Comic Book Babylon: A Cautionary Tale of Sex, Drugs & Comics

by Tim Pilcher

"This is the candid, uncensored and complety unofficial story of DC Comics' infamous Vertigo UK office, written by one who was at the heart of the drug-fuelled, creative whirlwind..."

Genres: Nonfiction, Comics, Memoir, Audiobook, History, Biography

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Grayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less about the Vertigo UK office, and more about a fanboy who got in over his head. I feel bad for him. I do admire his ability to acknowledge that he was an asshole. A lot of people can't. I met several of the people mentioned, back in the 90's, and Pilcher's descriptions of them are pretty on point. It's not a bad book, just a very depressing one.

[Michael Rhode · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not deep, but a quick read.

[Jason Bergman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This memoir isn't terrible, provided you're really, really interested in the subject matter (the UK comics industry of the 90's). I definitely am, and I also share the author's deep-rooted addiction to comics, so I can relate. But there's no getting around the fact that this just isn't a great story. This is a memoir, not a history, so it's halfway through the book before he's even hired at Vertigo UK. And even then, details are pretty light. There's lots of name dropping, and some parties, but there's not much meat here. Probably the best anecdote is a first-hand account of an open casting call for the Tank Girl movie in which two would-be actresses showed up who would both wind up as Spice Girls shortly thereafter.

[Jason Klein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting at times and funny even less so, this look at how Vertigo UK was born is buried in stories of sex, drugs, and Pilcher's own adolescence/young adulthood. Not a recommended read.

[Jorge Cavazos · Rating 2 out of 5]

De los pocos libros de no-ficción que he leído. Tiene información muy relevante a mis intereses, pues habla de los años de formación de DC Vértigo (mi sello favorito de cómics mientras vivió), y de anécdotas de autores que yo admiro mucho. Sin embargo está contado desde el punto de vista de un fanboy convertido en asistente editorial no muy interesante en lo particular como individuo, y hay mucho desperdicio de historias personales y puntos de vista que a nadie le importan (perdóname Tim Pilcher). Al autor carece de gracia y simpatía, y se nota en su narración. Por momentos suena más a un name dropping de un fan de cómics cliché que a otra cosa.