Grickle

by Graham Annable, Tom Devlin (Editor)

Grickle collects two dozen beautiful stories in which devilish comedy and eye-watering art enclose a rich, chocolatey center of sad poetry and bruised but intact innocence. A man is carried safely through the ugly harshness of the world by his own Polaroid-enabled brand of narcissism. The sadistic make-believe of two little boys is no match for the laid-back cruelty of their grandfather. Two buddies go on an ice fishing trip. One finds enlightenment, but the other catches a whole hell of a lot of fish. A factory drone discovers his creative side with the help of the toilet. Vehicular manslaughter turns to be pretty okay as long as there aren't any witnesses. Sound interesting? Wait till you see them come to life in vivid black-and-white! Grickle is a hefty treasure trove of visually arresting, hilarious, wise, and emotionally rereadable cartoon stories. Annable has been creating these stories for his own satisfaction concurrent with his commercial animation work, and it shows in their intimate, conversational tone and wholly personal outlook. The skills honed at his day job are just as evident in the deft, fluid way he puts his stylish figures through their paces - it's like listening to the eloquent solo improvisations of a jazz musician who has sharpened his chops playing every night in the band. Even several panels of an Annable character just sitting still at a table practically glitter with life and cartoon joy.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comix

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Oscar-nominated director Graham Annable is a cartoonist and animator living just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and two boys. Mr. Annable's unique voice has been consistently recognized in the mediums of film, games, and graphic novels throughout his career, garnering numerous awards and nominations along the way. When he's not taking his pugs on a walk in the woods he can usually be found doodling ideas for his latest project in the studio.

Reviews

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really for me. Picked it up from the Friends of the Library free cart.

[D.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear god, do I love Annable's work. His people all look like roughly drawn Muppets (and most of them look alike), and his stories are sometimes utterly bizarre, but he has such a knack for bringing his simple creatures utterly to life. The animation fan in me can't resist the animator at work in this book. It can make me ponder life but it also makes me laugh out loud...and I've read it at least half a dozen times.
My favourite bits are the single panel 'Workplace' (so like my every day it hurts) and 'Photo Opportunity,' where we meet one of only a couple 'recurring characters' in the world of Grickle.
If you're a fan of cartoons, and have a taste for the strange in your humour, you should already own this book.
BRING ON BOXTROLLS!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what possessed me to pick up this small black and white indy comic, but I'm glad I did because Grickle is one of my favorite comic finds. A collection of comic shorts by Graham Annable that are drawn simply but carry a lot of weight, many of them are funny and a few are really hilarious, but almost all of them have a kind of melancholy poignancy to them as well. Annable's uses his simple yet expressive style of art and storytelling to explore some of our darkest and most unintelligible human impulses with humor and pathos.

[Mattomic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bit about the guy and his dog who ends up running over some hapless bystander, then he hides the fact that he commits vehicular manslaughter had me laughing until I practically pissed myyself.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird business made to seem normal.

[Melissa Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deceptively simple at first glance, these comics provoke contemplation as well as chuckles. This collection should be treasured like a book of short stories from a favorite author.

[Isaac Timm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat disturbed, somewhat about introverts. All addictive.

[Charlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, clever, and funny.