Doofus Omnibus

by Rick Altergott

Though a longtime cult favorite amongst such cultural luminaries as Dan Clowes, R. Crumb, Terry Zwigoff, Simpsons executive producer George Meyer and others, this is Altergott's first book, collecting most of his oeuvre for the first time. Altergott is a master craftsman with a compulsion for the strange; his most famous character, Doofus -- a panty-huffing hillbilly with a Dutchboy hairdo -- is the star of this show. Imagine Harmony Korine's film Gummo as a graphic novel drawn in pen and ink (but not written) by Norman Rockwell and starring the Three Stooges. The book collects almost every Doofus story from the character's long history, and features an introduction by Ghost World author Daniel Clowes. With a built-in audience from Doofus's regular appearances in Seattle's Stranger newsweekly, Peter Bagge's bestselling comic book series Hate, numerous comics anthologies and two solo comic books -- not to mention years of word of mouth from comics greats like Clowes, Crumb and Zwigoff, all of whom sing Altergott's praises at every opportunity -- this first Doofus collection is sure to be a cult favorite amongst intellectuals and philistines alike.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[Twan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collected tales of the utter lowlife Doofus and his scruffy tramp friend Henry Hotchkiss as they go about thier buisness, which usually invloves stealing dirty underwear so they can sniff it, smelling bike seats, watching animals fuck and a whole load more filthy shit. Some of this was laugh at loud at times. Been championed by Clowes, Crumb and all the other mo'fuggers in comics.

[Nicholaus Patnaude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iconographically, Doofus references an eerie realm of throwaway 70's Men's magazine comic strips; the difference here is that these shorts are both a weird form of worship/homage and a scathing satire.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crass and a bit angry, I wish that I had liked this more. But the character wore thin with me after about 10 pages. I found myself really liking it when Altergott moved away from the character and did other stuff. There is a short story about a jazz musician that I found fascinating. Also, there is a story about some guy who had to do something terrible to get into a college fraternity. If this was the Altergott Omnibus and features a wider range of material, it would be perfect.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ermmm...I guess, I know some think these are a combined homage/critique of comic shorts (perhaps adult strips or classic strips or the whole medium), but aside from some great art and a few chuckles, these fell pretty flat. And yes, they are kind of anti-humor...blah, blah, blah...but in general, they are not for me.

Perhaps in small doses they would be much more tolerable.

[Mikey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the best comic I’ve read to imply that the government would set up a booth to have people shove things up their asses, call it the American Asshole Test, and then leave those defiled things out under the auspices of “Free Toys!!” Orwell had nothing on this guy.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious compendium of the adventures of Flowertown's most disreputable inhabitant.

Some of the humour is not for the prudish or the faint of heart, but if you have the right mindset you will love the awful secret behind the Forty Acres club...

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine an R-rated version of "Mad," and you'll get pretty close to the Doofus comics. For all the days I feel like a loser and a doofus.