Binky's Guide to Love

Life in Hell #9

by Matt Groening

Let binky and the gang be your not-quite-sure-footed Sherpa guides as you navigate the treacherous bliss abyss and otherwise craggy emotional terrain called love in Matt Groening’s timeless trenchant treatise, featuring 120 cartoons from his irrepressible, alarmingly popular life in hell comic strip. take aim at The Dart Game of Love
(or Pin the Tail on Your Inner Donkey)!
learn to spot Questionable Opening Lines!
steer clear of Nine Common Ruts!
commit to memory First Date Conversational No-Nos!
stump yourself with Six Tormenting Love Questions!
Or, if all else fails, hopeless cases can even learn to capitalize on the infinite "Joys of Lovelessness" -- such as "You don’t have to hold your stomach in." And much, much more!!! This overbite-sized, over-hilarious sequel to the outrageously enduring Love Is Hell proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that love is still hell!

Genres: Comics, Humor, Fiction, Cartoon, Comics Manga

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist, television producer and writer from Portland, Oregon.

Groening is best known as the creator of The Simpsons. He is also the creator of Futurama and the author of the weekly comic strip Life in Hell. Groening distributed Life in Hell in the book corner of Licorice Pizza, a record store in which he worked.

He made his first professional cartoon sale to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. The cartoon is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

So so so funny! There's so much truth in his sarcasm :P

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Life in Hell" is Matt Groening's first and probably defining creative project. It just so happens that in the popular consciousness it was easily superseded by The Simpsons, which is really exactly the same thing in a more consistent format. But five years after he finally quit making it, few have any real experience with "Life in Hell," or knowledge that it ever existed. *annoyed grunt*

I got this collection a few years back. Because "Life in Hell" was a comic strip circulated through indy newspapers, which are by definition independent, it never appeared in anything I personally read, even though I've read indy newspapers literally called Independent, and you'd think these things would beat themselves up for the chance to print the "cool" Matt Groening project when the masses are still complaining his cartoons were uncool years ago (eat my shorts!). But alas, based on this inexperience, I knew about it but didn't know what it was really like, until I bought this collection. I found it intimidating, originally, wordy and unstructured, so I put it aside and only now just got back to it.

But having now read the thing, I really appreciate it. Somewhere along the way it loses its theme, because it's a collection and not something Groening deliberately put together. So it's really just him riffing on the absurdities of modern life.

My favorite riff was an unexpected discovery. Democrats may be most dissatisfied today because of the presidents they've managed to get into office. Groening dismisses Clinton as little different from Bush. I imagine that if this had been published today rather than 1994, he'd make the same assessment of Obama. Which is heresy for Democrats to even consider, but as far as I can tell, Republican and Democrat politicians are not really that different except that Republicans court disenfranchised rural voters while Democrats court disenfranchised urban voters. And they both do it shamelessly. That may be a modern phenomenon, which needs further examination. I'll get back to you on that.

Anyway, definitely recommended to get a sense of what Matt Groening's thought process looks like without yellow skin.

[Mei Ridorsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tota la sèrie de Life in Hell és un exponent d'humor sarcàstic, depriment i cínic sobre la vida en general (centrada en l'amor, en aquest recopilatori). Matt Groening evidentment serà recordat pels seus treballs a la televisió, però aquesta sèries està infravalorada.

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It failed to provide me with much of the joy I generally derive from a Life in Hell collection. Part of the blame lies with the book's size. It's huge, and cornery. I kept dropping it on my face when I tried to read it in bed. Also, not many of the cartoons are very funny. I was sad at this book. Get School is Hell or Love is Hell or the Will & Abe one. This one isn't worth the larger expense or the cumbersome reading experience.

[João Moura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Há tema mais versado e maltratado do que o amor? Matt Groening consegue levar o tema do amor ao mais escuro imaginável mas ao fazer isso falha em entreter ao nível do que já fez antes com outros livros como Love is Hell...Ao contrário deste último que é um bem me quer, este livro é um mal me quer, but loves goes on anyway...

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of the content in this one is after the Simpsons had already started, so there are some cross references which are fun. I’d forgotten that he kept doing the Life in Hell strip so long. Till 2012 actually!

It’s worthwhile to read through the indexes in his books, by the way if present. Don’t skip them!

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just plain funny. . Wonderful explanations of the relative cycles and phases of the phenomenon of love. Though dark in some ways, Groening is able to spin very emotional situations into an object of hilarity. Some very keen political cartoonage of the 1990's, as well.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for anyone who has dated, ever, anywhere.

[theriverdays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt Groening is too cool! Will and Abe are favourites.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, sometimes depressing, always drenched in sarcasm - an unfortunately often accurate look at what we are all thinking, but are too afraid to say.