A graphic novel by the Eisner-nominated creator of Breakfast After Noon. A girl who collects vintage closes and a boy who loves old books attend the same party. When he catches her throwing out a box of her possessions, he discovers she is discarding a book that was one of his favorites as a child. It becomes a catalyst for them to start talking, but will true love ensue? Andi Watson brings us a poignant story about things abandoned, feelings rejected, and what we just can't leave behind.
Andrew "Andi" Watson (born 1969) is a British cartoonist and illustrator best known for the graphic novels Breakfast After Noon, Slow News Day and his series Love Fights, published by Oni Press and Slave Labor Graphics.
Watson has also worked for more mainstream American comic publishers with some work at DC Comics, a twelve-issue limited series at Marvel Comics, with the majority at Dark Horse Comics, moving recently to Image Comics.
A decent one-shot, in my opinion. Not a fan of the art style though. Binny's passion for used books almost made me fall for him myself. The girl on the other hand, was an absolute douche.
I was really looking forward to reading Dumped. The romantic drama is a genre that is underserved in comics. To bad for me this book is propped up by one really unlikeable character who makes nonsensical decisions. And not bad decisions that make sense for dramatic purposes, but just "who does that?" kind of decisions. This story just didn't ring true to me at all. At least this was short.
This is what I enjoy about the modern graphic novel movement. A book of pure simplicity. Watson's art in 'pink' and grey and simple outlines is easy on the eye, and clearly drawn. The story of two people bumping into each other and getting to know each other, and falling apart is 'real'. It's not a long story but we meet friends of the protagonists and get to know them well. We see the obsessions and joys of collecting/hoarding and understand the compromises that occur in relationships as a result. This all occurs in 53 pages! A storyteller par excellance! There are also 4 pages in the hardback (non-ISBN edition) I read of thumbnails A refreshing tonic after reading the Strugatsky brothers!
Bought for 50 cents at Half Price Books yesterday. Liked the artwork so it was totally worth checking out. This story would have been SO MUCH better if she wrote the relationship as a platonic friendship rather than a cliche ridden romance. Why can’t a man and a woman meet and just be friends?
That’s what bothered me with this book. The two characters both have cool interests and probably would in reality just be friends.
Nicely told romance about Debs, who runs a vintage clothing store, and Binny, who maintains a rather odd collection of books. Their relationship runs through an arc of hidden truth and betrayal, and even though it ultimately lands where you hope it will, this is all so short that the earned moments this needs never get enough room to develop. I would have loved this had it been two or three times as long to give these characters enough time to flourish.
I picked this up as part of a free stack of comics. I had no expectations nor any idea who the author is. The art is soft greyscale and the story telling is almost sweet.
Andi Watson has a beautiful, simple way with his lines in this period of his work. While it is a chief strength for him, it also works against him...at least for me. Though his stories tend to be evocative and emotionally true, I find I read him so quickly that I'm hard justified to keep paying for his shorter works, like Dumped. Dumped is a perfectly brief and dead-on portrait of the beginnings and ends of a relationship between two unlikely people. Watson has drawn from this well once before, in Breakfast After Noon, and seems to be aware of the similarities, as we can see that book's characters reappearing here. Not only are the characters similar (deadbeat guy who won't admit it, deadbeat girl with aspirations), but the relationships bear similarities as well. Sadly, these are neither of them particularly happy stories, but here at least we can believe these two aren't giving up anything much to be with each other. Even sadder, the not-happy-not-unhappy ending is all too like real life. These kitchen-sink dramas of Watson's are the only things of his I've read, only because it seems he veers completely from this into pure fantasy, and I'm just not interested in the latter from him. This stuff is what he does very well, and though I'd rater read Dumped in a book collected with other shorter stories, I don't regret having it around.
"We all collect things in life. Some of us gather stamps, some buy comics, and others shop for antiques. And we all collect broken hearts. No one, no matter who they are, can say they have always known the joy of loving and being loved in return."
What better than reading a book about people who hunt for second-hand items than having one of those characters collecting second-hand books? And what better than doing it in a second-hand copy? I love hunting for books and I am a romantic, so this book called my attention straight away. The problem is that it feels too short, too racey. Too little. Too much. Too little time to breathe in between vignettes, too much happening too fast. This beauty could be enjoyed better if the artist would have taken more time, would have given us more time, to sink in the story and to understand what was going on. Or that's how I felt it, at least.
Vanhoja kirjoja keräilevä nuorukainen ja käytettyjen vaatteiden kauppaa pyörittävä nainen kohtaavat toisensa pienimuotoisessa sarjakuvanovellissa, jonka keskeisiä teemoja ovat pakkomielteiseltä tuntuvat harrastukset, ihmismielen ailahtelevuus ja rakastamisen vaikeus. Valitettavasti näistä teemoista ei olla pystytty kutomaan kokoon erityisen kiinnostavaa sarjakuvaa.
Sarjakuva tuo piirrosjälkensä puolesta mieleen kanadalaisen Michel Rabagliatin.
Oni Press, you bore me, and I feel like your approach to graphic novels is overly cynical/money-making. At least First Second wants to educate and entertain, even if I don't really like the educational message they're sending. Basically, Oni, most of the stuff you put out is milquetoastedly inoffensive and relatively plotless and forgettable. Like this.Even a cute antique book collector won't win me over. Grrrr boo.
I found this in a used bookstore and instead of purchasing it on the spot because it was extremely inexpensive, I just read it in the store. Even for the price, I'm glad I didn't purchase it.
The story was extremely simple and so commonplace, without any unique twist or fresh take on the typical boy-meets-girl plot. Even the art was dreary. It was boring, like this review because there isn't much to say. Seemed like something quickly thrown together to produce another book.
This was a cute comic. A realistic romance, sweet but with real tensions. And also an examination of how we cling to the past out of fear of the future, and the need to let go of the past. It's some good stuff. The art style's a bit rough, but still fairly pleasing. All in all, a good comic.
this is one of my favorite works by andi watson. there's something so simplistic about the story and it felt like the characters reached out and were speaking directly to me.
Plano. Historía típica. Evolución del personaje masculino demasiado rápida para ser real. Final completamente imposible. Rn resumen, una gran decepción.