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Patrulla 142
Ganadora de un Premio Ignatz, Patrulla 142 sigue a un grupo de scouts y a sus monitores a lo largo de una semana en un campamento en los bosques de New Jersey, durante el verano de 1995. Historia sobre adolescentes y adultos, Patrulla 142 nos muestra la delgada línea que separa la infancia de la edad adulta y las consecuencias de un posicionamiento autoritario. Prescindiendo de visiones idílicas, Dawson describe la comicidad y la brutalidad inherentes a las relaciones entre jóvenes y adultos, la hipocresía de la moral institucional y la resistencia del espíritu humano.
274 pages, Paperback
First published August 5, 2011
121 people want to read
About the author
Mike Dawson
9 books36 followersMike Dawson was born in England, and emigrated to the United States in 1986, where his family settled in Red Bank, New Jersey. He studied painting at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Since 2005 Dawson's work has appeared in a number of comics anthologies, including AdHouse Books successful Project: Superior collection, and issue #1 of the spin-off series, Superior Showcase. His first graphic novel, entitled Freddie & Me, an epic and unabashedly autobiographical story about his lifelong obsession with Freddie Mercury and the rock band Queen, was published in 2008 by Bloomsbury in the USA and Jonathan Cape in Great Britain. Italian, Spanish, French, and Czech editions are all planned.
Since 2005 Dawson's work has appeared in a number of comics anthologies, including AdHouse Books successful Project: Superior collection, and issue #1 of the spin-off series, Superior Showcase. His first graphic novel, entitled Freddie & Me, an epic and unabashedly autobiographical story about his lifelong obsession with Freddie Mercury and the rock band Queen, was published in 2008 by Bloomsbury in the USA and Jonathan Cape in Great Britain. Italian, Spanish, French, and Czech editions are all planned.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
May 20, 2014
'Please join me in reciting the Boy Scout Law so we may be reminded of the standards we hold ourselves to.
A Scout is Trustworthy. Loyal. Helpful. Friendly. Courteous. Kind. Obedient. Cheerful. Thrifty. Brave. Clean. And Reverent.'
'My brother was right...this IS like being in "kiddie army."'
A week at Boy Scout camp should be an exercise in camaraderie, a learning adventure filled with fun in the sun...right? So why do so many of the boys at this camp spend the week dodging bullies and avoiding the communal showers?
Loyal? Helpful? Friendly? Courteous? Kind?
Because kids are cruel, that's why, and forcing them to spend a week together really doesn't help matters. Throw in some competitive games and sports, and you've got a recipe for disaster.
Many of the attendees will be questioning their motives and beliefs after a week at the camp depicted in this funny and sharp graphic novel. By the time the week is over, the adults are behaving like children...or, were the children behaving like adults all along?
Dawson's artwork is not too fussy and goes well with the subject matter. He also dares to bring up the issues of atheists and gays
being excluded from the scouting program. Beware - there's loads of cussing and sexual innuendo...in other words, the boys in this book speak just like your kids do when you're not around.
I was a Girl Scout for a few years and though I earned a sash full of merit badges, I never felt that I belonged. The other girls were much more subtle than the boys in this book. There was no name calling and no pranks, just knowing looks, giggling, eye-rolling and snubbing. The pressure to conform was enormous and the penalty for not doing so was exclusion.
This book is set in 1995. I hope things have changed in scouting for both boys and girls. I hope there is more of a sense of inclusion, of being part of a group. I hope the leaders are now encouraging independent thinking and individuality.
I hope so, but I kind of doubt it.
A Scout is Trustworthy. Loyal. Helpful. Friendly. Courteous. Kind. Obedient. Cheerful. Thrifty. Brave. Clean. And Reverent.'
'My brother was right...this IS like being in "kiddie army."'
A week at Boy Scout camp should be an exercise in camaraderie, a learning adventure filled with fun in the sun...right? So why do so many of the boys at this camp spend the week dodging bullies and avoiding the communal showers?
Loyal? Helpful? Friendly? Courteous? Kind?
Because kids are cruel, that's why, and forcing them to spend a week together really doesn't help matters. Throw in some competitive games and sports, and you've got a recipe for disaster.
Many of the attendees will be questioning their motives and beliefs after a week at the camp depicted in this funny and sharp graphic novel. By the time the week is over, the adults are behaving like children...or, were the children behaving like adults all along?
Dawson's artwork is not too fussy and goes well with the subject matter. He also dares to bring up the issues of atheists and gays
being excluded from the scouting program. Beware - there's loads of cussing and sexual innuendo...in other words, the boys in this book speak just like your kids do when you're not around.
I was a Girl Scout for a few years and though I earned a sash full of merit badges, I never felt that I belonged. The other girls were much more subtle than the boys in this book. There was no name calling and no pranks, just knowing looks, giggling, eye-rolling and snubbing. The pressure to conform was enormous and the penalty for not doing so was exclusion.
This book is set in 1995. I hope things have changed in scouting for both boys and girls. I hope there is more of a sense of inclusion, of being part of a group. I hope the leaders are now encouraging independent thinking and individuality.
I hope so, but I kind of doubt it.
December 29, 2014
There's an inherent problem with "Troop 142": Mike Dawson, in his attempt to realistically portray the adolescent members of a Boy Scout troop (and, having been a teenage boy myself, I can say they are REAL), he's made all of his protagonists completely unlikable. It's not Dawson's fault; if anything, it's a compliment. His characters act and speak exactly like actual teens and, honestly, teenage boys are the worst: they're foul-mouthed, insecure, mean, homophobic, and hormone-addled. It's difficult to root for characters who you're annoyed by but, at least in parts, Dawson is able to pull off this feat.
That's the most incredible part of "Troop 142": Dawson is an expert at depicting how males act around other males and how the concept of masculinity is actually a really fragile construct. As much as the boys irritated me, I was fascinated by how they supported and undermined one another, how their alliances shifted and developed from day to day. Some of the book is pretty crude and juvenile but, underneath that, there's really a lot of complex issues being explored. Dawson has a lot of plates up in the air and he rarely lets any of them falter. Also, his art is a really great balance of detailed, crosshatched environments and simple cartoon-y characters.
Reading "Troop 142" was a unique experience for me. While I was unsympathetic to the boys in the book, I still found myself engrossed in their lives. Growing into manhood is a difficult process and Dawson manages to capture those changes in all their awkward uncertainty. He's a tremendously talented cartoonist and, with more likable characters, I think he's got a truly classic graphic novel in him.
That's the most incredible part of "Troop 142": Dawson is an expert at depicting how males act around other males and how the concept of masculinity is actually a really fragile construct. As much as the boys irritated me, I was fascinated by how they supported and undermined one another, how their alliances shifted and developed from day to day. Some of the book is pretty crude and juvenile but, underneath that, there's really a lot of complex issues being explored. Dawson has a lot of plates up in the air and he rarely lets any of them falter. Also, his art is a really great balance of detailed, crosshatched environments and simple cartoon-y characters.
Reading "Troop 142" was a unique experience for me. While I was unsympathetic to the boys in the book, I still found myself engrossed in their lives. Growing into manhood is a difficult process and Dawson manages to capture those changes in all their awkward uncertainty. He's a tremendously talented cartoonist and, with more likable characters, I think he's got a truly classic graphic novel in him.
January 13, 2020
A tough one to get through. While I think it had moments of real insight, so much of it felt like just stewing in the presence of a bunch of reprehensible people. Every point where you start to think "Oh, maybe this character isn't so bad," is a setup to shove your nose back in the mud and say "Yes, yes they are." It's hard to pull your head up long enough to see those insightful moments.
To some degree I think the behavior of these characters is realistic for groups of young boys... but everything is turned up to 11 and taken well beyond that point of realism.
To some degree I think the behavior of these characters is realistic for groups of young boys... but everything is turned up to 11 and taken well beyond that point of realism.
August 28, 2019
I couldn't decide how I felt about this one. The characters are all kind of awful, but in a way that I found very believable and reminded me of specific boys from when I was younger. Are all boys awful? No, of course not- neither are all men. But I don't think the author is trying to paint a picture of how boys are- he is, instead, giving us a setting where boys and men are the predominant characters, and sort of stewing in their emerging masculinity- very much heightened for effect. It felt like a microcosm for society at large, where the weaker boys are picked on, women are objectified, there are relatively few consequences for rule-breaking, they form a pecking order without even trying, and even those in charge, who speak of being good to the weak, will lash out when their own authority or masculinity is threatened. The most telling moment for me was when someone asks one of the boys why they pick on the kid in their troop so much, and he basically just keeps smiling and says 'I don't know.' It reminded me, in a way, way lower stakes way, of Lord of the Flies. Did I enjoy it? Not particularly; but I thought it was done pretty well.
I was not in Scouts of any kind, but I could imagine that someone who was and enjoyed it might feel a little defensive about the depiction.
I was not in Scouts of any kind, but I could imagine that someone who was and enjoyed it might feel a little defensive about the depiction.
November 27, 2012
I had recently been talking to my husband about our 7-year-old son joining scouts. After reading this graphic novel, I really don't want him to join scouts or go camping with scouts. I'm sure some of this graphic novel is over-the-top for the reader's benefit, but it paints a disturbing (to me) picture of how boys act and treat each other.
Mr. Dawson seemed to jump right into the middle of the story without introducing any of the characters or setting. As the reader continues along, they find out more about the setting and characters, but I was confused and had trouble keeping characters straight for most of the book. The black and white drawings were well done, but again there were a couple characters who were not distinct enough for me to keep them straight. There were also very few likable characters in the story. Most of the boys (and men) were doing bone-headed things -- teasing, bullying, pranks, drugs, disobeying authority, profanity, etc. There is one character who provides an internal dialogue for the reader and this character was clear at the beginning and at the end, but in the middle I was not sure if the internal dialogue was from that same character or someone else.
Mr. Dawson seemed to jump right into the middle of the story without introducing any of the characters or setting. As the reader continues along, they find out more about the setting and characters, but I was confused and had trouble keeping characters straight for most of the book. The black and white drawings were well done, but again there were a couple characters who were not distinct enough for me to keep them straight. There were also very few likable characters in the story. Most of the boys (and men) were doing bone-headed things -- teasing, bullying, pranks, drugs, disobeying authority, profanity, etc. There is one character who provides an internal dialogue for the reader and this character was clear at the beginning and at the end, but in the middle I was not sure if the internal dialogue was from that same character or someone else.
March 10, 2012
I was intrigued by the flap copy. "...reveals the hilarious and brutal truths about boys and men, the hypocrisy of institutional morality and the resilience of the human spirit. Be prepared."
But apparently the truths about boys and men were more brutal than hilarious for this non-boy. I just couldn't get past all the "nimrod, dickweed" and objectifying women. If this is what boys and men are like in packs, then I'd rather not know.
But apparently the truths about boys and men were more brutal than hilarious for this non-boy. I just couldn't get past all the "nimrod, dickweed" and objectifying women. If this is what boys and men are like in packs, then I'd rather not know.
June 9, 2012
What I learned from this: Boy Scouts is horrible. Being a boy is difficult and gross. Boys are mean and gross. Boy Scout camps seems like hell on earth.
July 4, 2022
Dans cette bande dessinée, la masculinité toxique et la bêtise des ados est assez impressionnante. J'ai trouvé ça d'ailleurs un peu exagéré.
November 17, 2015
Troop 142 is a glimpse into a societal construct of a masculine hierarchy that every adolescent boy "gets" to go through. In this case, it's boy scout camp, where gender norms and expectations of masculinity seem to be extremely heightened. Add to this the overall homophobic nature of the scouts, and it seems like a pretty hellish experience.
Having said that, it's a wonderful read. It's easy to get the boys mixed up, and I think that might be part of the charm for me. It doesn't matter where you are on the food-chain because even by not participating, you get labeled as something by the group. "Loner." "Loser." "Fag." It's the summer of 1995, and it's not cool to be different.
The protagonist is one of the parents, an adult who is a bit uncomfortable in his own skin. Having probably endured something similar during his childhood, he's still not certain where he fits in on the hierarchy.
I'm still not quite sure why the Spam, but go Spam!
Having said that, it's a wonderful read. It's easy to get the boys mixed up, and I think that might be part of the charm for me. It doesn't matter where you are on the food-chain because even by not participating, you get labeled as something by the group. "Loner." "Loser." "Fag." It's the summer of 1995, and it's not cool to be different.
The protagonist is one of the parents, an adult who is a bit uncomfortable in his own skin. Having probably endured something similar during his childhood, he's still not certain where he fits in on the hierarchy.
I'm still not quite sure why the Spam, but go Spam!
January 14, 2015
So... the art was great, and the boys were written exceedingly true-to-life. The rest of the book was so well put together I almost wonder if it's my fault I didn't understand the ending. But... I think it's just a problem with graphic novels in general. It seems to happen a LOT.
July 8, 2019
Une découverte étonnante de l'univers scout aux USA ... en tout cas, si j'ai apprécié cette lecture, ça ne m'aurait pas donné envie de faire partie de ce système vu ce que j'en ai lu :)
December 27, 2020
“Troop 142” hits so many true notes as it follows a fictitious Boy Scout troop through a week of summer camp: the inherent hokeyness of campfires and Scout spirit, the callousness and bullying of teenage boys, the ineffectiveness of adult leaders, and the anarchy of youth when out of parental supervision for a week. The archetypes are spot-on: the super gung-ho scout, the kid who won’t shower, the camp leader who wants to run things like a drill sergeant, the counselors who are frequently teaching and imposing discipline upon boys their own age, the malcontents who are there to commit as much mischief as possible, the underlying homophobia of teenage boys’ casual cruelty to each other, the filthy language just out of adult notice. While not a comfortable read, this book feels authentic as can be. The artwork is perfect for the story, from the cover that is evocative of the mid-1990s Scout handbook to the map of what could be any of hundreds of Scout camps throughout the country. Enjoyed is the wrong word for this book; I appreciated its razor-sharp insight into boys and Scouts.
(Full disclosure: I am an Eagle Scout, am currently a Scout leader, and have one Eagle son and another who’s rapidly getting close. I believe strongly in Scouting and in the summer camp experience; both are character, skill, and confidence builders for most young men. I would caution readers of “Troop 142” to understand that Scouting, when well implemented, takes the ferocity and darkness of boys that is depicted here and channels it through reinforcement and activities into positive outcomes. However, it’s naive in the extreme to think that shocking and saddening things don’t happen under the auspices of Scouting and summer camp.)
(Full disclosure: I am an Eagle Scout, am currently a Scout leader, and have one Eagle son and another who’s rapidly getting close. I believe strongly in Scouting and in the summer camp experience; both are character, skill, and confidence builders for most young men. I would caution readers of “Troop 142” to understand that Scouting, when well implemented, takes the ferocity and darkness of boys that is depicted here and channels it through reinforcement and activities into positive outcomes. However, it’s naive in the extreme to think that shocking and saddening things don’t happen under the auspices of Scouting and summer camp.)
February 1, 2024
Je n'ai pas complètement adhéré à l'histoire. Je n'ai jamais été scout, je n'ai jamais été dans un camp de vacances... et finalement il y a beaucoup trop de personnages qui finissent tous par se ressembler. Ce sont des ados, et quelques adultes, pris dans l'accablement de la promiscuité.
Un album trop long, au propos constamment répété. J'ai gagné le badge de la Lassitude.
Un album trop long, au propos constamment répété. J'ai gagné le badge de la Lassitude.
July 25, 2017
Ugh. Maybe it's that I can't identify with what it's like to be an adolescent male, or perhaps it's that I don't understand what it's like to participate in a "males only" institution like Boy Scouts, but, either way, this just did not work for me.
August 21, 2018
Incredibly boring. Art style is not impressive. All the boys are pervs.
September 4, 2022
Glad I didn't go to scouts in NJ
November 17, 2022
So funny! This bbook is very humerous but can also, at times, be absurd for young men to talking about these mature topics at camp, but I would still reccomend.
April 19, 2014
A troop of boy scouts goes to a boy scout camp together.
In this camp, the troops stay together in a cluster of tents - a neighborhood of the larger camp, if you will. The boys torture each other in various ways, and the adults don't cope with the trouble particularly well. It's vaguely told from the perspective of one of the father/leaders who go with them. Lots of language and calling people gay as an insult (including trigger words).
I didn't get as much out of this as I see I got out of Freddie and Me. It took me several evenings to get through it. Although the story does trace one week with day markers and culminates in a crowd scene, the many troubled relationships and general negativity wasn't particularly fun for me to read. But that's more about the story (and probably where I'm at this week), and less about the execution.
Dawson is good at what he does, and this definitely doesn't put me off of reading anything else I get my hands on by him.
This would be an interesting compare-and-contrast with Chiggers.
In this camp, the troops stay together in a cluster of tents - a neighborhood of the larger camp, if you will. The boys torture each other in various ways, and the adults don't cope with the trouble particularly well. It's vaguely told from the perspective of one of the father/leaders who go with them. Lots of language and calling people gay as an insult (including trigger words).
I didn't get as much out of this as I see I got out of Freddie and Me. It took me several evenings to get through it. Although the story does trace one week with day markers and culminates in a crowd scene, the many troubled relationships and general negativity wasn't particularly fun for me to read. But that's more about the story (and probably where I'm at this week), and less about the execution.
Dawson is good at what he does, and this definitely doesn't put me off of reading anything else I get my hands on by him.
This would be an interesting compare-and-contrast with Chiggers.
August 12, 2015
I really must save these reviews along the way, three short paragraphs all wiped out. I hate that. Well, now it's the short version.
It was ok.
Felt like an inaccurate amount of bullying, drugs, and homophobia.
Some characters were portrayed in a well-rounded light (surprisingly, Mr. Demaria).
Camp experience was portrayed pretty realistically (camp songs, tents on platforms, smelly bathrooms, chaotic mess halls, early morning swimming, etc.).
The book does focus on the "hypocrisy of institutional morality", as the back of the book states. It reiterates the boy scout code a few times but the constant immorality of the boys at the Lenape camp site (there are 8 other sites by the way, none of which are getting in trouble and at times boys from those sites generally confused why the Lenape boys are so mean to each other, which is reassuring that the main characters are abnormal in their excessive bullying) highlighted the hypocrisy of it but not really in a way that made you learn or realize something. So overall, it fell flat for me.
It was ok.
Felt like an inaccurate amount of bullying, drugs, and homophobia.
Some characters were portrayed in a well-rounded light (surprisingly, Mr. Demaria).
Camp experience was portrayed pretty realistically (camp songs, tents on platforms, smelly bathrooms, chaotic mess halls, early morning swimming, etc.).
The book does focus on the "hypocrisy of institutional morality", as the back of the book states. It reiterates the boy scout code a few times but the constant immorality of the boys at the Lenape camp site (there are 8 other sites by the way, none of which are getting in trouble and at times boys from those sites generally confused why the Lenape boys are so mean to each other, which is reassuring that the main characters are abnormal in their excessive bullying) highlighted the hypocrisy of it but not really in a way that made you learn or realize something. So overall, it fell flat for me.
February 7, 2013
With the BSA back in the news, I just revisited this timely and honest portrayal of Boy Scout camp and its petty cruelties. The camp Dawson imagines is a very thinly veiled version of the very camp I attended and staffed as a young Scout, back in the early nineties. He hits it right on the head.
The picture is unflattering, but not unsympathetic. It's so easy with camp stories to let nostalgia whitewash hazing and bullying. Dawson keeps his eyes wide open, and he represents with particular deftness the conflict among Scouting dads from different class backgrounds. Camp becomes the arena where models of masculinity compete.
A must-read for any Scout or Scouter, but probably of less interest to others.
The picture is unflattering, but not unsympathetic. It's so easy with camp stories to let nostalgia whitewash hazing and bullying. Dawson keeps his eyes wide open, and he represents with particular deftness the conflict among Scouting dads from different class backgrounds. Camp becomes the arena where models of masculinity compete.
A must-read for any Scout or Scouter, but probably of less interest to others.
November 7, 2011
This is a hilarious and insightful coming of age story about a group of boy scouts spending a week at summer camp. Dawson captures the sense of humor of pre-teen boys and the way they relate to each other in group settings like this. Some kids are teased and poked fun at while others are more severely treated as outcasts. Yet deep friendships also seem to form. Including one that is implied to be sexual in nature. I especially enjoyed the way Dawson characterizes the dads in this story though. The way they interact socially can be just as problematic as the kids.
I previously enjoyed Dawson's memoir "Freddie & Me" but I think he is even better working in fictional territory like this.
I previously enjoyed Dawson's memoir "Freddie & Me" but I think he is even better working in fictional territory like this.
February 12, 2013
Man, teenage boys are jerks. This book sure made me glad that I am no longer a teenager. I kept expecting for there to be some moment when they realized that they were jerks and would be nicer, even just for a moment, but in fact not only did they not learn any lessons, the characters were perhaps bigger jerks by the end. Though frustrating, it is probably more realistic that boy-scouts was not actually teaching any of these boys to be less jerky and if anything seemed to be encouraging it.
So, generally a fun read. The art was great except I had a little trouble telling a couple of the characters apart. A good reminder of why I'm happy I'm an adult.
So, generally a fun read. The art was great except I had a little trouble telling a couple of the characters apart. A good reminder of why I'm happy I'm an adult.
April 21, 2014
Most boys and young men totally suck - especially when they're in isolated groups. I can only imagine how awful a boy scouts camping trip (like the one Dawson details here) could possibly be...ug. The conversations/interactions are all well done and (sadly) fairly accurate - at least based on the boy conversations I hear at the elementary-middle school I teach at. Not sure it really "reveal[ed] the resilience of the human spirit" like the back blurb suggested...but it was an insightful trip into a very awkward and weird space.
September 26, 2011
Easily the funniest book I've read in a looong time. And easily the most honest portrayal of boy scouts I've ever seen. Having been one and knowing how raunchy and racy the jokes can get when you put a bunch of teen-aged boys together, he hits it dead-on. Add to it that Dawson's cartooning and sense of timing is even stronger here than in Freddie & Me, and this one's a big winner. The humor can get a bit adult at times...so be warned that this one is for readers who can enjoy a really dirty joke.
May 9, 2012
A graphic novel that cover's a Boy Scout's week at summer camp, it's filled with cruelty and profanity and the million different ways that teenage boys can destroy each other. So...it's pretty accurate. There is humor, there is some hope in Troop 142, but it's a pretty bleak book. The black and white illustrations are cartoony, but manage to capture the spirit of this group of boys and their adult leaders, most of whom seem shipwrecked at this summer camp, not really wanting to be there. If you're looking for an authentic Boy Scout experience, this might be it.
October 4, 2012
Ahhh, the cruelty of boys "in the wild," and of the men who are overseeing them. I kept waiting in anticipation (so I could get appropriately rageful) for the boy scouts rejection of gays, and I wasn't disappointed. I did have to wait until almost the end of this book for my righteous anger to find full voice, however. The rest of the time it was just annoying boys being annoying boys. Ostracism, bullying, your run-of-the-mill sort of stuff.
November 29, 2014
I've never been a boy and I've never been to camp, so this story didn't connect on a personal level, but the adolescent feelings, friendships, and rivalries of the boys in Troop 142 (plus some nice counterbalance from the adults) definitely ring true. Nicely drawn with a good structure that gives a strong foundation to the many characters and their ups and downs. Also: I'm glad I'm not a boy and I never had to go to camp.
Read
January 6, 2012This story, which occurs at a Boy Scout camp, isn't something I could identify with, as it seems that boys bully each other in different ways than girls do in Girl Scouts (yeah, I was a Girl Scout), but it was interesting nonetheless. It was addicting, went by quickly, and is worth more reads in the future.
February 13, 2012
I was thrilled that the library I work in started buying graphic novels, but this boy scout coming of age story is a questionable call for our all women's catholic college. I see how Troop 142 does what graphic novels do well and tells very personal stories, but I really couldn't relate to boys going through puberty at boy scout camp.
March 26, 2012
Reading this book I felt like the author was just really still very angry about his time at camp. This book definitely shows boy scouts is not for everyone and just like everything else can definitely be corrupted. It wasn't your happy go lucky memory type book. I did like the artwork though. Not overly complicated but not too simple either.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews