Johnny Wander, Vol. 2: Escape to New York

Johnny Wander #2

by Ananth Panagariya, Yuko Ota (Illustrator)

Johnny Wander is about life after college, striking out on your own, moving to a new city and all the moments in between the adult stuff. This volume collects the second year of comics, along with additional material including "an advice column for the internet age."

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Webcomic, Nonfiction, Humor, Comedy, Slice Of Life

152 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

Reviews

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This couple is freakin' charming.

Continuing the saga of their life in various living spaces in cities on the east coast, they chronicle food, pets, entertainment, and other misadventures in this spottily autobiographical comic.

As I said in my review of the first volume, they feel like they could easily be friends of mine. Reading both of these comics were a great way to think about setting tone in comics. It is not at all strictly biographical - they are filtering their content and delivery through a very particular lens. A charming one. :)

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My opinion still stands from my review of the previous volume:

For some reason I had never thought of this, but damn is it a great idea. A webcomic autobiography. Genius. Hilarious characters, or should I say people. The conversations/scenarios are very reminiscent to me and my own friends, so it a was a very enjoyable read.

[Sarah Schanze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still a great comic, now with cats!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you day is a bummer,
And you can't wait for summer,
Go over yonder
With a copy of Johnny Wander.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the first volume was quite good I think with this second volume the autobio adventures of the Johnny Wander crew really hit their stride. There's also a good mix of the comics' topics and layouts so that the material doesn't drag. It goes by too quickly though; I only wish these collected paperbacks were longer. The goings-on of the Johnny Wander crowd in this volume isn't so different from the last volume, however; I suppose life doesn't vary to that great a degree, but they are moving to new areas and meeting new people, so it would be nice to see that degree of change somehow mirrored in the comics -- perhaps comics also having to do with life in the area they are in rather than just their lifestyles in general.

[Wendy White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completed the day it arrived.

Johnny Wander continues to make me grin on pretty much every page.

There is so much subtle charm and expression in every human (and animal) Yuko draws, and the illustrations meld with Ananth's dry whimsy perfectly.

This series is brilliant at highlighting the moments of everyday life and how much wonder they can bring, even for adults. No longer do we need to associate a loss of wonder with growing up - Yuko, Ananth and co all show us beyond a doubt that adulthood can be every bit as wonderous as childhood.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first volume a lot better. I think I could relate more to the characters in that one, when a lot of the comics were housing related. This one was a lot of jokes about comics and a lot about cats.

[Britni Schoolcraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

<3

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rook arrives in this second collection of Johnny Wander.