Well, This Is Me: A Cartoon Collection from the New Yorker's Asher Perlman

by Asher Perlman

The perfect gift for every single person on the planet.

Well, This Is Me is the debut cartoon collection from Asher Perlman (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), who NPR’s Scott Simon calls “one of today’s great New Yorker cartoonists.” A blend of Asher’s classics and never-before-seen material, this collection gives the people what they want: universal health care. Okay, not that, but something almost as important: a delightful book, chock-full of over 150 cartoons about everything from a dog’s encounter with a genie to the Tin Man’s trip to Jiffy Lube.

Conveniently broken up into thematic chapters, Well, This Is Me: A Cartoon Collection from The New Yorker’s Asher Perlman explores traditional comedy playgrounds, like travel and work, as well as more lighthearted subjects, like death and dying. Point is: this book has a little something for everyone. Even you, Kristen.

Genres: Humor, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Cartoon, Art, Adult

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2024

About the author

I am an Emmy-nominated, WGA award-winning, Peabody-award winning comedian, writer, actor, cartoonist, and hyphen-hunting multi-hyphenate.

I am currently a writer/performer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a cartoonist at The New Yorker, and a performer with the Improvised Shakespeare Company. I also perform all around New York City as myself. My award-winning short film, “Accountabilibuddies,” was an official selection at the Just for Laughs Film Festival in Vancouver, and I’ve had two pilots premiere at the New York Television Festival, one of which went on to become an original series on the women-centric streaming platform, Pypo.

I developed my comedy chops in Chicago, where I performed with The Second City, the Chicago Just for Laughs Festival, iO, The Annoyance, ComedySportz, and approximately one thousand bars.

On television, I have appeared on Comedy Central, CBS, Pop TV, and several national commercials.

Before The Late Show, I was a staff writer for The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. I’ve also written humor for The New Yorker, The Onion Labs, and McSweeney’s.

Reviews

[Karen Chee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look into the mind of a deeply unwell person. As I read this, I thought, oh man, I hope this book does well because if it doesn't, I will be concerned for Asher. This man clearly has very little going on in his life. The cartoons made me laugh, largely out of obligation. It is shocking to me that he is married. I've met his wife and she is so beautiful and kind and sweet that I thought, man, Asher must be really rich. I walked away from this book feeling impressed by Asher's wealth.

In all sincerity, this is an excellent collection of delightful, hilarious, surprising cartoons that genuinely makes me laugh out loud. Please go and buy it!! (He needs this.)

[David Crumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like droll comedy, how about you?

My friends and family know that I like "droll"—which is defined as "curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement" or maybe as "having a whimsical or odd quality." Among my all-time favorite standup comics is Steven Wright (who is almost exactly my age and also is close to my sensibility when it comes to humor).

So, when Asher Perlman's new book, Well This Is Me, debuted in June, my son—who has a similar sense of humor—immediately ordered a copy to arrive on my doorstep from Amazon. And, my son was right: I'm now a big fan of Perlman's print comics (he works in other forms of media as well).

You might have seen Perlman on TV, perhaps with Stephen Colbert's crew, or you might have spotted his comics in The New Yorker, which of course is famous for its droll cartoons.

I won't spoil the gems in this book by trying to "describe" or "explain" them. The Amazon book page shows you five of them—if you count the cover itself. That's enough to get a feel for his work without spoiling the many other "enthusiastic nods" and "chuckles" and "big smiles" you'll experience while actually experiencing this book.

Sure, I wish this book was longer! But, for me, that's a sign of a good bound collection of comics—you want more.

This is simply a short and sweet review thanking my son Benjamin for this book (he's on Goodreads, too) and recommending it to other like-minded friends in this reading community.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, rounded up.

The author writes for Colbert, who plugged his 2nd compilation on his show last night. And his cartoons regularly appear in The New Yorker apparently - so wanted to give him a try. Luckily, I could read it online immediately through my library and it took less than 20 minutes. LOVE Perlman's quirky wit and out of left field take on things. Also grateful that even though hetero himself, Perlman uses some same-sex couples in his work! My only real quibble is that the three sections about WHY he is a cartoonist were rather dry and superfluous - and a couple of them I just didn't get. Gonna check out his 2nd volume in a bit ...

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha! This is the stuff, right here.

[Colby Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scratches that Far-Side itch I’ve been missing

[Tom LA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just hilarious. Every single one of them.

[Geoff Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most laugh out loud book since the timeless classic "Sweatbands."

[Isaac Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t laughed this hard at a comic collection book since I first read Calvin and Hobbs. Perlman is spot on in his hilarious observations about everyday absurdity. I will read this book twice per year until forever.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am addicted to Asher Perlman’s cartoons in “The New Yorker.” With this new collection, readers will laugh as they see themselves reflected at play or at work, or even in the afterlife. He captures so many of life’s moments and turns them on their heads, but what I love best is how often I laugh out loud, which is a very good thing in these times.

[Dakota Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny! Like genuinely laughed out loud several times throughout the book. I follow him on Instagram and I’m always enjoying what he creates. I’m so glad I bought this book.

[Nolan Buro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hoot and a holler -for the thinking weirdo

[Mum Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun comic compilation book to read the past few days. Truly enjoyed it.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sensible chuckle.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some are very, very funny!

[Megan Nagel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pick this up whenever I need a laugh. Regardless of how many times I’ve read a cartoon of Asher’s, they hold up to the repetition.

My ten year old found it in my car. While driving, I heard giggles and chuckles from the back seat the whole way home. Periodically, they felt moved enough to read one aloud and describe the picture while trying not to laugh.

This is real good stuff.

[Archana Thiyagarajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Observational humor at its best. If I had a friend who didn’t enjoy this book, I wouldn’t want to be friends with them anymore.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cartoons des Autors, die in der Zeitung "The New Yorker" veröffentlicht wurden. Nett, besser als einiges, was ich dort schon gesehen habe.

[Heather Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the newer book, but it did get better as I read. My favorite was probably the Chicago hot dog!

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and funny.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laughed out loud, or at least chuckled, many times. Excellent

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great group of cartoons. Very clever

[Michael Rhode · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought on Michael Maslin's recommendation and enjoyed it.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asher makes me laugh so hard!!! I love his comics.


😂🤣😂🤣😂

[Heather Wassing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a treat to be treated to Asher Perlman's wit and brevity.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hoot.

[Kaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I knew Asher Perlman wrote a book I pre-ordered it. I've been following his comics from the beginning and he always makes me laugh. I really enjoyed the intro, the interlude, and the epilogue, they make me curious what a more long-form comic would look like from Asher. His single panel comics are great. Some dark, some dry, some completely silly. I did feel the "love" section veered mostly into unhappy and some of the "life" ones could have been categorized with love for a more mixed picture. The chapter "Well, This is Life" definitely had me laughing aloud more than the others.
I slowed myself down and read it in a day and a half. Buy it for yourself, or someone with whom you want to share a laugh. It's worth it.

[Jeff Swartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This could be great.
Or maybe it’s only really good.
Maybe it should be banned.
Or maybe it should be preemptively banned from being banned because it’s just that important!
All I know is that it would sure look great next to my collections of Arno, Steinberg, Booth, Addams, Gross, Steig, Hoff, etc.
Do they do ARC’s for cartoon books?
Andrew, McMeel, either one of you, reach out and I’ll send you my address.
Who knows, there could be a six ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review in it for you.
No promises. Just putting that out there.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny, intelligent collection of single-pane comics originally published in The New Yorker. They are all quite witty, and many bend into the dark side of humor, which can surprise you. I laughed aloud several times at the absurd situations and silly conduct of the floppy population of Asher Perlman's brain. Like any good humorist, he takes everyday occurrences and turns them on their heads to showcase the lunacy of our individual behavior and society at large. Many times I thought, "I do this."

[Pug · Rating 3 out of 5]

They started off kinda sweet, but then out of the blue there was an offensive one with God swearing. Why?? It was totally unnecessary and didn't fit with the sillier tone of the book.

The ones I did enjoy:
"Over the next three hours, I will show you how to stretch thirty minutes of information across three hours."
"We want you to know that the Leadership team is always open to any and all positive feedback."
Dog doctor: "Have you tried licking it for hours?"
"Now sit back, relax, and learn the hard way that the symphony is more the kind of thing you want to like."

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

awe 3.5. i like this with its lil one liners or the lil picture above the lines. it was serious and cute at the same time. quick fast paced. nothing insanely funny that made me burst out laughing but it was worth the read, i liked the way it was sectioned out bc it made me consider like how is this about work or play or whatever. lil interludes or whatever were insightful but things i didn’t wanna think abt