin, and Fat Freddy) are not known to have any redeeming qualities whatsoever. They're funny, though. Freewheelin' Franklin is credited with having uttered one of the defining and most classic lines of the 1960's: "Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope." My rating: 7.5/10, finished 8/26/14.
May 24, 2015
A counter culture classic. Far out, man!
May 19, 2016
good drawing, color & page composition
September 30, 2024
An entertaining collection that captures the spirit of 60s and 70s counterculture, following the chaotic lives of three stoner anti-heroes. However, the jokes and scenarios can become repetitive as our three heroes (and Fat Freddie’s cat) repeatedly find themselves in similar drug-fueled escapades and misadventures.
January 30, 2017
I bought this over three years ago and did start to read the cartoons but for some reason stopped part way and this omnibus has been on my bed side table for a couple of years until I decided to give it another go. Mainly in black and white, though some of the cartoons are in colour, I did struggle a bit because I think this volume is smaller than the magazines the cartoons originally appeared in so not so easy to read for people over sixty. Some of it is very funny but some of it does not work. I first read some of these back in the early 1970s so maybe nostalgia played a part in my enjoyment of this.
January 11, 2015
You had to be there. Or maybe not.
I now have to admit that I was born just a few years too late to be part of that whole hippy scene. I suspect that people of my generation were more into punk and speed than finding another hash deal. And then I noticed that many of the stories were copyrighted in the late seventies and beyond. In other words, they were written long after the scene they describe had finished. So, perhaps you had to be there and spend the next few years in a haze of nostalgia.
Fat freddy's cat was funny though.
I now have to admit that I was born just a few years too late to be part of that whole hippy scene. I suspect that people of my generation were more into punk and speed than finding another hash deal. And then I noticed that many of the stories were copyrighted in the late seventies and beyond. In other words, they were written long after the scene they describe had finished. So, perhaps you had to be there and spend the next few years in a haze of nostalgia.
Fat freddy's cat was funny though.
April 30, 2016
These old underground comics really haven't aged well. The early strips are quick sex and drug jokes, but the joke really seems to be that they're talking about sex and drugs. There's nothing clever about what he's saying and it's nothing you can't see on just about any movie or tv show anymore. It gets a little better when the stories get longer and actually have plots, but I doubt this has any appeal to anyone who wasn't there in the 70s.
May 6, 2016
Those Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Still Make Me LMAO
I read many of the Freak Brothers stories as a youngster, thought I had pretty much read all of them.....I was wrong. Here is the most complete collection I have found to date. And I still laugh myself silly reading about their ridiculous antics. If you were a child of the 60's and 70's you will have a ball with this collection.
I read many of the Freak Brothers stories as a youngster, thought I had pretty much read all of them.....I was wrong. Here is the most complete collection I have found to date. And I still laugh myself silly reading about their ridiculous antics. If you were a child of the 60's and 70's you will have a ball with this collection.
January 6, 2014
Wow, that's a LOT of dope jokes. This book is kind of hard to take if you try to read it straight through, but of course that's never how this fun underground comic was meant to be read. I loved reading these when we'd swipe them from my friends' older brothers' rooms, and for the most part the fun is still there.
October 9, 2012
Awesome collection of the wayward comics stemming from the comics underground by humour genius Gilbert Shelton, along with the talented Paul Mavrides and the late Dave Sheriden.
These comics see the Freak Brothers in a never ending search for dope interlaced with wicked humour and great pacing and story-telling.
These comics see the Freak Brothers in a never ending search for dope interlaced with wicked humour and great pacing and story-telling.
September 7, 2018
Brilliant!
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (along with Fat Freddies Cat) are the greatest creation in continuous underground comic history. Free wheelin Franklin, Phineas (political sometimes anarchist) and Fat Freddy are dope smoking, dope taking icons of hysterical mostly anti establishment humor. This book is a must for old fans and new.
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (along with Fat Freddies Cat) are the greatest creation in continuous underground comic history. Free wheelin Franklin, Phineas (political sometimes anarchist) and Fat Freddy are dope smoking, dope taking icons of hysterical mostly anti establishment humor. This book is a must for old fans and new.
January 4, 2015
I first discovered the Freak Brothers more than 30 years ago. Had a bunch of their comix which were lost over time as life moved on. I was pleased to find this collection, was even more pleased to find the Freaks just as funny and irreverent as I remembered them. Freak on!
August 17, 2014
All the Freak Brothers stories in one huge volume. Some of the early stories are reprinted kind of small. This is a massive volume (600+ pages) and I doubt I'll ever read these stories again, but I'm glad I read them once. Occasional moments of brilliant humor.
December 28, 2011
Three and a half, but I'm being generous because it's got so much nostalgic value for me :)
January 24, 2024
Another underground comic I barely got a glimpse at until I found this compendium. Totally worth a read though I had to keep looking up drug slang throughout.
April 10, 2013
this was a serious blast from the past. as the title sez, here's every single bit of Freakdom between 2 covers (including hints of a movie !!), with quite a few i'd never read.
February 4, 2015
Legend. Nothing is sacred in the hippie heaven and hell as the brothers lead you kicking and screaming up to a higher plane of lunacy and innocence tainted with reality bits.
March 16, 2016
A real blast from the past. Not as funny as I found it when I was seventeen but the artwork is still amazing and the stories are hilarious.
May 2, 2023
I finished this last year but didn't update my status. Had fun re-reading some of the comics inside that I actually had. Good to have them all together!
March 29, 2024
A bit uneven and certainly repetitive if you read all of these stories in a short period of time, but also wonderfully irreverent, playfully subversive, and very creative.
January 8, 2023
Checklist Category: Adult Audience
Title: "The Idiots Abroad" pts 1-3 only (pp. 179-277)
Title: "The Idiots Abroad" pts 1-3 only (pp. 179-277)
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews