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Can't Get No by Rick Veitch
Corporate exec Chad Roe had the "perfect" modern life. But the trophy wife, the prestigious job and the pills have always threatened to overwhelm him, and things go from bad to ugly when one night of debauchery hits the sobering light of September 11, 2001.Comics iconoclast Rick Veitch (SWAMP THING, Brat Pack) writes and illustrates a graphic novel as singular in its execution as it is in the events it portrays. Half the height of a standard comic, told in landscape format with over 350 pages of story, Can't Get No features Veitch inventing a poetry unique to the medium to tell the story of a man and nation torn by tragedy.Reeling from the financial collapse of his business, Chad Roe descends into a night of depravity, only to wake up a "marked" man – literally – his body covered in a permanent tattoo. But Chad will be only one of the many whose lives are forever changed after that Tuesday morning of September 11, 2001. Instead of picking up the pieces, he takes to the road, heading straight into the shell-shocked heart of America on a desperate search for salvation.
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First published June 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Rick Veitch
429 books82 followersRichard "Rick" Veitch is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
January 11, 2018
Freaking floored. Wow. Read this in an hour; completely immersed. Amazing writing AND concept. The art is just phenomenal, too. One could quote this intricate graphic fic all day. Great! Cannot believe it’s so unnoticed.
I’ll return to do a more proper review soon...
I’ll return to do a more proper review soon...
June 22, 2021
Hallucinogenic and poetic; pretty nice to look at but there's not much character or emotion to hang your hat onto... you can tell it's written by a comics writer and that he's trying to be literary because it all reads very first grade with all its edgy similes.
December 17, 2008
In September 2001, the CEO of the Eter-No-Mark Ultra-Permanent Marker company passes out cold, then wakes up indelibly tatted from head to toe by his own product. Not long afterward, drunk and stoned at the crack of dawn, he witnesses the 9/11 WTC attacks firsthand. Thus commences his epic journey, which includes bedding down two First Ladies (Jackie and Eleanor, if you're interested) & lots of stone-canyon drug-addled visionary nonsense.
Rick Veitch's obligatory 9/11 comic is definitely the weirdest I've seen: no dialogue, lots of strange hedonistic goings-on, a goofy-looking central character. But it's all nearly ruined by a running pseudo-poetic "voiceover" that makes your head throb painfully with the spoken interludes on old Moody Blues records. Here's a sample:
He's fishing in his back pocket
Desperate for a single serendipitous thought to toss down
like some hair of the dog that made him rabid.
He wraps his dry lips around a stale concept...
I tried to just ignore it for a while, but then out of the corner of my eye (ear?) I hear Veitch giving a recipe for cooking a whale (I think) or name-dropping Peter Marshall and Paul Lynde. Odd. But still bad. Anyway, the mundane conclusion -- and I applaud Veitch for this -- is that 9/11 changed nothing.
Rick Veitch's obligatory 9/11 comic is definitely the weirdest I've seen: no dialogue, lots of strange hedonistic goings-on, a goofy-looking central character. But it's all nearly ruined by a running pseudo-poetic "voiceover" that makes your head throb painfully with the spoken interludes on old Moody Blues records. Here's a sample:
He's fishing in his back pocket
Desperate for a single serendipitous thought to toss down
like some hair of the dog that made him rabid.
He wraps his dry lips around a stale concept...
I tried to just ignore it for a while, but then out of the corner of my eye (ear?) I hear Veitch giving a recipe for cooking a whale (I think) or name-dropping Peter Marshall and Paul Lynde. Odd. But still bad. Anyway, the mundane conclusion -- and I applaud Veitch for this -- is that 9/11 changed nothing.
October 18, 2023
Sort of a silent comic. The captions have a very epic poetic feel to them, it basically feels like two things going on at once.
The visuals tell a story of a successful business man. They invented a super permanent marker but are now getting sued into bankruptcy from property owners who have gotten graffitied. The man goes on a bit of a bender and some ladies give him a full body tattoo using the markets. 9/11 happens and he continues an Odyssey and ends up at a Burning Man concert where he discovers a formula to remove the marker.
The visuals tell a story of a successful business man. They invented a super permanent marker but are now getting sued into bankruptcy from property owners who have gotten graffitied. The man goes on a bit of a bender and some ladies give him a full body tattoo using the markets. 9/11 happens and he continues an Odyssey and ends up at a Burning Man concert where he discovers a formula to remove the marker.
October 1, 2007
This is arguably the most brilliant graphic novel ever written. Juxtaposing stream of consciousness epic poetry with images of a life that spirals out of control as it sprints paralell to the World Trade Center attacks, Can't Get No is a mind trip through the mundane and the troubled human spirit in the moment of internal and external crisis. A business executive, who has made millions from the sales of a brand of indelible markers becomes a cypher after a bankrupting law suit and a bender that leaves him marked (literally) amongst the disaster of 911. What ensue is an odyssey like journey through the wreckage and turmoil and into pits of both depravity and redemption. There is closure of the human spirit here and it shines through very strongly dispite its obscure and weary wander approach to story telling. The emotion is described, not the action, and it is done in the most cryptic and poetic terms. This is bound to be a classic and if any graphic novel deserves a place in the literary canon, its this one. Not only does it succeed in a visual and literary convention I have never seen before, but it is also one of the only approaches to the events of 911 that I've seen that do not exploit the disaster. Don't get lost in the round about narrative. Its the feelings taht are important, not the actions.
January 6, 2020
On my TBR pile (214 books waiting to be read) I have a lot of slim graphic novels and books which I’ve had for a while so I’m trying to get through some of them and I’ve had Can’t get no for 10 years.
Can’t Get No was a let down. In actuality I thought the story was great! A corporate slave, one day finds himself marked all over with the super permanent pens that his company sells. He then sees himself as a freak but then 9/11 happens and then he experiences the ugly side of America via a road-trip. Eventually the marks rub off and he comes to a full circle.
There’s a lot of symbolism. Excellent artwork and it is a strong story.
BUT
The whole thing is told in verse. Now I am a fan of experimental writing but this 350 page verse reads like something a secondary school student would write, and there’s a TON of bad lines that make the reader cringe, Which is a pity because if this was a silent comic, the message would have been stronger.
Can’t Get No was a let down. In actuality I thought the story was great! A corporate slave, one day finds himself marked all over with the super permanent pens that his company sells. He then sees himself as a freak but then 9/11 happens and then he experiences the ugly side of America via a road-trip. Eventually the marks rub off and he comes to a full circle.
There’s a lot of symbolism. Excellent artwork and it is a strong story.
BUT
The whole thing is told in verse. Now I am a fan of experimental writing but this 350 page verse reads like something a secondary school student would write, and there’s a TON of bad lines that make the reader cringe, Which is a pity because if this was a silent comic, the message would have been stronger.
May 18, 2015
CAN'T GET NO is definitely one of the stranger graphic novels I have read. A man loses his job when the manufacturer of "ultra-permanent" markers is sued, and begins a surrealistic journey in which he himself becomes victim to the permanence of said markers, faces the fallout of 9/11, and struggles to make sense of the American Dream. Or something like that.
The problem with this graphic novel is its text. CAN'T GET NO works as a wordless graphic novel, so the author's "narration" of stream-of-consciousness phrases tries to be deep but comes off as distracting gobbledygook.
The problem with this graphic novel is its text. CAN'T GET NO works as a wordless graphic novel, so the author's "narration" of stream-of-consciousness phrases tries to be deep but comes off as distracting gobbledygook.
May 19, 2016
Rick Veitch is one of the best comic book artists and writers most people have never heard of. I’ve already reviewed one of my favorite books of his, Shiny Beasts, a collection of short stories. He also worked with Alan Moore on Swamp Thing, and he’s sort of what Alan Moore would be if he were primarily an artist, I believe. Consider this little plug for Rick Veitch’s Can’t Get No: “. . . supremely, magnificently strange, and like nothing else I’ve read.” And that’s from Neil Gaiman, author of Sandman and ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
January 26, 2008
Reactionary graphic novel to 9/11. Already, it feels outdated. Some of the in jokes in the art, like the hole in the back of the Kennedy head are neat to pick up on, but the story itself is too embedded in a single incident (9/11) to have any degree of universality or longevity. I also wasn't a fan of how the women were used as props and the poem instead of dialogue and narrative. It felt like he was trying to be deep and artistic, but it just reminded me too much of college crit rooms.
March 22, 2018
Utterly bizarre.
After 9-11, an ad exec has a breakdown, gets tattooed in "permanent" marker and runs across America (mostly Jersey) discovering the wild, crazy freedoms and lifestyles that exist.
It's hard to describe - there is no dialogue, only a running poem-like narration that connects to the images in often allusive ways. I thought it was interesting, though I'm not entirely sure that I liked it. It was an intriguing experiment, and definitely worth it for that (for me, anyway).
After 9-11, an ad exec has a breakdown, gets tattooed in "permanent" marker and runs across America (mostly Jersey) discovering the wild, crazy freedoms and lifestyles that exist.
It's hard to describe - there is no dialogue, only a running poem-like narration that connects to the images in often allusive ways. I thought it was interesting, though I'm not entirely sure that I liked it. It was an intriguing experiment, and definitely worth it for that (for me, anyway).
February 12, 2016
A poetic existential lament on religion and the American identity I can't begin to understand. Much like life itself.
April 17, 2024
Third time's the charm, as I picked this up and put it down a lot.
Really worth getting through to the end!
I'll read anything and everything by Veitch, but might not recommend this one for a new reader. There is omniscient narration, no dialogue, and it works, but takes getting used to, in the words of the late R. C. Harvey, the visual-verbal blend.
In many ways, this is an artifact of the 2000s, with some focus on fall of World Trade Center, and the Paul Levitz / Karen Berger era of Vertigo/DC Comics in the indicia. Both are missed. This revery and road trip story rocks, but demands a persistent reading.
Recommended.
Really worth getting through to the end!
I'll read anything and everything by Veitch, but might not recommend this one for a new reader. There is omniscient narration, no dialogue, and it works, but takes getting used to, in the words of the late R. C. Harvey, the visual-verbal blend.
In many ways, this is an artifact of the 2000s, with some focus on fall of World Trade Center, and the Paul Levitz / Karen Berger era of Vertigo/DC Comics in the indicia. Both are missed. This revery and road trip story rocks, but demands a persistent reading.
Recommended.
August 5, 2018
I would advise anyone reading this to pay attention to the phenomenal artwork and completely ignore the text; it's just this side of nonsense. I was actually reminded of Bob Dylan's book "Tarantula" in that I was impressed that the author could write so many words and yet still make so little sense.
December 13, 2023
4.5? 5? A bit annoyed at the bizarre 9/11 choice and some of the man stuff that saturates this, but kinda genius in so many ways -- the captions over story, ofc, (obvious). The scene at the park with all the sculptures of heads is so cool. And then it burns.... so so good. I really was not feeling/hating this in the beginning but then is super grew on me and I'm kinda obsessed with it now.
September 15, 2017
Maybe more toward 3.5
May 6, 2018
popsugar challenge 2018: read a book with song lyrics in the title
This was a weird book, and definitely not for me.
This was a weird book, and definitely not for me.
October 10, 2018
I've long held that Rick Veitch is one of the most talented and underappreciated creators in comics. He's a comic creator's comic creator--both relentlessly experimental, relentlessy personal and relentlessly ambitious.
Can't Get No is not for everone. It's an narrative experiment--that I think succeeds. But even so, it's an interesting failure--so its not for the masses. But man, does Veitch draw the hell of the book. He's got the drive and drive of Dave Sim, without the insanity (other than the The Big Lie).
It's a dream-like post-9/11 road novel. It's a long-form poem, so I guess it's almost like "On the Road"
Can't Get No is not for everone. It's an narrative experiment--that I think succeeds. But even so, it's an interesting failure--so its not for the masses. But man, does Veitch draw the hell of the book. He's got the drive and drive of Dave Sim, without the insanity (other than the The Big Lie).
It's a dream-like post-9/11 road novel. It's a long-form poem, so I guess it's almost like "On the Road"
February 4, 2020
Thoughtful and relevant - very interesting perception of America around 911.
December 28, 2023
Fucking wild, man. Just fucking wild. But good.
December 30, 2023
I liked the art. I did not like the narrative - just descriptions that sometimes matched the images. No dialogue
January 30, 2016
I'd best summarize this book as a poetic rambling, musing over the nature of life and our existence.
I liked the art style & found the storyline both odd at times and interesting.
This is definitely a story I want to read again and analyze to figure out its' deeper meaning. The whole Patriotic Park incident especially caught my eye.
I think one of the important messages of this graphic novel is how life goes on no matter what happens.
I like how we were given glimpses to the reactions/aftermath of 9/11. How in some instances there is charity, bonding together, kindness, in others- violence, discrimination. But then also a new appreciation for life is seen- sometimes witnessed in how certain characters give themselves away to reckless abandon, half-realizing, perhaps, that life is both young and old and can be stripped away in a second- so why not take risks & enjoy what little time one has left?
But in the end, when one seems to have lost it all, has hit rock bottom- that's when the enlightenment starts, the resurrection commences. And one is no longer blind. Perhaps, one can only feign the ignorance they once found bliss in, or try to forget revelation.
.....Or perhaps, not comprehending, they fade back to old ways, try to grasp normalcy and forget that there is something bigger than themselves out there. Questions with incomprehensible answers; answers with no questions to tie themselves to.
There's also just a sense that there's a natural order to things. That we are only meant to know so much, be aware to a certain degree. And we must "leave it to the unknowable....to answer the unknown!"
I liked the art style & found the storyline both odd at times and interesting.
This is definitely a story I want to read again and analyze to figure out its' deeper meaning. The whole Patriotic Park incident especially caught my eye.
I think one of the important messages of this graphic novel is how life goes on no matter what happens.
I like how we were given glimpses to the reactions/aftermath of 9/11. How in some instances there is charity, bonding together, kindness, in others- violence, discrimination. But then also a new appreciation for life is seen- sometimes witnessed in how certain characters give themselves away to reckless abandon, half-realizing, perhaps, that life is both young and old and can be stripped away in a second- so why not take risks & enjoy what little time one has left?
But in the end, when one seems to have lost it all, has hit rock bottom- that's when the enlightenment starts, the resurrection commences. And one is no longer blind. Perhaps, one can only feign the ignorance they once found bliss in, or try to forget revelation.
.....Or perhaps, not comprehending, they fade back to old ways, try to grasp normalcy and forget that there is something bigger than themselves out there. Questions with incomprehensible answers; answers with no questions to tie themselves to.
There's also just a sense that there's a natural order to things. That we are only meant to know so much, be aware to a certain degree. And we must "leave it to the unknowable....to answer the unknown!"
September 8, 2008
Powerful and always on the edge of pomposity, but pulls off its unique vision. This graphic novel follows the path of businessmen whose life falls apart just prior to the 9/11 attacks on the WTC, which results in him in just barely missing being in the WTC during the attacks, and follows his surreal journey in the days after. Instead of dialogue or traditional narration, the text accompanying the images is like epigrammatic poetry, commenting directly or obliquely on the action. This commentary is by turns insightful, arch, mystical, damning, and, as mentioned, pomposity-skirting.
When I first thumbed through to random pages, the book seemed to be completely surreal, but reading the whole thing reveals a coherent (if bizarre), 'real-world' story going on -- so in this way it's strangely accessible in its own off-kilter way. The art is excellent, and overall the whole intense package is incredibly original.
When I first thumbed through to random pages, the book seemed to be completely surreal, but reading the whole thing reveals a coherent (if bizarre), 'real-world' story going on -- so in this way it's strangely accessible in its own off-kilter way. The art is excellent, and overall the whole intense package is incredibly original.
June 10, 2014
a friend handed me this one, and I do love Veitch so I gave it a whirl. I enjoyed it, and having grown up reading pro anarchist, radical, union, and up-with-community messaged books and comics this was a very familiar trope. it was enjoyable but for a number of things I noticed. of course for the sake of making its message clear it was black and white to a fault. I was upset at how Veitch pictured and drew the female artists who start our protagonist/antagonist on his journey. is this how Veitch feels about women who see things differently, women artists, or just women radicals? they were seemingly the only classically ugly characters in the book. and then the only part of the book that's left unclear is the final message Veitch is sending, as his main character finds a way to possibly climb out of financial ruin. is his way doomed? is moderation the message? or must he turn his back on his mainstream life to truly find happiness? worth reading and pondering...
October 26, 2011
Oh, 9/11. When will you stop sneaking up on me?
The visual story of this graphic novel gives in to the utter chaos and rudderless we felt as a nation after we collectively watched the world trade towers collapse, over and over again.
The narrative is a wholly different beast, a rambling acid trip of visions and random connections. Reading the narrative and "reading" the graphic images is reminiscent of watching the Wizard of Oz with a Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) soundtrack. Sometimes the coincidence of action and sound seem to match up so well that it seems intentional, but other times they seem to have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
The visual story of this graphic novel gives in to the utter chaos and rudderless we felt as a nation after we collectively watched the world trade towers collapse, over and over again.
The narrative is a wholly different beast, a rambling acid trip of visions and random connections. Reading the narrative and "reading" the graphic images is reminiscent of watching the Wizard of Oz with a Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) soundtrack. Sometimes the coincidence of action and sound seem to match up so well that it seems intentional, but other times they seem to have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
August 9, 2012
it's open mic night at ground zero. if this book has taught me anything, it's that once you run out of big words, switching to stream-of-consciousness is just as ineffective. arguing with 10-centers and commaless run-ons only convinces me that you have a big vocabulary.
still, tragedy affects everyone differently. and while i didn't like this particular outlet, i won't say it's garbage. just that, for me, it was grossly unaffecting and left me feeling baited and switched as i paid too much attention to the delivery of the message instead of the message. sometimes that's the audience's fault. but sometimes it isn't.
still, tragedy affects everyone differently. and while i didn't like this particular outlet, i won't say it's garbage. just that, for me, it was grossly unaffecting and left me feeling baited and switched as i paid too much attention to the delivery of the message instead of the message. sometimes that's the audience's fault. but sometimes it isn't.
April 5, 2007
I tend to disagree with the review that states that the words to this suck. I think that if you look at other pieces that this author has done he has a tendency to think of things in a different way and if you can look past your own ideas of what "sense" is you will realize that there is something to this. I would suggest listening to the podcast if you find yourself confused. I don't think that I would ever suggest just "looking at the pictures" when it comes to any piece of creative written thought. If you just want to enjoy the pictures go get a colouring book!
January 12, 2010
A thoroughly surreal reality for sure. I feel thoroughly bull-dozed by the art, the plot, the cryptic nonsense sense narrating or captioning every cell in the graphic novel.
I don't know if I liked or disliked what was happening. Chaos just was.
This is the ride from normal to way not normal and back to normal experienced during the beginning of the 00s. Or perhaps, it's the ride from the completely not normal to the very normal and back to the completely not normal again.
Who knows which way were going?
I don't know if I liked or disliked what was happening. Chaos just was.
This is the ride from normal to way not normal and back to normal experienced during the beginning of the 00s. Or perhaps, it's the ride from the completely not normal to the very normal and back to the completely not normal again.
Who knows which way were going?
September 22, 2010
Without doubt the most pretentious graphic novel script I have ever read, so bad that it is laugh out loud appalling. The characterisation is weak and storyline is weak too- trying hard for 'surreal' moments and emotional impact but consistently missing the mark. Veitch really should have got beyond this in high-school. I can't think what Neil Gaiman was doing giving this a review. The art is adequate and the initial concept very appealing, but I will happily pass on this book. The only lesson is: READ THE GOODREADS REVIEWS BEFORE BUYING!
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January 16, 2016A really interesting graphic novel in its format. I read the pictures first and then decided the captions were telling a more profound story so I should re-read the whole thing. I must say I'm glad I did. What's it about? That's a hard one to answer. Someone's experience of 9/11 is a simplistic answer. It's really more about a marketing executive who has soemthing done to him that sets him on a journey into himself and the world around him. It speaks of prejudice, longing, self hatred. Not an easy read!
January 24, 2016
This was an interesting reaction piece to 9-11, that also deals with substance abuse, depression and how pills aren't always the best option for dealing with depression (and that each human is different and therefore needs to deal with their disease slightly different). There is a beautiful moral of the connected oneness of humanity and how we are all made of the stars. I had no idea what I was going to be getting into when I was given this book, and almost never got around to reading it, but I am very glad I did and hope you will give it a chance :-)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews