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Tails: Book 1
At first, Ethan may seem like your typical struggling cartoonist. He works at a NYC animal shelter, lives with his folks, and fosters a huge amount of cats -- all while trying to successfully publish his comic strip, Crusader Cat.
But Ethan's not typical, nor is anything else in his chaotic life. The trouble is, Ethan's just too hapless to realize it yet. As his life gets weirder in the real world, it also does on the comic page. Before he knows it, Ethan gets in over his head when fantasy and reality combine -- and then things get really weird.
Tails: Book One collects Chapters 1 through 9 of the semi-autobiographical webcomic by Ethan Young (Comic Book Tattoo: Tales inspired by Tori Amos), and includes all new material.
But Ethan's not typical, nor is anything else in his chaotic life. The trouble is, Ethan's just too hapless to realize it yet. As his life gets weirder in the real world, it also does on the comic page. Before he knows it, Ethan gets in over his head when fantasy and reality combine -- and then things get really weird.
Tails: Book One collects Chapters 1 through 9 of the semi-autobiographical webcomic by Ethan Young (Comic Book Tattoo: Tales inspired by Tori Amos), and includes all new material.
160 pages, Paperback
First published August 22, 2012
About the author
Ethan Young
53 books38 followersEthan Young was born and raised in NYC. Young's books include: NANJING: The Burning City (winner of the 2016 Reuben Award for Best Graphic Novel, The Dragon Path, Space Bear, and Life Between Panels, and a graphic novel adaptation of The 39 Clues for Scholastic.
Young is also a Character Designer on Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman on Disney+
Young is also a Character Designer on Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman on Disney+
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 11, 2012
You take chances with independent comics because that's the best place to find something new. There are brilliantly written but poorly drawn web comics, and beautiful but weakly-scripted art comics, and a range of titles in between. Some creators make stylistic choices, to be sure, and there are many comics by first time creators who will certainly get better. There is, above all, potential. It's huge field. Anything could be out there.
If you're very lucky, you stumble across something special. TAILS is at the perfect middle of that range of indie comics. The story, which is both fantastical and intensely personal, reads as if it was created by a seasoned author, while the traditionally-drawn art is crisp, clean, and lovely.
Young's eponymous alter-ego, "Ethan", suffers through life as an angry, under-appreciated and under-published comic book artist. Ethan's perception of his own self is so much bigger than his real world can contain, and eventually spills out into a fantasy world where he's the superhero that the city of his dreams needs.
All of that sounds like a fairly run-of-the-mill concept, but Young's deft handling of the story leaves one surprised and deeply moved. The character is unreliable as a boyfriend, a son, and a narrator, and Young lets us see the vast difference between Ethan's perception and the actions of everyone around him. The character is insecure, and dark, but at the same time, there is just enough vulnerability to him that you don't want to give up on him. He's broken, and the reasons for that are told in flashbacks and family arguments all throughout the story, but he also wants to be loved.
He just doesn't know how to make that happen.
Meanwhile his passion for his comic book creations, particularly his world of anthropomorphic animals, invests living breathing life into what becomes, for Ethan, another reality. But even there his inability to connect with the people around him leads to another failure.
With all of that depth and detail in the story, it'd be easy to assume that the art would suffer, but it's even better than the text. Open up the book to see Young's excellent use of black space, the way the captions bleed out over the panel frames, and the tiny details in the texture of the wall, the tree.
It's refreshing to see an artist who will to take risks with their use of space, light, and dark, while at the same time compiling panels with a recognizably "comic book" feel.
I can't wait for the second part of the story.
If you're very lucky, you stumble across something special. TAILS is at the perfect middle of that range of indie comics. The story, which is both fantastical and intensely personal, reads as if it was created by a seasoned author, while the traditionally-drawn art is crisp, clean, and lovely.
Young's eponymous alter-ego, "Ethan", suffers through life as an angry, under-appreciated and under-published comic book artist. Ethan's perception of his own self is so much bigger than his real world can contain, and eventually spills out into a fantasy world where he's the superhero that the city of his dreams needs.
All of that sounds like a fairly run-of-the-mill concept, but Young's deft handling of the story leaves one surprised and deeply moved. The character is unreliable as a boyfriend, a son, and a narrator, and Young lets us see the vast difference between Ethan's perception and the actions of everyone around him. The character is insecure, and dark, but at the same time, there is just enough vulnerability to him that you don't want to give up on him. He's broken, and the reasons for that are told in flashbacks and family arguments all throughout the story, but he also wants to be loved.
He just doesn't know how to make that happen.
Meanwhile his passion for his comic book creations, particularly his world of anthropomorphic animals, invests living breathing life into what becomes, for Ethan, another reality. But even there his inability to connect with the people around him leads to another failure.
With all of that depth and detail in the story, it'd be easy to assume that the art would suffer, but it's even better than the text. Open up the book to see Young's excellent use of black space, the way the captions bleed out over the panel frames, and the tiny details in the texture of the wall, the tree.
It's refreshing to see an artist who will to take risks with their use of space, light, and dark, while at the same time compiling panels with a recognizably "comic book" feel.
I can't wait for the second part of the story.
September 6, 2012
Super fun semi-autobiographical GN about a vegan animal rights activist cartoonist. Was originally published in 2006 and after borrowing that version from a friend, I love alerting fur hags of their resemblance to bears' vaginas.
January 6, 2022
Young's come a long way. My ten-year-old and I LOVED Young's The Dragon Path: A Graphic Novel, so I was excited when I saw my library owned copies of Young's earlier autobio stuff.
The illustrations are impressive, and I can see the bones of emerging greatness, but overall it didn't hang together as much as I expected/wanted it to. The animal superhero thing that's all over the cover is barely a motif, lots of plot threads get dead dropped. I loved the parts about what it's like to work in an animal... shelter? vet clinic? I forget which... in NYC, and wish that had been more of the focus. The loosey-goosey approach is fine for a webcomic, but I was expecting more editing/polish on something bound and published.
Young's definitely worth watching, but this first thing was a shrug for me.
The illustrations are impressive, and I can see the bones of emerging greatness, but overall it didn't hang together as much as I expected/wanted it to. The animal superhero thing that's all over the cover is barely a motif, lots of plot threads get dead dropped. I loved the parts about what it's like to work in an animal... shelter? vet clinic? I forget which... in NYC, and wish that had been more of the focus. The loosey-goosey approach is fine for a webcomic, but I was expecting more editing/polish on something bound and published.
Young's definitely worth watching, but this first thing was a shrug for me.
February 12, 2013
Artists often walk a line between reality and illusion, often wondering where one ends and the other begins. //Tails, Book One// follows Ethan around his life as he tries to figure things out. He finds that you never truly break up with anyone, as he is haunted by his ex-girlfriend Cynthia, aka Sin, whose ghostly presence haunts his dreams. He contends with a number of cowardly cats and one that he draws, Crusader Cat, who he eventually visits in a dream world. It makes for some interesting reading.
Although an apparently simple slice of life comic, this book, with its forays into fantasy, makes for some fantastic reading. Ethan is a sympathetic person, and it is hard not to feel for him, even when he is being a jerk. Although he is definitely a slacker, he still has a definite work ethic, and he is willing to do what it takes to do the right thing. At the base of it all is to what degree an artist should sell out his art for a paycheck, and when it is acceptable. This is a great book for anyone taking up the brush, and a fun read for everyone else.
As written by Jamais Jochim for http://sanfranciscobookreview.com/
Although an apparently simple slice of life comic, this book, with its forays into fantasy, makes for some fantastic reading. Ethan is a sympathetic person, and it is hard not to feel for him, even when he is being a jerk. Although he is definitely a slacker, he still has a definite work ethic, and he is willing to do what it takes to do the right thing. At the base of it all is to what degree an artist should sell out his art for a paycheck, and when it is acceptable. This is a great book for anyone taking up the brush, and a fun read for everyone else.
As written by Jamais Jochim for http://sanfranciscobookreview.com/
August 8, 2025
This is a weird mix of slice-of-life and Scott Pilgrim-esque hallucinations that may or may not just be in the main character's head (in this case, Ethan's). It also feels curiously autobiographical... other than the "suddenly transported into the world of my own creation" dream sequence (though who's to say he didn't ACTUALLY dream that?).
What's weird to me is the fostering *eleven cats* in a New York apartment where I'm surprised he could get away with even the original four he had planned, much less *also* an injured bird, AND he isn't worried about the cats ruining his comic art? or regular commissioned art?
I don't know. I'm certain there's an audience for this, but I'm not sure who. Maybe folks who wish Kel McDonald drew fewer werewolves?
What's weird to me is the fostering *eleven cats* in a New York apartment where I'm surprised he could get away with even the original four he had planned, much less *also* an injured bird, AND he isn't worried about the cats ruining his comic art? or regular commissioned art?
I don't know. I'm certain there's an audience for this, but I'm not sure who. Maybe folks who wish Kel McDonald drew fewer werewolves?
April 10, 2016
Enjoyed the sharp, stylish black-and-white art and the superheroic-animal fantasy sequences, but the focus on the protagonist's self-pity and unending hostility toward the world got pretty tiresome. By the end of the book, he's just starting to realize he's an asshole (his actual word for himself), but readers will know it a lot earlier by his hateful inner monologue and the explosive way he reacts to things like being dumped by the girl he didn't like much, didn't treat well, and by his own admission was only staying with because he didn't want to die alone. At the point where he decides his big problem in life is that he isn't devoting enough time and attention to himself, I wanted to scream. This is definitely a book about the self-absorption and naiveté of youth, but knowing that doesn't make it any easier to take when he's obsessing about what an opportunity he missed when he didn't tell his ex "So's your FACE!" when she told him it would be pathetic for him to moon over her.
December 31, 2015
Real conflicted here. I think the art is amazing and the growth from beginning to end in how he constructs a page and designs a scene is wonderful. It makes me want to pick up more of his work.
The writing, however, is juvenile and all over the place. It lacks focus, and I found myself rushing to read to the end simply because I didn't care about the characters.
On a positive note, his art is so good that any future projects he illustrates will get snatched up by me.
The writing, however, is juvenile and all over the place. It lacks focus, and I found myself rushing to read to the end simply because I didn't care about the characters.
On a positive note, his art is so good that any future projects he illustrates will get snatched up by me.
November 16, 2015
I read this because it's by a local comics author/artist. I liked it and would probably pick up another volume, but it wasn't a big stand-out for me.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews