Total Sell Out

by Brian Michael Bendis

by Brian Michael Bendis
BW 184pp Trade paperback
In stores the week of December 11th.
The Concept: Three time Eisner award winning Brian Michael Bendis (Powers, Ultimate Spider-Man titles, Daredevil, Alias) didn't just appear out of thin air, you know! He worked his tuchas off at all aspects of the medium before totally losing his hair in mainstream comics.
Compiled in this exclusive collection are dozens of short stories that are widely considered his best work, handpicked by the author. Ranging from the 'Fortune and Glory' style autobiographical anecdotes, to some of the darkest crime noir stories he has yet to tell. Also included is a smattering of his favorite short work collaborationswith Warren Ellis, Mark (Nowheresville) Ricketts, James Hudnall, and Mike Avon Oeming. And a portfolio of line art and multi-media illustrations that have rarely been seen before. A fun and must have collection of rarely seen or never seen material.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Memoir, Nonfiction, Humor

184 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2003

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brian Michael Bendis: the Artist

This book collects a wide range of early short stories and newspaper strips by Brian Michael Bendis, plus a couple of individual drawings and promotional texts. At the time, Bendis was trying to make a name for himself primarily as an artist, and all the stories collected here were illustrated by Bendis himself. Most were also written by him, but interestingly not all of them - one was even written by Warren Ellis.

While Bendis' stark, Frank Miller-influenced drawing style is competent enough, it comes as no surprise that the book's highlights are those genre and slice-of-life pieces that already feature the kind of realistic dialogue Bendis is best known for today, most notably the ones starring Mike and Jen.

The cartoony, underground-influenced autobiographical anecdotes and newspaper strips pale in comparison, and it is easy to see why Bendis would not become known as another Harvey Pekar. Unfortunately, these rather clumsy autobiographical efforts make up the bulk of the book - interesting for fans, maybe, but not really for anybody else.

[Daryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of Bendis' early works shows his promise as an artist/cartoonist though he mostly quit drawing when he started writing for Marvel. There's a variety of stuff here, from one-page gags & vignettes to slightly longer vignettes, even a few short stories of 7-10 pages. While there are a lot of in-jokes and a lot of the short pieces don't really go anywhere, it's definitely a look into the formation of some of Bendis' later work & ideas. Included are a few pieces written by other writers (Mark Ricketts, Warren Ellis, James Hudnall) and drawn by Bendis. I'd have to say that these are the least effective stories in the collection - as an artist, Bendis doesn't work well with others, in my opinion. Mostly for the hardcore Bendis fans (of which there are plenty). The printing leaves something to be desired -- mainly being able to read some of the pages. It's a smaller book (about 6"x 8" - I'm estimating here) and the artwork and lettering occasionally gets so close to the inside binding that it's very difficult to read.

[Nihal Vrana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Except for his first Daredevil work, I'm not a big fan of Bendis' mainstream stuff. But, this pre-"being the Man" work shows someone really pored himself over comics and makes you feel good about the success he enjoyed. He is not a particularly talented artist, but he is not bad at all either. Most of it is quite experimental, I particularly liked the "interview" series, plus the brutal frankness of some of the real-life stories. Him being close friends with David Mack is another thing warmed me to this work, he was really lucky to be there to see Mack's genius unfold; I will never forget how I was dumbfounded the very first time I have seen Mack's work.
It didn't feel at all as a cashing-in attempt at some earlier work, he doesn't need that I suppose, it was a genuine demo of his growth and past as a comic book artist.

[John Elbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my complete Bendis Jinxworld reading. This book is almost entirely made up of three Jink World specials published separately back in the 90's. It's great throwback fun and includes all the Bendis goodness you could ask for. There is a story included here that stands out to me where Bendis lays out the history of his 'fued' with Drew Hayes. Drew Hayes was the one of a kind guy who created Poison Elves. He passed away way too young from long running health issues back in 2007. Man is legend. First chance I had to meet Bendis in 2018 I mentioned Drew Hayes and being a fan back when they went at each other in their respective letters columns. That made him smile and he expressed how much he missed Drew Hayes and wished there were more like him. Me too.

[meagan · Rating 1 out of 5]

sooooo turns out im not bendis’ biggest fan outside of his comics lol

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis' writing style is evident from the earliest examples of his work collected here (biographical sketches), and his voice is strong throughout. The stories range from pointless to funny, to occasionally tragic. Most are true-life, although there is one section that includes collaborative works that is fiction (and has a very strange collaboration with Warren Ellis that I'm not sure what to make of). Bendis' art style goes through several styles in the book, from simple cartoony drawings to his complex and dark ink work, to computer based work. It all fits the story it's telling. Borderlands especially is an impressive example of his art abilities. The stories are for the most part very short, but Bendis packs a lot of story into a little space, so there are a lot of tales told here. This probably won't change your opinion of Bendis, but if you're a fan it's a good collection of loose art and stories to explore.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brian Michael Bendis has been far more popular as a writer for comics than he was as an artist. This collection of his early work shows why this is actually a sad thing. He was really quite a good artist, and had he continued to develop his art to the extent he developed his writing, he might have been one of the greatest ever. While this book contains a motley assortment of his early work, he showed flashes of brilliance, especially in his noir crime stories.
The overall quality of the book is wildly inconsistent, which is why I only gave it three stars. Some of the humorour pieces fizzle, and some of the true life stories were told in an odd style that didn't quite work. Still, if you are interested in the history of modern comics, this is worth your time.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew of Brian Michael Bendis, started reading him when Kevin Smith left Daredevil and he started a great run. I've also liked him on Ultimate Spider-Man, Powers, Alias and the two current Avengers series. This is mostly a collection of work when he was writing and drawing (he doesn't draw anymore) a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A good read, mixes slice of life stuff with memoirs, also includes a couple of collaborations (including one with Warren Ellis).

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really really funny. Confirms my sneaking suspicion that comic books writers may have my favorite writing style. Engaging, smart & hilarious.

[The Ghost's Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of shorter and stranger pieces from Bendis' career. A couple of gems here and there, but overall it's fairly weak. Only for extreme Bendis enthusiasts.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super uneven. Some interesting notes, but after awhile you think maybe there is a reason these were hard to find...

[Damon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a Diary.