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Fred the Clown
by Roger Langridge
The signature creation of New Zealand cartoonist Roger Langridge, Fred the Clown is the thinking man's idiot. Fred has an eye for the ladies, as well as several other organs, but the only part of themselves that the ladies are willing to share with him is a carefully placed kneecap! Absurd and hilarious.
The signature creation of New Zealand cartoonist Roger Langridge, Fred the Clown is the thinking man's idiot. Fred has an eye for the ladies, as well as several other organs, but the only part of themselves that the ladies are willing to share with him is a carefully placed kneecap! Absurd and hilarious.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
2 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Roger Langridge
301 books62 followersRoger Langridge has been producing comics for over twenty years. Most recently, he has attracted critical attention for his work on the Harvey Award-winning Muppet Show Comic Book (Boom! Studios) and Thor: The Mighty Avenger (Marvel Comics); other works of note include Marvel's Fin Fang Four, Fantagraphics' Zoot! and Art d'Ecco (in collaboration with his brother Andrew), and the NCS, Ignatz, Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated comic book Fred the Clown. He currently lives in London with his wife Sylvie, their two children and a box of his own hair.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 20, 2023
All stop -> restart -> repeat -> etc.
No rhythm.
But funny often.
No rhythm.
But funny often.
April 30, 2024
A collection of black & white graphic narratives depicting the ridiculous misadventures of Fred the Clown. Fred is a fool, forever well-meaning, forever hopeful, forever failing. So socially clumsy and cluless, Charlie Brown would steer clear of him.
The art is excellent, clean line work fills the frames. The writing leans toward the dark, but punchy, and funny at poor Fred’s expense. Homage and parody of classic comic strips, animations, and slapstick comedies of the ‘30s. Fred’s buffoonery is related without any dialogue, but plenty of narrative and background text.
My only complaint: the book’s size hampers the readers ability to enjoy and appreciate it. If the format were at least 25% larger, it would be a smoother read, especially because Langridge puts in all these tiny fun details that are difficult to see at the size they are now.
The art is excellent, clean line work fills the frames. The writing leans toward the dark, but punchy, and funny at poor Fred’s expense. Homage and parody of classic comic strips, animations, and slapstick comedies of the ‘30s. Fred’s buffoonery is related without any dialogue, but plenty of narrative and background text.
My only complaint: the book’s size hampers the readers ability to enjoy and appreciate it. If the format were at least 25% larger, it would be a smoother read, especially because Langridge puts in all these tiny fun details that are difficult to see at the size they are now.
July 6, 2018
Fred the Clown is Roger Langridge’s signature creation. In this collection of comics, Fred teaches you the ten steps to Happiness. Fred is the unluckiest man, or should I say, Clown, there can be. His constant smell and overall look are always the reason he gets rejected by the pretty ladies. So he’s forced to live a boring life. And, of course, “He Doesn’t Do That Custard Pie Stuff!”
Fred the Clown is funny, but it can get really confusing. Some comics don’t include words, so you have to look very closely at the pictures to understand what’s going on. The stories of the comics can also get a little repetitive. I would recommend Fred the Clown to anybody who doesn’t want to live a super serious life, and who just wants to be carefree. -Noah G
Fred the Clown is funny, but it can get really confusing. Some comics don’t include words, so you have to look very closely at the pictures to understand what’s going on. The stories of the comics can also get a little repetitive. I would recommend Fred the Clown to anybody who doesn’t want to live a super serious life, and who just wants to be carefree. -Noah G
April 5, 2018
3.5 stars. Been wanting to read a bit more of Langridge's work, so I borrowed this from the library. It's very peculiar, with a totally singular sense of humor and pop-culture consciousness. Not sure I really liked it, but I appreciated it. He's a very good cartoonist, as far as laying out pages, varying his style and making a world of his own design.
March 15, 2023
Langridge's humor isn't really for me, but there's some gold in here. The art is extremely slick, so maybe that's doing a lot of the heavy lifting. All I really know is that I enjoyed this a good deal!
April 24, 2025
Roger Langridge is an unheralded comic genius! The art is impeccable, but the storylines, especially the ones that are in rhyme, are original, unexpected, tight, and full of emotion and pathos. If Robert Crumb and Shel Silverstein had a baby. But with neater linework. And more humor.
November 3, 2017
Roger Langridge shows off his love of classic comic strips, animation, and comedy with Fred the Clown. Excellently drawn cartoons in a variety of styles yet all serving the story. Superb.
September 2, 2019
Very creative, sarcastic wit. The beginning was better than the end, though.
March 30, 2021
These books are definitely awesome
September 4, 2022
Thank You Mr. Langridge, i haven't had as much fun reading a book. since I 1st read Milk and Cheese back in the late 90s.
July 30, 2013
I was mostly familiar with Langridge from his later comics writing, ranging from John Carter to Cthulhu to the Muppets. Unlike those, this is a collection of surreal comic strips, originally published over several years.
That is really how this book should be read, in small snippets. Reading this straight through would be like eating an entire meal of anchovies with watermelon pickles. Interesting, but it would leave a bad taste in your mouth.
The book deals with the life and times of a clown who has very few redeeming features at any point in the story. Think of Zippy the Pinhead, but less intelligent and less appealing. He's a loser in ways that most losers have never imagined, in life and in love. Even when he does something good, he's punished instead of rewarded, or rewarded with something useless. Of course, since he rarely displays any indication of having two functioning brain cells to rub together, much of the problems are of his own creation. Whether pursuing success or women, the usual result is the object of his pursuit running away in panic.
Each of ten sections deals with a step toward happiness, generally with Fred failing to gain anything by that step forward.
Perhaps surprisingly, there are a few really touching moments, and a few clever pastiches of different famous comic strips. These are the highlights of the book. The lowlights are mostly his romantic failures, some of which were funny the first time, but not in repetition.
That is really how this book should be read, in small snippets. Reading this straight through would be like eating an entire meal of anchovies with watermelon pickles. Interesting, but it would leave a bad taste in your mouth.
The book deals with the life and times of a clown who has very few redeeming features at any point in the story. Think of Zippy the Pinhead, but less intelligent and less appealing. He's a loser in ways that most losers have never imagined, in life and in love. Even when he does something good, he's punished instead of rewarded, or rewarded with something useless. Of course, since he rarely displays any indication of having two functioning brain cells to rub together, much of the problems are of his own creation. Whether pursuing success or women, the usual result is the object of his pursuit running away in panic.
Each of ten sections deals with a step toward happiness, generally with Fred failing to gain anything by that step forward.
Perhaps surprisingly, there are a few really touching moments, and a few clever pastiches of different famous comic strips. These are the highlights of the book. The lowlights are mostly his romantic failures, some of which were funny the first time, but not in repetition.
August 1, 2011
Fred the Clown is really something special. It started a little slowly, but once it got moving the incredible wit and sparkling parody really shone through. Fred features so much of "my type" of laughs-- I love clever spoofs, rueful dark humor, and surrealism--and this one has it all in spades.
My favorite? Possibly the masked anti-hero who wears ONE RING FOR GOOD and ONE RING FOR EVIL!: One one gem is written Will you marry me? on the other, You smell terrible!
Ok, it doesn't get any cooler than that.
My favorite? Possibly the masked anti-hero who wears ONE RING FOR GOOD and ONE RING FOR EVIL!: One one gem is written Will you marry me? on the other, You smell terrible!
Ok, it doesn't get any cooler than that.
September 26, 2012
Dammit Langridge, this comic set some expectations. After this one I read his Art D'Ecco, which apparently came well before and included material that evolved into Fred the Clown, and paled in comparison. Both of them though were stories that I was ultimately not that interested in, but the use of the comics medium was so fabulous that I couldn't stop reading. I'd read another of Langridge's comics in a heartbeat, but I also fully anticipate to never care a bit about the actual content.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews