Baby Blues: This is Going to be Tougher Than We Thought

Baby Blues Scrapbooks #1

by Rick Kirkman, Jerry Scott

"Keep this cartoon book with Dr. Spock and all the other baby-care tomes.... You'll like the whole book." --Booklist

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comic Book, Comic Strips, Bande Dessinée

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1991

About the author

Rick Kirkman is a cartoonist and co-creator of the comic strip Baby Blues. He received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award in 1995, and the Reuben Award in 2012 for his work on the strip. He also served as co-executive producer of The WB animated television series of Baby Blues.

Reviews

[Isa | Mil Histórias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depois de ter lido o último livro lançado desta colecção, Baby Blues 33 | + Molhados, + Barulhentos, + Pegajosos decidi ler toda a colecção e fazer deste mais um dos meus objectivos de vida literária.

Se o último volume é excelente este não fica atrás. É certo que me iniciei nesta série com o último volume (e já vai no número 33), mas não tem qualquer importância.

Este é o primeiro volume desta série. É aqui que começa a aventura dos MacPhersons como pais. As dúvidas, as novas sensações e emoções, as fraldas, as jantares fora de casa, as férias, as viagens...uma verdadeira aventura, que os pais de primeira viagem se vão identificar. É um livro muito divertido e descontraído o que é esta aventura de sermos pais e mães.

[Kaya Kobold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hach ja. Mittlerweile haben sie 3 Kinder und gehören zur Familie :-)

[Maed Between the Pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars.

When I unpacked these from my US library storage, I was hit with a palpabale wave of nostalgia. I used to re-read these over and over again when I was in high school. I wasn't a parent yet, but there was something so comforting about the subtle human understanding in these comics.

Now as a parent, they hit different. The comfort is still there, but now I truly feel SEEN. Add to that that I also giggled consistently throughout, and this is an easy 5 stars. I definitely plan to re-read the other ones I have in the next few days.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of the Baby Blues series that follow the hilarious and sticky path of Darrell and Wanda as they and baby Zoe learn lots of things from each other.

I tend to give the first few books of this series to expecting mothers...you know as a friendly heads-up of 'yes, it's funny' and 'no they're not kidding'.

[Anti Wibawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a comic book about one family, husband wife and a baby, about their new life with a new baby, where the husband and wife suffer from postpartum depression but illustrated in a funny way. This book is (again) a gift from my office mates. It's like my very easy true stories, that i can show to my hubby anytime to remind him how difficult it was! but this book is full of laughter.. seeing things from different perspective.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

*This review was originally published on RachelPoli.com.

Book Cover

The cover itself is humorous. It’s all about first-time parents and showing two confused parents with a crying baby is perfect – as is the title.

First Thoughts

I first read this a long time ago when I was little. I remember my sister reading it at our uncle’s house so I ended up picking it up as well.

Plot

This is the first of many Baby Blues comics. Darryl and Wanda have just had a baby girl, Zoe. They’re first time parents trying to figure out the baby as well as other life things. Not that I’m a parent myself, but many of these strips ring true to life but put a funny spin on it.

Characters

Darryl and Wanda are quite the funny characters and it’s fun to follow their story. Wanda can be a bit crazy at times, but it’s always funny and never really annoying. Poor Darryl just tries his best to help her along.

There are many other characters in here that come and go like Wanda’s sister, and they’re all great and add a lot to the story.

Writing Style

This is, of course, a comic book, so the story is told in dialogue and drawings. Each “scene,” I guess you could call it is told in four panels. Or there can be sort of a mini-series and a longer story may be told me through a series of four panels. Everything makes sense and it makes for an easy read.

Overall

If you’re looking for something quick, humorous, and true to life, pick up Baby Blues. It was fun to revisit this one and I’ll be reading the rest of the series soon.

[David Allen Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have been reading Baby Blues for many years I was not a reader from the onset of the series, and when I decided to buy and read all the volumes in the series, this first Baby Blues book collected strips I had never read before. While the characters as initially drawn, especially Wanda, look a little different, and the only child is infant Zoe, I really enjoyed the book start to finish and it helped me understand more how the series evolved. Truth be told while this book is over 30 years old, very few of the strips are aged because the whole premise of the strip is the age old experience of becoming and surviving parenthood. Any fan of the strip has to read this first volume to see how it was in the beginning while also getting some great laughs!

[Magpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been my mother's present to everyone who just had their first baby for years, and I'm keeping up the tradition - and could not help re-reading it myself before I give it away. And even if I don't have children myself, it always makes me laugh.

[Ines Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muito divertido olhar destes livros sobre a maternidade e parentalidade, apesar de não ter essa experiência pessoalmente, acredito que muitos dos diálogos e pensamentos correspondam à verdade de muitos pais e mães. Recomendo.

[I DRM Free · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this in the papers

I remember reading this comic in the papers. I'm not a parent but I find it funny to read anyway.

[James Hurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trifle dated but still this was such a good strip from a time of transition in this country!

[Natalia Blaszczyk Alves · Rating 5 out of 5]

So true! So hilarious! I recommend to all new parents. Have it at hand especially in times of doubt and frustration - it will brighten up your days :D

[Nancy Bandusky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read followed by laughter regarding tired parents, diaper changes, spitting up, sleepless nights and the miracle of a new little life.

[Cilla Savary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterically accurate!

[Gabrielle David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed seeing the first strips of one of my favorite comics. The art and humor has been refined over the years but the beginning was still a lot of fun.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite gift to give to family and friends expecting their first child. It's a warm, humerous look at what the first few weeks of having a child can be like.

[Tim Nowotny · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the ones I read this was the most laugh out loud funny one

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love reading Baby Blues! Even better when I can read them on my kindle. Anyone who has kids can see the real humor in these books.

[Ana Dias Amaral · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um retrato fiel e divertido da parentalidade!

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyllähän nämä naurattavat, kun lukee vuosikymmeniä oman vauva-arkensa jälkeen. Olisivatko naurattaneet silloin aikanaan, en tiedä :)

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun to read the very first cartoons.

[Tosca Wijns-Van Eeden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very recognisable, except for the overexcessive crying *lucky us!*

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection contains the first set of strips for Baby Blues. That means both writer and illustrator were still getting a grip on what exactly the strip was about, the characterization, and how to land the jokes. There's an over-reliance on a few repeated gags about how difficult being a stay-at-home mom is and how little sleep new parents get. While all new parents can relate to lack of sleep (especially ones with colicky babies like Zoe) the jokes aren't nearly as funny as latter ones. Wanda's sister makes a fair number of appearances and she just isn't an entertaining character. It was interesting to see both sets of grandparents, though. I don't recall ever seeing Darryl's father in later strips.

Overall I can see why I never really got into Baby Blues in its early days when I was a kid reading the Sunday morning comics. Even now being a parent and appreciating the situations, this first set of strips isn't nearly as entertaining and amusing as those in later years.

[Karschtl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leider bin ich jetzt erst auf diese Comic-Reihe gestoßen. Ich hätte das mal vor 6 Jahren lesen sollen! Jeder Comic-Strip stimmt! Haargenau so ist es. Absolut genial. Perfekt zum verschenken an frischgebackene Eltern. Spieluhren und Kuscheltiere kriegen sie bestimmt schon genug vom Rest der Familie, schenkt ihnen doch etwas sinnvolles wie diesen 'Ratgeber' hier! Man fühlt sich gleich viel weniger allein...

[Antonietta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non amo particolarmente i fumetti ma questo libro mi ha aiutato tantissimo a sdrammatizzare la fatica e le paure che seguirono la nascita del mio primogenito. Gli devo molto. Anche a distanza di tempo, rileggendo qualche vignetta a caso, non posso fare a meno di sorridere dei personaggi e di me stessa.

[Narariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first collection of Baby Blues starts with Zoe's birth. While there are occasional hints of the age of the strips, they are fun and entertaining, with Wanda and Darryl suffering the anxieties and stresses of new parents. It's interesting to read and I enjoyed seeing some of the differences between the characters then and now.

[Icha Rahmanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hillarious, funny and heart warmer. Love it!

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this comic series! I HIGHLY recoomend the series or comic series!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a mom I related completely to Wanda's experiences as a new mom.

[Xopowo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, but makes me want to wait longer to have children.