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UR
UR is a collection of work that has appeared in various comic anthologies. Dark, absurdist, and deadpan, these stories reflect the apocalyptic undercurrent of the modern era. Also included is Haven's long-running comic strip "Race Murdock" which appeared in The Believer magazine. Eric Haven is an Emmy-nominated producer on the television show MythBusters. His hand can be seen creating the blueprint drawings that open each episode.
48 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 28, 2016
The Mating Ritual of the Kakapo
UR is a slim but highly entertaining collection of comic strips and shorts by Eric Haven, best known for his work on MythBusters. It’s wacky, gory, surreal, dark, ludicrous, hilarious stuff, presented in very stylish deadpan fashion:
“Huh... some kind of movie is projecting from my pants!!”
“We’ve replaced your cancer-ravaged member with something more high-tech. It is now capable of shooting acid, fire surface-to-air missiles, incendiaries, & more!”
Apoplectic with rage, Race Murdock plunges his weaponized unit into the rich, fecund loam of a local park. He unleashes salvo after salvo, punching down through the crust and into the hot, molten core... until the Earth explodes in a paroxysm of violence and fire!
Or a few pages later:
Race Murdock’s mating ritual is patterned after that of the kakapo of New Zealand. After digging himself a shallow hole, he puffs up and begins emitting short, controlled bursts of gas. He also sends out pulses of low frequency sound capable of traveling over five miles through the ground. Curiously, his mating calls have never been answered.
Check out sample pages at: http://www.erichaven.com
Or maybe an interview with Eric at:
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.p...
UR recalls the styles of Fletcher Hanks, Basil Wolverton, Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby, Robert Crumb and others, but in terms of postmodern absurdity, Bill Griffith and Michael Kupperman are the closest comparisons I (and others before me) can think of. 4.5 stars, I'd say - highly recommended to fans of the trippier, nuttier kind of alternative comic!
UR is a slim but highly entertaining collection of comic strips and shorts by Eric Haven, best known for his work on MythBusters. It’s wacky, gory, surreal, dark, ludicrous, hilarious stuff, presented in very stylish deadpan fashion:
“Huh... some kind of movie is projecting from my pants!!”
“We’ve replaced your cancer-ravaged member with something more high-tech. It is now capable of shooting acid, fire surface-to-air missiles, incendiaries, & more!”
Apoplectic with rage, Race Murdock plunges his weaponized unit into the rich, fecund loam of a local park. He unleashes salvo after salvo, punching down through the crust and into the hot, molten core... until the Earth explodes in a paroxysm of violence and fire!
Or a few pages later:
Race Murdock’s mating ritual is patterned after that of the kakapo of New Zealand. After digging himself a shallow hole, he puffs up and begins emitting short, controlled bursts of gas. He also sends out pulses of low frequency sound capable of traveling over five miles through the ground. Curiously, his mating calls have never been answered.
Check out sample pages at: http://www.erichaven.com
Or maybe an interview with Eric at:
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.p...
UR recalls the styles of Fletcher Hanks, Basil Wolverton, Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby, Robert Crumb and others, but in terms of postmodern absurdity, Bill Griffith and Michael Kupperman are the closest comparisons I (and others before me) can think of. 4.5 stars, I'd say - highly recommended to fans of the trippier, nuttier kind of alternative comic!
July 12, 2016
This is so weird and wacky and laugh out loud funny in some points.
On the second page we see 'Man Cat', he breaks into someone's Kitchen, drinks their Milk from the fridge, dumps it on the floor, scratches their curtains, then he pisses on the floor! Just like a real cat.
Gross, juvenile, and completely delightful homage to ridiculous comics.
This was right up my street, I just wish it was longer.
On the second page we see 'Man Cat', he breaks into someone's Kitchen, drinks their Milk from the fridge, dumps it on the floor, scratches their curtains, then he pisses on the floor! Just like a real cat.
Gross, juvenile, and completely delightful homage to ridiculous comics.
This was right up my street, I just wish it was longer.
August 7, 2015
Bullet Review:
This was kinda awful and kinda AWESOME at the same time. It makes absolutely no sense, it's weird, the art is weird - but it was SO ENTERTAINING. And for that reason, I'm giving it 3 stars, when I'd probably only give it 1 or 2.
Would I recommend? Not unless you like absolutely batsh!t insane comics and a little gore. Who am I kidding? A LOT of gore.
This was kinda awful and kinda AWESOME at the same time. It makes absolutely no sense, it's weird, the art is weird - but it was SO ENTERTAINING. And for that reason, I'm giving it 3 stars, when I'd probably only give it 1 or 2.
Would I recommend? Not unless you like absolutely batsh!t insane comics and a little gore. Who am I kidding? A LOT of gore.
Read
February 21, 2016This is exactly the kind of absurd, surreal humor that I love. I laughed out loud so many times.
June 8, 2021
Wow, this was one weird little comic, and I mean that in a good way. Rarely have I seen such bizarre heights of imagination condensed into such a short, compact piece of work. Eric Haven, who I had never heard of before picking this up but who is best known for sketching out the whiteboard myth experiments on MythBusters, has a comic imagination not seen since Gary Larson, but with art that recalls vintage comic styles of the past.
Collecting a series of comic shorts, taking us from one surreal, hilariously ludicrous scene to another, from Earth to the depths of space. Including the complete utter madness of "Man-Cat," the superheroic shenanigans of "Bed Man," a blink and you'll miss it Bill Watterson reference, and the bad luck pathos of Race Murdock, who finds himself being killed by a crazed flying squirrel among other unfortunate ends, you really never know what to expect next- needless to say, in spite of a certain childlike daydream, this is not really one for the kids! Still, the elaborate, ultra violent absurdist humor in UR makes it a pretty cool comic to flip through on a summer afternoon.
Collecting a series of comic shorts, taking us from one surreal, hilariously ludicrous scene to another, from Earth to the depths of space. Including the complete utter madness of "Man-Cat," the superheroic shenanigans of "Bed Man," a blink and you'll miss it Bill Watterson reference, and the bad luck pathos of Race Murdock, who finds himself being killed by a crazed flying squirrel among other unfortunate ends, you really never know what to expect next- needless to say, in spite of a certain childlike daydream, this is not really one for the kids! Still, the elaborate, ultra violent absurdist humor in UR makes it a pretty cool comic to flip through on a summer afternoon.
February 14, 2015
I literally did pick this book up for how much I liked the cover. The art is fantastic -- the sort of colorful retro ugly art that brings to mind Fletcher Hanks and Basil Wolverton -- and many of the gags made me laugh out loud. I wish that the book had been a little more substantial, and maybe that everything didn't seem to have a similar punchline. I would definitely recommend it, though: where else will you read about the adventures of Bed Man, dream lord of the night sky! (His bed is bigger on the inside!)
July 19, 2015
One of the funniest books I've read in a long time. It's right up there with the work of Kupperman, Browne, and Dorkin...at least for me. I very much look forward to more from Haven...and the author did let me know he's got more coming out in the not-too-distant future. This was another one we read for our publisher spotlight on recent AdHouse titles: http://comicsalternative.com/episode-....
February 1, 2015
Picked this up on a whim at a local comic shop and I'm so glad I did. As another reviewer mentioned, the (Kirby) Darkseid-esque face on the cover drew me. The cover did not disappoint; all the art in Ur is great. My favorite is story in this is "Bed Man", which was actually quite poignant.
October 11, 2014
It's nice to see Eric Haven is still channeling Jack Kirby (and Where Monsters Dwell). It's also nice to see that he hasn't lost his absurdist zing after all these years.
November 12, 2014
"liver...tingling!"
March 1, 2015
Bizarre morbid comics, stylistically an amalgam of Fletcher Hanks and Robert Crumb. More, please!
July 3, 2016
The first half is just oddball stuff, but the last two thirds is quality absurdist humor in the same vein as volume one of Tales Designed to Thrizzle.
November 9, 2025
This book is insane! It is complete and utter nonsense in the best way possible. Super surreal comics with no real point. They just exist to be bizarre. It's honestly incredible how someone came up with this wild stuff. It's so weird and trippy. No way they were sober while doing this. I loved it with all of my weirdo comic heart. The situations seen in this book are so unique and so unlike any other than I have ever seen. It's an anthology of nonsense and it is phenomenal. Don't come looking for cohesion or plotlines. You come to this book because you want the wackiest things comics have to offer. And this is it. So outrageous that it is indescribable. Fantastic stuff. I'm obsessed.
November 15, 2017
This was a whim from the library but a joy to read: Eric Haven is new to me but absolutely worth coming back to, I'd say. At first the surreal events and grossout action was cause for a little concern, but as I realized the sense of wild logic at play here, I grew to relax into these bite-sized sketches of characters who are by turns eminently mundane and full of powerful rage. This is a comic with a wicked sense of humour and a keen ability to be disarming about its grim self-depreciation, and I liked it quite a bit!
May 24, 2018
Not my style. Reminds me of Mox Nox.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2022
Este es el motivo por el que estoy aqui
July 3, 2022
I am pretty sure Eric Haven is Fletcher Hanks, or being inhabited by his spirit. So much fun!
June 3, 2015
...what did I just read? Truly loved the illustrations / style but found myself saying "wat" quietly to myself after each story.
April 8, 2016
Gross, juvenile, and completely delightful homage to ridiculous 1940s comics.
September 18, 2016
Poor Race Murdock! Surreal, whimsical, outlandish - check it out!
January 6, 2017
This was great weirdness. Loved Man-Cat, loved Race Murdock.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews