The Wendy Award

by Walter Scott

Everybody’s favorite party girl Wendy is so back

When Wendy is nominated for the coveted National FoodHut Contemporary Art Prize alongside her friend Winona, all of her millennial dreams seem to be coming true. She lives a post-pandemic, polyamorous fine artist’s lifestyle in the big city and basks in the glory of national attention with the success of her popular comic strip, “Wanda.”

But not even achieving bona fide art star fame can hide the truth: a never-ending struggle with imposter syndrome. After she cracks in an online interview and gets dragged in the comments section, she heads straight to a local watering hole to drown her sorrows. Several lines of coke, too many drinks, and one all night rager with fans later, Wendy is ready to curse Gen Z and confront her addictions. All the while, she and Winona drift apart as a younger Indigenous artist wedges herself between them. Will Wendy’s commitment to change wind up short-lived?

The Wendy Award incisively skewers the art world with its corporate overlords, performative activism, generational wealth, and weaponized therapy speak. A showcase of Walter Scott’s deft wit and social commentary, The Wendy Award asks the hard questions, like Do they still give awards to men? Should we be grateful for the exposure? and What exactly is Big Auntie Energy?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Canada, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Art, Comix

204 pages, Paperback

Published July 9, 2024

About the author

Walter Scott is an interdisciplinary artist working with writing, illustration, performance and sculpture. In 2011 while living in Montreal, he began a comic book series, Wendy, exploring the narrative of a fictional young woman living in an urban centre, who aspires to global success and art stardom but whose dreams are perpetually derailed. The position of the outsider and shape shifter is central to this body of work and the influence of feminist icons such as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde or artist, punk poet, experimental novelist and filmmaker Kathy Acker lingers. Recent exhibitions include Fictive Communities, Koganecho Bazaar, Yokohama, Japan 2014, Pre-Existing Work, Macaulay & Co. Fine Art, Vancouver 2015, and Stopping the Sun in Its Course, Francois Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles 2015.

Based on research in the AGO’s archives, Scott wrote fictions around the works in the collection to create new performances and installations during his residency.

Reviews

[Drew Canole]

Another excellent entry in the Wendy series. One of the funniest comics around. Wendy has had some success with her autobiographical comic art series and is apart of an award committee doing some talks. Dealing with her drinking habits. Lots of fun jokes about "elder" millennials and clash with the more hip gen xers.

[suzanna]

Wendy !!!!!!!!!

[Annie-Claude Boulianne]

Wendy is the millennial hero we deserve.

[Kaitlin]

In the final instalment to his beloved Wendy series, Walter Scott manages to keep his finger on the pulse of all too human contradictions. While hilariously skewering the self-importance of both the art world and virtue signalling leftists, his empathy for humanity never wavers. Even when dealing with passive aggressive studio mates, hapless fellow prize nominees, resentful frenemies and other archetypes, Wendy still fumbles forward, and perhaps even falls towards the most elusive award of all — self-acceptance.

You can't help but root for her in all of her binge-drinking, procrastinating from her practice glory. I read Scott's first book when I was a depressed drawing student, and now I'm some kind of art-worker-artist adult. I came into my adulthood with Wendy, and in some ways she feels like the perfect companion to all of those years of trying and failing but still getting on with it anyway.

I will miss her and her friends, especially Winona and Screamo. They brought humour and absurdity to some very dark times.

[Sam Albert]

Never has a simple (and so politely Canadian) “thank you” brought me so close to tears.

Wendy you will always be famous! Go be free!

[Greg S]

This was the first Wendy book I’ve read, despite it being the final part in a trilogy. Wendy is a messy, alcoholic, depressed, lonely artist. She mines her real life to put into her artwork, sometimes alienating friends along the way. When she gets put up for an art award she struggles for inspiration and spirals into a binge-drinking, drug-taking hole.

I quite liked this. But it sort of dances over some of the bigger themes at play here without giving them enough weight. And as such I found it hard to really relate or care about Wendy or anyone else.

[michal k-c]

Manages to wring out some humour out of topics I haven’t found very funny elsewhere (mostly because other people aren’t very good at it), and a genuinely moving ending ! Wendy can do it all!

[Matt Matt Tobin]

Equal parts hilarious and upsetting. Meta, real, zany, contemporary, poignant, and totally silly. In other words, this slay had me gagged sis

[Jackie]

ha ha. ha. ha :(

[Pierre-Alexandre Buisson]

Comme une vieille amie un peu névrosée qu'il nous fait plaisir de recroiser épisodiquement, les romans graphiques mettant en vedette Wendy m'accompagnent depuis plusieurs années.

Dans le plus récent volume, que j'ai attendu presque un an dans mes réservations à la bibliothèque, Wendy est encore parfois profondément égarée, mais fait preuve d'un peu plus de zénitude et, étonnamment, de quelque chose qui ressemble à de la sagesse?

Ne vous inquiétez pas: il y a encore des épisodes où elle perd la carte au bar, mais ses aventures dans ce quatrième tome sont majoritairement chastes et nourrissantes. Screamo aussi semble se calmer, ce qui me chagrine légèrement, mais il n'est jamais de bon ton de se réjouir du malheur des autres.

[Eva Roskelley]

3.5 maybe 🤔

[Sarah Jeane]

Ça fait tellement du bien de retrouver Wendy 🫶

[Stephanie]

I am Wendy. We are Wendy. Wendy is us.

[Aria]

no one else illustrates a fucked up bender better

[Kaitlin Klak]

ugh i love wendy!! it’s been a while since i’ve read this series and i really missed it. walter scott’s art never fails to make me laugh out loud and also look deep inside myself and be like “wow….i relate to wendy in ways that maybe i shouldn’t” 😂

this book focuses on wendy’s success after her first big art book. she’s up for an award that forces her to both look at herself in a new, uncomfortable light and she also butts heads with her fellow artist competitors. wendy’s drinking problem is a lot less funny in this book than it was previously and this book took a couple darker turns than i expected. it also criticizes life after covid, a period where people’s brains kind of turned into mush and garbage.

i’d say other than the original title, this was my next favourite wendy book of the series. it got super raw and real while still remaining really funny 😆 i always laugh out loud at these comics

also screamo returned yay!!!! and he’s a plumber!!!!

[Cat]

En me promenant tout à fait par hasard sur la rue Saint-Denis, je suis tombée sur le Festival de la BD de Montréal. Et quel heureux bonheur de tomber sur le nouveau tome de notre Wendy adorée! Le livre sortira seulement cet été, mais il était en prévente pour le festival! Quelle chance! Je peux maintenant dire que je lis de la BD, en anglais! ;)

L’histoire était franchement bonne ! J’ai adoré retrouvé Sreamo, toujours juste assez cringe pour rester attachant haha!

[Camille]

Wendy, pour toujours ma préf!

[Freya Howell]

3.5 really. Really love the expressive drawings, and overall concept but the lack of cohesion between scenes make it a bit difficult to take in.

[Sally Elhennawy]

Perfection

[Jessie Posthumus]

My first Wendy :)

[Anshuman Swain]

4.5 rounded down to 4.

A brilliant graphic novel reflecting and satirizing the art world through the life of a young artist (and a few side characters). Great art and storyline!

[Keen Reader]

This is a dark, lively and quirky collection of short strips which give a mischievously tongue in cheek view of the Canadian visual art scene, as the protagonist negotiates a series of social landmines and faux pas in between battling alcohol addiction. The art work didn't too much for me personally, but I can see its appeal and its certainly effective enough to make its point.

[Sabrina Gaggino]

C’est tellement bon les Wendy! L’humour est tellement bon, c’est subtil, mais très drôle!!

[Ioana Lily Balas]

The first Wendy book was the very first book I read from an author from Québec, during my first trip to Montréal. It carries a special place in my heart, I found it relatable, charming and funny, even with in the borderline desperation of an art student.

In this final instalment, Wendy is a somewhat successful artist living in Toronto. She's recognised by fans in the wild, is in a happily polyamorous relationship and is even nominated for an award together with her friend! Not bad. But everything is slowly falling apart after the pandemic, the risks being too high for her lover, and a laggy remote interview leading to significant online criticism. She realises she's struggles with loneliness as some friends now have children, others have moved, and others are engaging differently with alcohol and even their own identity.

This will appeal to the ones of us who are already into the universe, who are already attached to Wendy. Because unlike the first book, this feels like a filler, like an ode towards the Wendy readers. The characters are brought into a post-pandemic era and into adulthood, so if you missed her, or Screamo, or Winona, if you're curious what's become of them and their unsustainable habits, this one's for you. It's heartwarming and fun, and does contain a lot of conversation-starters that are fit for the mid-2020s, such as sexuality, genders, gen Z, and bike culture in North America, but it doesn't take it too far, it firmly remains in the humour territory.

Somewhat sadly expected for this series, but I'll excuse it.

[Sofía]

Our girl is growing up! Hilarious, incisive, and fun as always. I've seen a couple of reviews where folks said that they would have maybe appreciated it more had they read the previous instalments, so I'm here to tell you that, YES, of course the book is more enjoyable when you already know and - almost goes without saying, how could you not? - love Wendy. Hope those readers are now hooked and will do their due diligence by reading the first three books. There is a special pleasure that comes from watching characters make the exact wrong decisions, while knowing it is fiction and they are/will be okay, buuut also, we all know people who are a little like Wendy or Screamo, so that's fun too. Long live Wendy!!!

[Jordan Rahberger]

I had no clue there was a fourth installment to the Wendy series until I happened to come across it in the library. I love Wendy because I feel that she is one of the most relatable people in a graphic novel I have ever seen. The Wendy Award not only felt so incredibly natural as an evolution for Wendy’s character but I found myself looking in a mirror and realizing that my life is just a couple bad or good decisions away from being completely different. My favorite part has to be when she is at her lowest moment and goes to see a movie about herself. I love Wendy even though it is the most millennial humor and story I have ever experienced which I think works perfectly for this story in particular.

[Laura Publicover]

dual review for this + master of art because they’re basically the same thing. im being very generous by giving this 4 stars bc there are some really good standout panels in both of these books that do serious leg work for the rest. quick and silly reads that dont really hold up to the first but are an improvement on the second. the aggressive millennial-ness of it all is not as bad as say, Broad City, but has not aged into a fine wine like HBO Girls. probably because theres not that much substance so it relies heavily on saying “yasss”. overall cute read that (again) makes me happy i decided not to be an artist.

[Ted Trembinski]

I didn't want the Wendy books to end! The Wendy Award is the most meta-auto-fiction of all four books, where Wendy is most known for her book "Wanda", as she's up for an art award, interrogating her own art practices, bumping heads with the ever-aging cast of characters, and facing her struggles with addiction. Messy, playful, and self-critical, The Wendy Award is an appropriate send off to Wendy and all of her friends/enemies. I've loved in the whole series that there is no clear moral, conclusion, or arrival, but a continued movement through what feels like an isolating set of experiences as a young artist. I really do love Wendy (and Screamo and Winona and the rest)!

[Jb]

This was an interesting, weird, abrasive graphic novel. It's basically a send-up of the Millennial-Gen Z generation gap, as well as the modern art world. The satire is razor-sharp, and the visual style is stripped-down but has a ton of personality. My biggest complaint was that the characters are basically caricatures, a stereotypical whirl of angst, neuroses, and self-destruction. Some moments let more of their humanity shine through, but I found these a little too rare. Overall, it's a good book, but I was a little underwhelmed.

[s.e]

Two of my most timely terrors: ficto-memoir and alcoholics
I loved the cartoon-power this was able to wield. I liked when their eyes and speech bubbles blacked out. It was sooo painfully real life, and made me feel bad for all the millennials I know whose real life was churned out by covid and now have to pretend to the enjoy the company of gen z who are just getting started and don't know yet how obnoxious and loving they are.

I love everything it tried to say about art, and said, in art. I liked that Wendy sucked and her friends sucked. But I liked the Wendy Award.