Some Comics

by Stephen Collins

Here are some comics by Stephen Collins. Or, to be precise, a little over 100 comics by Stephen Collins. They constitute your opportunity to discover what plastic bags really think about; learn the true identity of Kim Jong-Un's life coach; and have everything ruined by the internet.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Humor

120 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2014

About the author

Stephen 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.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is super duper fun!

the follow-up to the very successful The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil, this book is a compilation of strips collins wrote for the guardian weekend and several other uk-based publications. i don't know if it will ever be published here in the u.s., but i thank my lucky stars for the incredibly sweet and generous canadian laima who is willing to grab me all the stuff i can't get in my country. thanks, laima! some of the strips are centered around british political and pop cultural figures less familiar to an american audience, which may impede a u.s. publication, and some things flat-out will not translate here:



heh.

(also, i apologize for whatever is going on with my pictures and their sizing. i need to adjust whatever went haywire on photobucket, because that badger down there is alarmingly big)

so many of these strips are brilliant and made me giggle out loud (GOL), and i absolutely love his artwork; he reminds me a bit of tom gauld in both style and humor. and britishness.

collins' visual preoccupations seem to be crocodiles, things on vacation (sisyphus, mr. terror), historical figures experiencing modern technology (mona lisa, noah, louis daguerre), aliens, leonardo dicaprio, and kim jong-un.

also tian tian the panda



i love the way he draws animals, whether they be badgers



(see?? i am alarmed!)

anteaters



dogs



or supernatural beasties like ghosts



and zombies



and you know i always love me a good "oi!"





here are some of my favorites for either art or humor or concept. i won't spoil too much - for some i will just give the first-panel title-tease or a single enigmatic panel-excerpt and make you track down the book itself, but you'll get the gist.

in this one



a mystery is revealed!



this one is great because of how shouty the aliens are. they remind me of me. except for the liking of cocktail part.





look how much darwin loves his job!



look at this boastful bag!!



and i totally saw this guy the other day:



here, i am giving away the punchline; you'll have to find the joke yourself. but ahhhhh so funny!!



this one wins "most disturbing."





you don't even want to know what's going on there.

these are the title-panels of three of my favorite strips (one of which, yes, includes a crocodile!):







also a story with the perfectly precise title emergency pocket guide for an unsporty man who's got a ball coming at him, which is better seen by you than photographed by me.

there's also an excellent lars von trier strip, FYI.
and one of malcolm gladwell. and a crocodile.

and since you have been such good sports, here's a full strip for ya



naturally, when you WANT the picture to be big...

hopefully you can read that. because i can. and it made me laugh.
OH! but if you CLICK it, you can see it bigger. thanks, internet age!

i liked this book even more than The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil and i hope he gives us many more books. in all the countries.

come to my blog!

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, scathing and beautifully precise little comic strips that are gleefully off kilter and strange. Perfect for tiding you over until his next full story.

[Chris - Quarter Press Editor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much, Stephen Collins is the best. I love this guy, both his art and his humor.

Really, this could be boiled down to a quick review of "Do you like fun art? Do you like newspaper-like comic format? Do you enjoy laughing at absurd things?" If you answer yes to any of these, then you should check this book out.

It's fantastic, and I honestly can't wait for the next project Collins produces.

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. What a fun surprise. I really love Stephen Collins!

These are the kind of comic strips you'd place on your door if you were college professor. The humor reminds me a bit of Hugleikur Dagsson, but not as grim.

Perhaps this is due to cultural references that are either outdated or only well-known to a UK audience, but there were a few comic strips that didn't land for me. Despite that, the ones I did "get" were charming and often laugh-out-loud funny. I like the way he thinks. His drawings are also very detailed and have a cute ( but not cutesy) vibe.

I immediately want to send this off to several friends.

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of super fun and super short comics!

Collins provides loads of tasty little comics – each merely a page long, laid out in classic comic strip style – that are great examples of the sarcastic and dry ‘Brit humour’ that I love. Several of these comics genuinely had me laughing out loud, and that is a rarity for me. As despite not really being an avid reader of the ‘humour’ genre, I will occasionally read something classed as such, and the absolute most it will usually get out of me is a smirk of approval. I am an ice queen.

The art always fits his entertaining commentary, the bulk of it amusing enough on it’s own, with the colour palette changing from comic to comic. Sometimes the humour is just toeing the line, just bordering on offensive, but Collins totally gets away with it.

To be quite honest, there were a few (a very tiny amount, I’m being pernickety here), that I just didn’t quite ‘get’, and that’s the only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars. Also, this is 100% on me and the limitations of my own brain, nothing to do with Collins and his impeccable wit!

I’ll definitely be reading any more collections he brings out like this, and I’m immediately purchasing ‘The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil’, which I guess he’s most known for.

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of comic strips that have the same sense of wicked humour and briliant art style as his graphic novel "the giant beard that was evil" varying from quirky to the surreal these is a pretty solid collection which had me chuckling from page to page.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chuckled all the way from EMERGENCY POCKET GUIDE FOR AN UNSPORTY MAN WHO'S GOT A BALL COMING AT HIM to DEATH OF A HIPSTER. Spot on observational humo(u)r.

[Justine Cucchi-Dietlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would have given this book no stars if that was an option.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

And a Song Comes on the Radio... that I haven't heard in years. And suddenly, the world just stops. And the music feels like a tree and its notes are like rippling leaves... And in those leaves is a solitary bird in whose sweet song, I hear the joyful sound... of my youth.

I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT
I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT…
I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT...

Another book that has sat in my to-read pile for far too long. Similar to Physics for Cats, this is an anthology of cartoons which have appeared in national newspapers such as the Guardian, as well as some unique works for the collection.

With over 100 comics, this will not fail to raise a smile. My particular favourites where 'Pier' with its bleak noir stylings, 'Glen Pigeon' with his Motorway Service Station philosophy, and the above 'And a Song Comes on the Radio'.

Some didn't quite land with me, especially when delving into the world of UK politics, but overall good stuff. 3 3/4 stars.

[Signe · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute joy! I’ve reread it after two years, spread into a few strips at a time over my lunch breaks - it really brightened up an otherwise bleak January during the global shitstorm we’re all in.

[Wendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're not British and/or a Guardian reader, you may, to your great misfortune, not be familiar with Stephen Collins.

He does a weekly strip for the Guardian, frequently political (he's done some amazing strips about Brexit the last few months). Despite being well versed in Britishisms, every once in a while I still stumble over understanding some of the humor, but on the whole it's universal.

Collins is searingly dry and dark and bleak and sweet and witty. As evidenced by my review of his only published full length graphic novel (The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil), I absolutely adore Collins. This collection of some of his older Guardian strips is no exception.

He's just so fantastic.

[Jayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Collins is easily becoming one of new favorite comic/graphic novelist and the strip 'In Conversation with Rupert Delacroix, First Moth on the Moon' was pure genius.

[Mikołaj Niedorezo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little compilation of surreal and funny strips. Well drawn too