Lunarbaboon: The Daily Life of Parenthood

by Christopher Grady

Explore the daily struggles and humor of family life with Lunarbaboon. He’s just like any other dad--but vaguely hairier because he’s half man/half moon monkey.

Lunarbaboon shares life's parenting moments from the perspective of a 30-something dad/husband/chaos survivor. Together with the savvy, laid back Mom, wild child Moishe, baby Matilda, and a former Julliard student (their cat), Lunarbaboon must navigate the family and social dynamics of everyday life. Ranging from the hilarious (defeating closet monsters with a “stun” blaster that offers surprising facts about bears, Mars, and cats) to the sweet (the gray scale-to color transition out of depression at the touch of a loved one), this collection explores the bonds within a family and all the characters who bring both order and chaos to life.

Lunarbaboon’s perfect meld of crabby humor and moments of impactful honesty give these comics a wide range and distinctive voice that’s both comical and sincere.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Parenting, Adult, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2017

About the author

Some time in the 80's a human woman made love to a space monkey. Eight months later a lunarbaboon was born.

Lunarbaboon is married and has one child. He works as a school teacher and lives a life similar to most North American humans.

He is different from you though in a few distinct ways. Lunarbaboon has too many pubes. His body hair count is outrageous. When he eats he never really feels full. He poops 4 to 5 times a day and rarely smells his fingers after. Lunarbaboon is very fast, enjoys foods wrapped inside a taco shell, and never drinks with a straw(even when a straw is required). He is hardly ever satisfied with anything. He pretends to be nice and like human people, but generally he does not like most people. This makes lunarbaboon feel bad about himself.

Lunarbaboon currently lives in Toronto, a city full of humans.

Reviews

[Aneela ♒the_mystique_reader♒ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read!

I loved the cover of Lunarbaboon. It was cute, funny and innocent. Judging by the cover, I knew the book would be fun to read and I wasn't disappointed.

Although I am not a parent myself but I have seen my friends struggling. Parenting is not easy. You can't say "yes" to everything your kids ask for and yet fit their mould of a best parent. Parenting is keeping the balance between the two while creating as many memories as you can because kids grow up too fast.

This book is beautiful for it reminds of our blissful childhood. The care-free life, innocence, the desire to learn anything and everthing, the joy of playing outside in the sun, asking embarassing questions to your parents in front of others and seeing your parents' eyes filled with joy when you tell them about your goals and achievements.

An awesome gift for the parents and would-be parents! Anyone can enjoy reading it even if the reader is not a parent yet.

I received an ARC of this book from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new(ish) mother, I have been having a lot of fun reading about the “perils of parenthood”. In truth I enjoyed these works long before I was a mother, but now that I am one they are even more relatable, and therefore even more amusing/intimidating.

I'm not gonna lie, some of the comics I see of the terrible twos are indeed terrifying. However Lunarbaboon always levies these stressful situations with the funny and bizarre. These quick sketches/comics were great fun to read, and while a couple of them left me scratching my head, most had me giggling with delight.








Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Buy

Check out more of my reviews here

Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing I'll say is that, if you've followed Lunarbaboon on social media a while (I have), there unfortunately won't be much "new" content here. I definitely recognized a lot of the comics in this book, but luckily, Lunarbaboon's sense of humor is enjoyable enough to read over again in those instances. I think it's one of those parenting-themed comic books that might not work well if you don't have kids (or help take care of other children, even), but it's definitely relatable as a fellow parent of a young child, and it's cute.

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[Scarlet Cameo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desde hace un tiempo es que las tiras cómicas referentes a situaciones cotidianas se encuentran en boga, razón por la cual me he encontrado con varios creadores, y aunque hay algunos que realmente considero que son magníficos igual encuentro que este mismo genero tiende a saturarme, no obstante en este época de mi vida pareciera que mis amigos decidieron tener hijos casi todos a la vez, por lo cual cuando vi este título disponible en NetGalley decidí darle un vistazo.



Ciertamente Grady sabe aprovechar la comicidad de la relación entre padres e hijos, un tipo de relación que muchas veces puede ser complicada y que siempre se presta a ser interesante dada la naturaleza imaginativa e inocente de los niños, que termina metiendo en problemas a los padres, pero igualmente muestra como el crecer o tener responsabilidades no hace que te abandones a tui mismo, o lo que te gusta, sino que más bien hace que logres transmitir a tus hijos esos gustos y el deseo de ser ellos mismos a pesar de que no a todos puede esto agradarles.



Si bien este libro puede caer en lo simplista funciona precisamente por la no necesidad de complicarse, sino de dejar que las cosas cotidianas se muestren como son. Un niño en la generación actual no requiere de añadidos para dar situaciones increiblemente incomodas, ya sea por la falta de atención por estar entrados en el teléfono/trabajo, la necesidad de descanso o las peculiaridades de otras personas.



Algo que realmente me agrado es el dibujo, siendo tremendamente simple sentí que era bonito (que una cosa no quita la otra) y el hecho de que el color se utiliza de manera muy sutil, sólo para levantar algunos cuadros y reforzar el chiste, pero fluyendo de manera natural.



En conclusión, si tienes hijos o por alguna razón estas obligado a convivir con niños en este momento posiblemente te va a gustar y te vas a sentir identificzdo, pero si no estas en ninguna de estas situaciones puede que no encuentres la gracia o que veas las situaciones un tanto forzadas, pero eso no quita que sea una coleccion de tiras cómicas bastante simpática.

A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars for pages 74 & 75.

Otherwise, this was a sometimes cute, very often sweet look at this dad's take on parenthood.

[Mridu aka Storypals · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so much!

Kept chuckling through and through. It had a lot of undertones and issues that were addressed in a simple way. I wonder why I haven't seen/ got my hands on this before.

[Anusha Narasimhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often hear stories (rants as well as bragging, but mostly rants) of parenting from my friends on a daily basis. This book mirrored some of the daily experiences of parents. The humour is sometimes relatable and sometimes farfetched. Overall enjoyable. Highly recommended!

Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review in any way.

[Natasha M. Nurse, Esq. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't leave the library without taking this out and I'm so glad I didn't. This graphic novel is funny and relatable for many parents 👍🏾 Enjoy it ❤️

[Vijetha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of Parenting is alien to me, but I did connect to these cartoons at a personal level, having an army load of nieces and nephews.

There were quite a lot of moments where I may have actually giggled at the quirky illustrations. Would love to buy it to a new parent as a "Take this, sucker" gift.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lunarbaboon, is at times silly and at other times very deep. The collection appears to be the best of his strips on parenthood.

So, if you like his work, it is cool to have a collection. I didn't notice any new strips there, as some collections have been doing, but that doesn't make it bad.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Haniva Zahra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saya mengetahui tentang Lunarbaboon dari Twitter. Beberapa ilustrasi komik yang saya baca, nikmati, renungi, dan pada akhirnya sukai. Saya langsung menuju toko buku online untuk membeli buku ini. Buku ini sesuai dengan judulnya menceritakan cerita tentang menjadi orang tua. Sebuah buku humor yang menarik, saya kira, kita yang suatu saat akan menjadi orang tua menjadi 'penting' untuk membaca buku ini. Bagaimana kita mengajarkan kepada anak tentang perbedaan adalah hal yang menarik. Bagaimana kita mengajarkan kepada anak tentang norma sosial. Bagaimana orang tua juga beberapa waktu merasa lelah dan butuh 'me time' lepas dari peran sebagai orang tua. Bagaimana hubungan anak orang tua adalah salah satu contoh hubungan 'love-hate relationship' yang sangat menarik. Buku yang unik, disajikan dengan ilustrasi membuat buku ini menyenangkan dinikmati dari waktu ke waktu.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parenting humor cartoons, some of which are fairly typical of the genre but several of which made me laugh out loud. As a comic geek I appreciated all the cameos from superheroes and Star Wars characters. I'll certainly seek out more work by this guy in the future.

For those who care, a couple penis jokes and some swear words keep this from being all ages despite being from comic strip giant Andrews McMeel.

[Emily Linacre · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet little collection of comics! i laughed, i cried... good stuff!

[Ray Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
I’m not sure why but comics that illustrate the daily life and the social dynamics of a family, are always my favorite. There are different types of families out there and it warms my heart whenever parents talk shit about their kids, because let’s face it, adulting and parenthood are things that bring out the best and the worst of us –they’re stressful situations that nobody ever has the solution for, but if you can make the best of it, I think you just got the message.

The artist makes perfect examples of how raising a kid is basically teaching them your favorite stuff: like series, movies and geeky activities. But it also shows how their honest response is not always what we expect –sometimes it’s even better. Truth be told, I love when men actually do care about their families and how raising their kids into more kind, empathic people is their goal.

And even if you don’t have kids (like me), I’m sure you will find yourself nodding and laughing through the pages. This book is a refreshing, light-hearted reading and I’m glad I picked it up!

[Flor Méndez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esto fue muy, muy tierno. Creo que sólo hubieron dos o tres tiras que no me terminaron de convencer; el resto fue genial. Me hizo querer ser una madre copada una vez que tenga a mis hijos, alguien con quien puedan contar, con quien puedan divertirse incluso si estoy súper ocupada, alguien que los escuche y que aprenda con (y de) ellos. Alguien que comparta sus intereses con ellos, y que esté interesada en los suyos.
Súper lindo; las ilustraciones son re simples pero geniales, y me hizo desear que tuviera más páginas para seguir leyendo.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the cartoons by this artist that I have come across online and thought that this would be right down my alley, but I ended up disappointed. The comics tend to rely either on crude humor or treacly sentimentality, and it is also difficult to follow the action in many of them. For example, some of the sentimental cartoons imagine future generations, and it is hard to follow along and identify who the suddenly appearing other people are. Is this his son and future grandchild? Or is this him and his son? I had to reread several of these to identify characters or figure out what I had missed.

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a genuinely cute and uplifting series, which tends to do something that most "parenting" comics do not--it keeps things sweet and fun and really emphasizes the joys of parenthood. Most of the time, these sorts of comics tend to focus on the more stressful aspects, and when something sweet or funny occurs, it's the outlier or the setup for a punchline. However, with this collection, you get the impression that Grady really loves being a parent, and that makes the whole story so much more enjoyable.

[Colin Murtagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection from one of those webcomics, that once you come across them, you can't stop reading. Although it's based on the artists life as a parent, you don't need to be a parent to appreciate it.
The strips show the artist and his son (Moishe) in all aspects of life. Whether this is making memories, either in real life, or in fantasy worlds. Or dealing with temper tantrums, bribery works. Learning about how the world works, and how to be a good person. It's all done with a deft touch and a real heart.
Not every strip is funny, it wouldn't always fit the story, and not every strip is sweet, that would be overpowering, but there's enough of a mix to keep you coming back for more.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think these comics are a nice fusion of silliness and frankly, morbidity. But it’s realism that doesn’t go too dark, but instead deftly tries to remind you to be aware of and appreciate your time on the planet with your kids. Cool and pretty savvy usage of color and layers not normally seen on monochrome comics.

[Katrine Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

While not being a parent myself I love this cartoonist who shares wit and a genuine love of humanity. An all around good and easy read.

[January Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable enough. I enjoyed reading it for the most part.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a parent, this was easy to relate to... simply adorable.

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the webcomic Lunarbaloon so much that I share the pages of Grady's workoften. This was a joy to read. It doesn't have my favourite Lunarbaloon strips, which was disappointing, so I didn't love this collection as much as I love some of Gray's other work. Still: this is utterly delightful.

[G Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy for review.

Grady's drawings are very simple, this book is more about the jokes and commentary than the artwork. As parents of a toddler, my husband and I chuckled over many and shared our favorites. I appreciate that the comics are equal parts joy/wonder at your awesome kid and parenting sucesses, and equal parts exhaustion/failure/"this is not what I expected". And the 2 parents seem to have a healthy relationship. If you are a Star Wars or TMNT fan, you'll love it even more.

[Rashmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, humorous take on parenting. Although the illustrations weren't great, their simplicity did make the book more endearing. Some parts reminded me of Calvin and Hobbes (situations with Calvin and his dad). A great read for a lazy afternoon.

[Rebekah Crain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parenting through the eyes of a dad. Each comic presentation ranges from humorous to touching in this compilation which focuses on day to day moments in the life of a father and his son. The timelines vary and show snippets from Grady's perceived parenthood ranging from the early years to late in life when he's an old man and his son is grown. It's sweet- bittersweet. As a parent I viewed these portrayals and continually thought "YES!" Grady is snarky, but he does a wonderful job of capturing the idiosyncrasies of parenthood- in general, not just of fatherhood- in such a relatable and honest way.

This was my first introduction to Lunarbaboon, though because it did not disappoint it will not be my last. I look forward to seeing what else Grady has to offer. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of this title for review. I do and will continue to highly recommend it!

[Mehsi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I am not going to write a review on here, or on my site, but I will send some feedback to Netgalley. I just can't really get how I feel into words, plus I am worried that I might get fans/the author angry (I have had some bad experiences with my latest 1 or 2 star Netgalley reviews).

[Asiya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dad jokes, socially aware jokes, simple comics.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for the laughs.
Perfect book, perfect time.

[Someone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love with this graphic novel🖤. I've never felt so connected and related to a character before. It was like he could read my thoughts, cause I think about everything he said, all the time. The author of this comic is the most wonderful person and we can't thank him enough for making this masterpiece🙏. It's such a lovely piece of art with so powerful and heartbreaking messages that I'm gonna reread some of them again and again. Some of the main things it deals with :
- The difficulty and the beauty of parenthood, how you should raise a child, the childish part of an adult
- Femimism, respecting different, always be kind
- Anxiety, depression, fear, darkness, dangerous thoughts, our fucking mind
P. S. Lunarbaboon is like the best father ever. I wish all dads were a little more like him.