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The Gigantic Beard that Was Evil
The job of the skin is to keep things in.
On the buttoned-down island of Here, all is well. By which we mean: orderly, neat, contained and, moreover, beardless.
Or at least it is until one famous day, when Dave, bald but for a single hair, finds himself assailed by a terrifying, unstoppable... monster*!
Where did it come from? How should the islanders deal with it? And what, most importantly, are they going to do with Dave?
The first book from a new leading light of UK comics, The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil is an off-beat fable worthy of Roald Dahl. It is about life, death and the meaning of beards.
(*We mean a gigantic beard, basically.)
On the buttoned-down island of Here, all is well. By which we mean: orderly, neat, contained and, moreover, beardless.
Or at least it is until one famous day, when Dave, bald but for a single hair, finds himself assailed by a terrifying, unstoppable... monster*!
Where did it come from? How should the islanders deal with it? And what, most importantly, are they going to do with Dave?
The first book from a new leading light of UK comics, The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil is an off-beat fable worthy of Roald Dahl. It is about life, death and the meaning of beards.
(*We mean a gigantic beard, basically.)
240 pages, Hardcover
First published June 17, 2013
45 people are currently reading
8980 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Collins
15 books121 followersStephen Collins is a UK illustrator and cartoonist. His work has appeared in many publications worldwide, and he has a weekly comic in The Guardian Weekend magazine, as well as a monthly one in Prospect. In 2013 Jonathan Cape published his debut graphic novel The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Book Of The Year award. A collection of his shorter comics titled Some Comics By Stephen Collins was published by Jonathan Cape in 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,344 reviews
November 21, 2013
Shortly after finishing The Gigantic Beard that was Evil I lent it to my flatmate who, seduced by the title, wanted to give it a whirl. A few pages in she turned to me and said "So is this all a metaphor for the modern world? Is it about how the world is ever more connected yet we're all ever more alone? Is it about commercialism and capitalism and celebrity culture? Is it about our obsession with and terror of death?
"Is it an illustrated beat poem (or more accurately a beat poemed series of exquisite pencil drawings) about ennui, about existential crises, about loss and fear and despair? Is it about the pressure to fit in pulling us inwards and the pressure to be different pushing us outwards until something has to give? Is it about the victimisation of Them because They are not Us and the fear of There because There is not Here? Is it about love and loss, birth and death, Life the Universe and Everything?"
"Um, no," I said. "It's about a beard that's gigantic. And evil."
"Is it an illustrated beat poem (or more accurately a beat poemed series of exquisite pencil drawings) about ennui, about existential crises, about loss and fear and despair? Is it about the pressure to fit in pulling us inwards and the pressure to be different pushing us outwards until something has to give? Is it about the victimisation of Them because They are not Us and the fear of There because There is not Here? Is it about love and loss, birth and death, Life the Universe and Everything?"
"Um, no," I said. "It's about a beard that's gigantic. And evil."
August 4, 2015
weird, quirky, & strangely wonderful.
September 3, 2018
OH MY GOD GIANT EVIL BEARD CUTOUT!!! BEST IDEA EVER!
Beneath the skin of everything is something nobody can know. The job of the skin is to keep it all in and never let anything show.
dave lives here. not here, in my studio apartment with me - that would be crazy. no, he lives in a place called "here," which is a tightly controlled walled-off urban island, where everything is impeccably, impossibly neat. the streets make up a perfectly-aligned grid, the trees are obsessively maintained, everyone is well-groomed and polite, and every person every day follows the same routine like clockwork.
dave is a completely hairless individual, except for his eyebrows and this one stubborn hair under his nose that grows back immediately no matter what he does to remove it. he works at a&c industries, where his days are spent deeply immersed in charts and graphs and powerpoint presentations, organizing numbers and data into orderly rows. but he has no idea what the company actually does. and neither does anyone else working there.
And every lunchtime, once he's conveyed all of the latest information in his careful brightly coloured, many-fonted presentation, Dave was always left with a nagging question at the end: did any of what he'd just said mean anything at all? And following the question, the familiar, disturbing suspicion that the real reason for all the data and the meetings for A&C even being here was fear.
and fear of what, you ask?? fear of "there."
"there" is what exists out past the boundaries of "here," out past the sea - a place of disorder, chaos and evil. i mean, reputedly. no one has ever actually been "there" and lived to tell the tale, but the mythology of "there" persists in urban legends - those who venture "there" undergo a painful reassembly where their bodies are turned inside out
and
dave's free time is spent in his chair sketching the view outside his window and listening to this song over and over to keep the questions and the fears and the "untidy dreams" at bay.
until the day everything changes.
that stubborn hair that has plagued him all his life begins to multiply and grow unstoppably and equally resistant to grooming or cutting.
and all hell breaks loose.
dave's beard upsets the natural order of here as it begins to grow and grow and eventually take over the town. at first he is a curiosity that people line up to gawk at through windows, but the beard's continued growth becomes alarming - this can't happen "here."
anxiety breeds anarchy and the ordered foundations of "here" become vulnerable. the story becomes a funny and haunting commentary on everything from the stagnation of conformity to the flash fire spread of celebrity to the mutability of legacy. it is beautifully drawn, occasionally subtle and cautionary without becoming treacly.
plus, it is one of the best titles ever.
and it works in any language:
do not resist the evil beard!
come to my blog!
Beneath the skin of everything is something nobody can know. The job of the skin is to keep it all in and never let anything show.
dave lives here. not here, in my studio apartment with me - that would be crazy. no, he lives in a place called "here," which is a tightly controlled walled-off urban island, where everything is impeccably, impossibly neat. the streets make up a perfectly-aligned grid, the trees are obsessively maintained, everyone is well-groomed and polite, and every person every day follows the same routine like clockwork.
dave is a completely hairless individual, except for his eyebrows and this one stubborn hair under his nose that grows back immediately no matter what he does to remove it. he works at a&c industries, where his days are spent deeply immersed in charts and graphs and powerpoint presentations, organizing numbers and data into orderly rows. but he has no idea what the company actually does. and neither does anyone else working there.
And every lunchtime, once he's conveyed all of the latest information in his careful brightly coloured, many-fonted presentation, Dave was always left with a nagging question at the end: did any of what he'd just said mean anything at all? And following the question, the familiar, disturbing suspicion that the real reason for all the data and the meetings for A&C even being here was fear.
and fear of what, you ask?? fear of "there."
"there" is what exists out past the boundaries of "here," out past the sea - a place of disorder, chaos and evil. i mean, reputedly. no one has ever actually been "there" and lived to tell the tale, but the mythology of "there" persists in urban legends - those who venture "there" undergo a painful reassembly where their bodies are turned inside out
and
dave's free time is spent in his chair sketching the view outside his window and listening to this song over and over to keep the questions and the fears and the "untidy dreams" at bay.
until the day everything changes.
that stubborn hair that has plagued him all his life begins to multiply and grow unstoppably and equally resistant to grooming or cutting.
and all hell breaks loose.
dave's beard upsets the natural order of here as it begins to grow and grow and eventually take over the town. at first he is a curiosity that people line up to gawk at through windows, but the beard's continued growth becomes alarming - this can't happen "here."
anxiety breeds anarchy and the ordered foundations of "here" become vulnerable. the story becomes a funny and haunting commentary on everything from the stagnation of conformity to the flash fire spread of celebrity to the mutability of legacy. it is beautifully drawn, occasionally subtle and cautionary without becoming treacly.
plus, it is one of the best titles ever.
and it works in any language:
do not resist the evil beard!
come to my blog!
Want to read
January 14, 2015
MY PLAN IS SIMPLE
1. BUY BOOK
2. READ BOOK
3. WORLD DOMINATION
July 16, 2017
I think it's strange how I haul so many books and say about them "I have no idea what this is about," but once I get to my review, the first thing I say is, "This wasn't what I was expecting." However, it's the case again with this book. I wasn't anticipating this would be set in an alternate/fantastical world, and surprisingly, it was focused around the town rather than the beard. I think it was an incredibly strange story that I was expecting to pack some humor, but it was trying to be this huge statement about conformity and weirdness, but it didn't really make sense to me in the end. What saved this book is that I think it is one of the most cleverly-constructed graphic novels I have ever read, and the art was AMAZING. I would definitely read a graphic novel by this person again, even if it didn't make any sense either.
June 12, 2016
This book is extremely important right now, pertaining to the Syrian refugee crisis as well as the whole Donald Trump idiocy that is no longer funny, but extremely scary.
This short piece is a brilliant social commentary. It can be interpreted in so many ways, but the way I took it was "mistreatment of "Them" and "There" simply because they are not us, it is about xenophobia. This should be considered the children version of an anti-thesis to the racist, homophobes, transhphobes, Islamophobes, xenophobes, anti-semitic, et al types of discrimination.
So do read please, and share, and make this into a conversation, a discourse that needs to happen with the elections next year.
This short piece is a brilliant social commentary. It can be interpreted in so many ways, but the way I took it was "mistreatment of "Them" and "There" simply because they are not us, it is about xenophobia. This should be considered the children version of an anti-thesis to the racist, homophobes, transhphobes, Islamophobes, xenophobes, anti-semitic, et al types of discrimination.
So do read please, and share, and make this into a conversation, a discourse that needs to happen with the elections next year.
October 14, 2014
A hairless man called Dave lives in a place called Here
A place that’s safe, neat, tidy with nothing for anyone to fear
But something uneasy lurks beneath the quiet and calm:
A single tiny hair on Dave’s face that becomes a gigantic beard - and causes much harm!
The beard can’t be cut, it grows back far too quick
Becoming larger than Dave, much bushier and thick
It becomes enormous and engulfs the town, much to the Government’s displeasure
So a solution is decided, for desperate times call for desperate measures
Stephen Collins’ comic reads a lot like a Roald Dahl tale or modern day fable
Whose message is very obviously displeased with 21st century society’s staples
Of conformity and uniformity, an alleged dearth of creativity
That manifests very pleasingly in this book with excessive beardity
Because modern life’s no fun
At least not for some
Who want something different
From the everyday humdrum
Collins’ pencil art style is ambitious and charming
While the book itself is written with delightful rhyming
And at times it reads like a Pixar short
(Which is certainly a complimentary note!)
Because it’s a dark and unusual, original book
That any fan of graphic literature can’t fail to be hooked
With its unique imagery, style and tone
When Collins created it, he must’ve been in the zone!
And though it’s a hefty volume in page count and size
The narrative is enthralling and sure to mesmerize
For, despite its themes and critiques that, on the page, are quite clear
You can also read it as a simple fun comic – about a GIGANTIC BEARD!
A place that’s safe, neat, tidy with nothing for anyone to fear
But something uneasy lurks beneath the quiet and calm:
A single tiny hair on Dave’s face that becomes a gigantic beard - and causes much harm!
The beard can’t be cut, it grows back far too quick
Becoming larger than Dave, much bushier and thick
It becomes enormous and engulfs the town, much to the Government’s displeasure
So a solution is decided, for desperate times call for desperate measures
Stephen Collins’ comic reads a lot like a Roald Dahl tale or modern day fable
Whose message is very obviously displeased with 21st century society’s staples
Of conformity and uniformity, an alleged dearth of creativity
That manifests very pleasingly in this book with excessive beardity
Because modern life’s no fun
At least not for some
Who want something different
From the everyday humdrum
Collins’ pencil art style is ambitious and charming
While the book itself is written with delightful rhyming
And at times it reads like a Pixar short
(Which is certainly a complimentary note!)
Because it’s a dark and unusual, original book
That any fan of graphic literature can’t fail to be hooked
With its unique imagery, style and tone
When Collins created it, he must’ve been in the zone!
And though it’s a hefty volume in page count and size
The narrative is enthralling and sure to mesmerize
For, despite its themes and critiques that, on the page, are quite clear
You can also read it as a simple fun comic – about a GIGANTIC BEARD!
February 10, 2017
On the island of Here, livin's easy. Conduct is orderly. Lawns are neat. Citizens are clean shaven-and Dave is the most fastidious of them all. Dave is bald, but for a single hair. He loves drawing, his desk job, and the Bangles. But on one fateful day, his life is upended...by an unstoppable (yet pretty impressive) beard growing on Dave's face.
The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil was a book easy to get lost in, and was promptly finished in a couple of hours. However, after taking some time to think about it, the story wasn't quite as fascinating as I was anticipating going into this. And I felt indifferent to what was happening for most of the time.
The art, on the other hand, was fantastic. It reminded me in some ways of Shaun Tan's wondrous The Arrival.
Overall, I'm extremely glad I took the time to read The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil for its gorgeous drawings. Though it was a quick read, the storyline ended up lacking a bit for me, so that's why I lowered my rating.
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil was a book easy to get lost in, and was promptly finished in a couple of hours. However, after taking some time to think about it, the story wasn't quite as fascinating as I was anticipating going into this. And I felt indifferent to what was happening for most of the time.
The art, on the other hand, was fantastic. It reminded me in some ways of Shaun Tan's wondrous The Arrival.
Overall, I'm extremely glad I took the time to read The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil for its gorgeous drawings. Though it was a quick read, the storyline ended up lacking a bit for me, so that's why I lowered my rating.
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
October 31, 2014
This is a sort of surreal modern or postmodern fairy tale. Think: The Giving Tree or The Little Prince but with a gigantic beard… that was evil. So it's darker, right, Roald Dahl is more like it. It has a moral, it would seem, about conformity in modern life, or about specifically Here, the place where everyone is pretty alike and happily conforms… as opposed to There, which is out there, chaos, so it's all about difference in modern society, which is not a new point, but still…conformity is a problem. Especially as observed by an artist, who is probably almost never a conformist...
...and our man Dave is like this, too, conforming. He's bald and hairless, a good and predictable worker, until one day a hair sprouts on his face and then its very quickly a gigantic beard that takes over the neighborhood and the little town and it keeps growing and at first it is fascinating but then fear takes over and then it is the Tea Party, it is Westboro Church and people wearing t shirts inscribed, not with "God Hates Fags," but with "God Hates Beards" so that connection seems clear, and they need to do something about it, damn it, we can't have these BEARDS everywhere threatening our way of life. One thing that seems out of the ordinary about previously conformist Dave that may connect to memoir work for the artist is that throughout the growing period he draws things, keeps a constant journal, not of the process of the beard growth, but of the world around him, and the more he draws, the more the beard grows.
And then, later, (I'm skipping a couple key plot events so as not to give EVERYTHING away!) the whole experience must be turned into a media event with lots of books and tv shows and documentaries to make sense of it, and later, the primary scholar and historian of the Beard discovers scraps of drawings from Dave…. and he tries to piece all the art scraps together as some kind of coherent narrative of Dave's life, and you know, he can't, which is central to the (sort of postmodern) moral of the tale. You know, the melancholy effect of the story is not unlike the effect of Matt Kindt's 3 Story, the tale of a man who grows and grows and grows and grows like this beard and just becomes alienated from everyone else… that's the kind of surreal story this is, having at least something to do with the potentially alienating effects of art for there artist, and you know, the total effect is something like a reminder of Kafka. So it's sort of a fairy tale, fantasy, and part horror, though there's a kind of melancholy streak running through it, too. Great stuff!
...and our man Dave is like this, too, conforming. He's bald and hairless, a good and predictable worker, until one day a hair sprouts on his face and then its very quickly a gigantic beard that takes over the neighborhood and the little town and it keeps growing and at first it is fascinating but then fear takes over and then it is the Tea Party, it is Westboro Church and people wearing t shirts inscribed, not with "God Hates Fags," but with "God Hates Beards" so that connection seems clear, and they need to do something about it, damn it, we can't have these BEARDS everywhere threatening our way of life. One thing that seems out of the ordinary about previously conformist Dave that may connect to memoir work for the artist is that throughout the growing period he draws things, keeps a constant journal, not of the process of the beard growth, but of the world around him, and the more he draws, the more the beard grows.
And then, later, (I'm skipping a couple key plot events so as not to give EVERYTHING away!) the whole experience must be turned into a media event with lots of books and tv shows and documentaries to make sense of it, and later, the primary scholar and historian of the Beard discovers scraps of drawings from Dave…. and he tries to piece all the art scraps together as some kind of coherent narrative of Dave's life, and you know, he can't, which is central to the (sort of postmodern) moral of the tale. You know, the melancholy effect of the story is not unlike the effect of Matt Kindt's 3 Story, the tale of a man who grows and grows and grows and grows like this beard and just becomes alienated from everyone else… that's the kind of surreal story this is, having at least something to do with the potentially alienating effects of art for there artist, and you know, the total effect is something like a reminder of Kafka. So it's sort of a fairy tale, fantasy, and part horror, though there's a kind of melancholy streak running through it, too. Great stuff!
January 27, 2016
So silly, so much fun. I really really loved this! The art was perfect!
April 27, 2020
If you can't beat it, style it!
February 16, 2015
I ordered this as a gift for a formerly Bearded friend to discourage backsliding.
Of course I read it before passing it on.
It was okay.
That's a little harsh.
I quite liked Collins' writing.
It was much more poetic than I expected.
The illustration also was quite well done.
It was the "point" the message that left me cold.
It was so heavy-handed in its delivery.
I knew from the start what he was getting at.
Nothing that happened surprised me.
That niggled at me even though I liked the text and art.
But I would try something else by this author.
To conclude: Beards are evil.
Of course I read it before passing it on.
It was okay.
That's a little harsh.
I quite liked Collins' writing.
It was much more poetic than I expected.
The illustration also was quite well done.
It was the "point" the message that left me cold.
It was so heavy-handed in its delivery.
I knew from the start what he was getting at.
Nothing that happened surprised me.
That niggled at me even though I liked the text and art.
But I would try something else by this author.
To conclude: Beards are evil.
May 18, 2018
I enjoyed this well enough and the art was beautiful, but I can't lie and say this blew me away. It was just okay tbh
January 27, 2018
Beautiful drawn and a superb tale with lots of originality over a beard that grew and grew and disordered all the quiet and well ordered life on the island Here.
August 28, 2015
Spoilers
Wasn't in love with the plot - in a way it was fairly interesting and unique with the whole giant beard that grew and took over the perfectly ordered island of Here (and slowly started to resemble the dreaded chaotic place of There). At the same time though the moral of the story was rather trite and all the characters were flat, the beard was the most fascinating character in the whole thing despite it not actually being a character.
It was obvious what would happen to the residents of Here by the end, with the whole 'be individual' and 'don't be afraid of the unknown' messages running through the plot, it was all quite preachy and heavy handed, not to mention a little condescending.
Liked the writing but didn't like the layout of it, most of the sentences cut off mid way through only to start on another panel/page, it disrupted the flow of the story.
Loved the artwork, it was the best element of the novel. The illustrations perfectly captured the loneliness and fear the main character felt and the hum-drum, monotony, soulless and isolated atmosphere of Here.
Wasn't in love with the plot - in a way it was fairly interesting and unique with the whole giant beard that grew and took over the perfectly ordered island of Here (and slowly started to resemble the dreaded chaotic place of There). At the same time though the moral of the story was rather trite and all the characters were flat, the beard was the most fascinating character in the whole thing despite it not actually being a character.
It was obvious what would happen to the residents of Here by the end, with the whole 'be individual' and 'don't be afraid of the unknown' messages running through the plot, it was all quite preachy and heavy handed, not to mention a little condescending.
Liked the writing but didn't like the layout of it, most of the sentences cut off mid way through only to start on another panel/page, it disrupted the flow of the story.
Loved the artwork, it was the best element of the novel. The illustrations perfectly captured the loneliness and fear the main character felt and the hum-drum, monotony, soulless and isolated atmosphere of Here.
June 2, 2017
I didn't quite realize what I was getting into with this one, but I was very pleasantly surprised. This tackles some awesome topics that make you think but also keeps it upbeat enough to feel light and fun. I could see myself lending this to a lot of people.
February 14, 2017
Loved, loved, loved the art, but the story kind of bored me at times.
December 30, 2016
quite interesting story with intriguing plot onset good developing and not bad conclusion. lots of still frames, dark humor and kafkaesque twists. if the plot is lacking the drawings make up for it. pleasure to read.
August 17, 2019
I liked the art here- the pencil shading lends the panels a kind of gauzy, noirish atmosphere. There are some obvious themes to this fable but it also contains an element of openness to interpretation. Ultimately it feels very much of these times, maybe a bit too much, as in its gentle, generic satire it fails to cut sharply and directly enough to the societal issues it strives to address.
July 18, 2021
This quirky and strange graphic novel, was such a pleasent surprise.
It’s about Dave who lives in Here, a perfectly organized and well-kept place - that is, until a gigantic beard starts sprouting out of Dave’s face.
Unable to cut or shave it, the beard grows and grows, eventually disturbing the lives of everyone in Here, forcing them to take action against the gigantic beard.
Lovely story and art!
It’s about Dave who lives in Here, a perfectly organized and well-kept place - that is, until a gigantic beard starts sprouting out of Dave’s face.
Unable to cut or shave it, the beard grows and grows, eventually disturbing the lives of everyone in Here, forcing them to take action against the gigantic beard.
Lovely story and art!
March 20, 2020
The title pretty much says it all. Dave lives Here - an island nation where everything is very neat and tidy, just the way Dave likes it. He spends his time sketching his perfectly tidy neighborhood and listen to the same song by the Bangles on loop. Nobody ever leaves Here, because they afraid of ended up There, a place that is very dark and untidy. When Dave starts to question differences between Here and There, a very untidy and possibly evil beard bursts out of his face and threatens to destroy Here.
This graphic novel was perfect. The art style really clicked with me. It did a great job of making sure the text is easy to follow along with on each page, which is something that when done poorly, throws me off of reading other graphic novels and comic books. The core concept is simple but unique. It's funny and heartwarming and just a fantastic read which made me very happy.
This graphic novel was perfect. The art style really clicked with me. It did a great job of making sure the text is easy to follow along with on each page, which is something that when done poorly, throws me off of reading other graphic novels and comic books. The core concept is simple but unique. It's funny and heartwarming and just a fantastic read which made me very happy.
July 13, 2016
I love beards, and I love this book.
February 19, 2020
I’ve had this book (graphic novel) on my must read list for years. So long in fact, I can’t remember when I purchased it. I’ve been in a mean reading slump for the past six months and on a whim grabbed this off my shelf. The title is intriguing. The illustrations cute. That’s about all I can really say about the book.
This book is about an island called Here. In Here, everyone is tidy. Everything is tidy. There is no distinction between the houses on a street or the person walking next to you. They just are. This reminded me of the planet that Meg Murray travels to to rescue her father in ‘A Wrinkle in Time’. Its just dull and boring. Nothing interesting happens in here because people don’t want the disorder. They are so afraid of untidiness that they don’t look to see what is beyond their shores toward There. The few who are unfortunately curious don’t come back.
Our main character Dave likes his mundane life. One day a hair on his face grows out of control. He is shunned for being different. There are no men in Here that have beards. Society sees him as a threat. A small few see him as a subject to study. No one wants him around. After Dave is gone, the people of Here preserve Dave’s house and things in order to send a message? To learn from? To ponder what happens when society becomes stagnant? Eventually the people begin to change for the better. To showcase and love their uniqueness. To purposely be different than their peers.
This graphic novel was apparently deeper than I thought before writing this review. Sometimes you don’t see what the book is trying to convey until you try to explain it to others.
Overall if you enjoy simple graphic novels with not a lot of flash, you might want to give this one a try. It’s panels are all in black and white with soft font and soft illustrations. That also sets the tone of the book. Nothing to really see here folks. On the surface we are nonabrasive. We are orderly and non offensive. But read deeper to find a moral.
This book is about an island called Here. In Here, everyone is tidy. Everything is tidy. There is no distinction between the houses on a street or the person walking next to you. They just are. This reminded me of the planet that Meg Murray travels to to rescue her father in ‘A Wrinkle in Time’. Its just dull and boring. Nothing interesting happens in here because people don’t want the disorder. They are so afraid of untidiness that they don’t look to see what is beyond their shores toward There. The few who are unfortunately curious don’t come back.
Our main character Dave likes his mundane life. One day a hair on his face grows out of control. He is shunned for being different. There are no men in Here that have beards. Society sees him as a threat. A small few see him as a subject to study. No one wants him around. After Dave is gone, the people of Here preserve Dave’s house and things in order to send a message? To learn from? To ponder what happens when society becomes stagnant? Eventually the people begin to change for the better. To showcase and love their uniqueness. To purposely be different than their peers.
This graphic novel was apparently deeper than I thought before writing this review. Sometimes you don’t see what the book is trying to convey until you try to explain it to others.
Overall if you enjoy simple graphic novels with not a lot of flash, you might want to give this one a try. It’s panels are all in black and white with soft font and soft illustrations. That also sets the tone of the book. Nothing to really see here folks. On the surface we are nonabrasive. We are orderly and non offensive. But read deeper to find a moral.
July 2, 2021
"They took his tidiness away , swallowed his boundaries whole. Mixed his right side with his left side. His insides with his outsides. His before with his now with his next. Until he became nothing! There's no tidy endings beyond the end of all tidiness."
An absolutely astounding graphic novel! This tells us that everything need not be perfect and orderly . A little bit of chaos can make everything much tidier and lively. We often see that 'change' is always something feared by the people everywhere as they begin to stress over how they can adapt to it. But what they don't realize is with change comes new ideas, thoughts and many other beautiful things. I can't imagine my life without change. It'll all be so boring .
Remember this- " If nothing ever changed , there would be no butterflies."
I would highly recommend this to everyone out there!
*starts singing 'Eternal flame' by The Bangles*
An absolutely astounding graphic novel! This tells us that everything need not be perfect and orderly . A little bit of chaos can make everything much tidier and lively. We often see that 'change' is always something feared by the people everywhere as they begin to stress over how they can adapt to it. But what they don't realize is with change comes new ideas, thoughts and many other beautiful things. I can't imagine my life without change. It'll all be so boring .
Remember this- " If nothing ever changed , there would be no butterflies."
I would highly recommend this to everyone out there!
*starts singing 'Eternal flame' by The Bangles*
January 13, 2023
Profound. Exhilarating. Existentialism. Hairy. Funny. Here. There. Your insides will become your outsides. A fantastic book on trends and breaking them.
All that can be said about this book is that no matter how much you try to keep change at bay. It will come. For you. For your friends. Your family. Inevitably plays a huge roll in this eye opener that uses one’s beard as the scapegoat for something better.
5/5 stars
F. D. Gross
All that can be said about this book is that no matter how much you try to keep change at bay. It will come. For you. For your friends. Your family. Inevitably plays a huge roll in this eye opener that uses one’s beard as the scapegoat for something better.
5/5 stars
F. D. Gross
June 6, 2015
This was great! I loved it.
The art in this book is just amazing and I had so much fun reading this.
The art in this book is just amazing and I had so much fun reading this.
October 30, 2016
The Gigantic Beard that was Evil is a graphic novel with Dahl and Burton-esque, about the island of Here, where everything from the lawns to citizens are tidy, neat, and in order until a single hair sends the island into an uproar. Dave, who is bald, but for a single hair, begins to grow a massive, unstoppable beard. I finished reading this graphic novel a week ago, and it's stuck with me ever since.
Stephen Collins' The Gigantic Beard that was Evil is whimsical, offbeat, darkly funny story with quite a bit of social and political themes and issues throughout. I was expecting a quirky, quick-read, but it was so much more, and the only graphic novel that I’ve read so far to be bold, and thought-provoking. It is beautifully illustrated with the story-telling narrative similar to fairy-tales, but in a way that adults and children can both enjoy. This graphic novel is by far my favorite to date, and one that I will be discussing for years to come.
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
Stephen Collins' The Gigantic Beard that was Evil is whimsical, offbeat, darkly funny story with quite a bit of social and political themes and issues throughout. I was expecting a quirky, quick-read, but it was so much more, and the only graphic novel that I’ve read so far to be bold, and thought-provoking. It is beautifully illustrated with the story-telling narrative similar to fairy-tales, but in a way that adults and children can both enjoy. This graphic novel is by far my favorite to date, and one that I will be discussing for years to come.
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
March 27, 2016
Beneath the skin
Of everything
Is something nobody can know.
The job of the skin
Is to keep it all in
And never let anything show.
A tension filled graphic novel about conformity & the beauty of the perfectly imperfect. Quite a lovely book, both inside & out. I may or may not have rubbed my face all over it a time or two ;)
(For stories are such necessary lies.)
Of everything
Is something nobody can know.
The job of the skin
Is to keep it all in
And never let anything show.
A tension filled graphic novel about conformity & the beauty of the perfectly imperfect. Quite a lovely book, both inside & out. I may or may not have rubbed my face all over it a time or two ;)
(For stories are such necessary lies.)
December 27, 2016
Review to come.
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