I Thought You Would Be Funnier

I Thought You Would Be Funnier #1

by Shannon Wheeler

The smash-hit Eisner-nominated collection from Shannon Wheeler I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE FUNNIER features the best-of-the-best of what's left on the cutting room floor from critically acclaimed Shannon Wheeler's cartoon submissions to The New Yorker Magazine. Shannon has won a dedicated following through his cartoons for The New Yorker, The Onion, and his own creation, Too Much Coffee Man.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Cartoon, Comic Strips, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

120 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of single panel comics and gags was the perfect thing to fly through in exactly ten minutes. Touching on universal themes such as death and clowns, cats and dogs, love and relationships, Shannon Wheeler's cartoons were a pleasant surprise for a first-timer.

I do want to mention that though this promises to make you laugh out loud or feel something at least once during your reading experience, it didn't end up happening in my case. So the title I Thought You Would Be Funnier fit like a glove. Still, there were a handful of noteworthy panels that I would like to highlight next:
























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This review and more can be found on my blog.

[Anthony Chavez · Rating 3 out of 5]

The self-deprecating title alludes to the fact that this collection is comprised of cartoons that were rejected for use in the New Yorker, but one should not make the mistake of thinking that these cartoons are somehow inferior to Wheeler's contributions to the publication. In many cases, they're much funnier and more provocative; however, there are many blatantly obvious so-so ones. It's a short collection and the real funny ones get overshadowed amongst the so-so ones very easily. Worth the cost, love the far-side'esque work on Wheeler but I am left wanting more.

[Malbadeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had it at 4 stars (I was begrudging the book for not being longer - Come on Wheeler, get rejected some more) but I find myself picking it up more often than a lot of others, as well as seeing certain comics pop into my head at various social functions (especially the killing the conversation with Wikipedia one- - - ohhhh, aren't you curios now?)So an additional star for staying power (which is more than I can say for my ex <------wa-ha-ha-ah! That's not even true but it was just too easy to pass up, which is exactly what you can say about me <-------again not true).

oh AND THIS ONE WAS JUST NOMINATED FOR AN EISNER - so naturally I need to add the star, because I lost some credit when people found out I like "Burn the Honeysuckle" by the Gourds and I'd like to redeem myself by saying I can pick out some good shit too, you know (and I'd also like to say quit being snobs and learn to enjoy that song).

Anywho, like I said before (you're all following these posts and re-posts, right?)...

The more absurd, the better I liked the panel. It would have only been better if there were more. Come on, I could laugh at those Monkeys and clowns for hours!

And if the guy at the comic book shop didn't act condescending to me, It would have been better then, If when I asked a question about an R. Crumb product he weren't a butt head, because you know what guy-at-the-comic-book-store? they're way nice at Floating World and I got a pocket full of Financial Aide burning a whole in my pocket and I'm willing to spend it anywhere. So yes I "Know who R. Crumb is" I was born in 1970 and I have 3 brothers. duh! Now give me my Damn book and throw in that Postage Stamp collection while you're at it and I'll take the stupid Kafka biography by R. Crumb but you know what? After that I'm outta here!" (until Powell's is once again out of something I want and then I'm back - but I'm not going to smile anymore that's for darn tootin sure!).

[Christian Lipski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wheeler's rejected submissions are easily as funny as the cartoons that New Yorker Magazine did accept, but for some reason they didn't take these. Their loss is your gain. Wheeler has some great concepts at work here, expressed simply in a single panel. I interviewed Wheeler about his book before its release for Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/x-44112-Portl...

Highly recommended! Funny and witty guy.

[Shannon Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned that my work looks better when one is drunk.

[Colby Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with the book's title.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Eisner? There must be too many categories or very slim competition that year because this is by no means a superlative. Unless "walking the dog reading" (it's a VERY tiny book) is an award nowadays.

What it does, however, is perfectly fill out it's name and knowing the Wheeler mentality as I presume to- that's why he chose it. As a great author he knew that it's simply laugh-inside intellectual HUMEROUS and as an artist he knew that he didn't even bother rounding any fingers. And don't give me any "he had deadlines" crap- that floateth not in awards bowlery.

What I will hold against him is the narcissism- every everyman/boy is drawn in his own (from the rest of his catalogue) guise!

[Ashkin Ayub · Rating 3 out of 5]

the biggest problem with 'i thought you would be funnier' is that it's not that long.

everything else is pretty decent.

a moderate light-hearted fictional story where the walls of reality blur, come down and rearrange. it's the kind of story adam sandler would draw, but this has a bit more context since we are talking about the new yorker magazine.

it's funny, action-packed, conceptually comedic. i mean, we've seen this kind of idea a lot since he originally drew this, but it doesn't make it any less fun.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some absolutely brilliant panels in this book. I was laughing aloud through it. Glad I picked this up off of Comixology Unlimited.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Droll. Perfect.

[Allison Janicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just realized I should be doing this

[Maïlys · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I thought it would be funnier as well ^^
It was okay and i smiled at some of the drawings, but overall, i'm exactly sold on it.

[Jennifer Worrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed so hard I cried at so many of these.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine?

A couple of the comics seemed to me to be in poor taste, such as a comic with the caption "enhanced interview techniques," showing the interviewee with a bag over his head.

[fooleveunder · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book offers funny yet timely and serious topics that make you realize there’s a deeper message behind every one-panel, one-line page.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best known for creating the iconic slacker Too Much Coffee Man, cartoonist Shannon Wheeler always entertains with his humorous observations of relationships, politics, and society, in multi-panel stories or as in the case with I Thought You Would Be Funnier, single gag panels. A regular contributor to The New Yorker, this volume collects Wheeler's cartoons that the respected publication rejected. Though always funny and insightful, several of the strips may have been to caustic for the magazine. The second strip in this volume has two women sitting at a table drinking wine, one of them looking over an open newspaper, with "Here's one: 'an unattractive incompetent man seeks an attractive bitchy woman for a sitcom-type relationship.'" scrolled across the bottom. Perhaps not New Yorker material but hilarious nonetheless. Within, Wheeler pulls back the thin veneer of American society to reveal the comedic underbelly. I Thought You Would Be Funnier supplies yet further evidence that Shannon Wheeler is one of the preeminent cartoonists of his generation

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Thought You Would Be Funnier is the newest cartoon collection from The New Yorker cartoonist Shannon Wheeler, composed of art that never made it to print… until now. With the noted New Yorker style, Shannon brings a sense of humor to the commentary of society itself. Many may recognize Wheeler’s name from his most famous work, Too Much Coffee Man. He submitted a large number of cartoons to The New Yorker before finally having one accepted in February 2009. Since then, more of his cartoons have run, but that also leaves many that didn’t make it to print. This book sets about bringing some of these to the public eye.

Read my review on Fandomania.

[GRReviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some really great cartoons in this book, but they are too few, overwhelmed by all the pretty-good and sorta-bad cartoons. The vast majority of this collection lacks the punchiness of Wheeler's best work at The New Yorker. And dare I say it, much of this material is just too obvious (one of the worst things a single-panel cartoon can be). Example: Man pulls a clown out of the refrigerator and asks his wife "Does this smell funny to you?"

The high points are nice and high, but the rest is frighteningly mediocre.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Wheeler's work, and this collection is just great! Wheeler's style here is lively and clean, with great facial expressions sometimes evoked with the smallest quirk of a line. There are all cartoons rejected by The New Yorker, and in some cases I can see why -- the cartoons are often caustic and weird. Occasionally they just don't strike me as that good. But for the most part this book is riotously funny and I sort of want to pin 3/4 of the book to my office bulletin board, which I think is a good sign.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and spot-on. I only wish it had been longer.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aptly named.

Or, maybe context really is everything. I always enjoy Wheeler's cartoons when I encounter them in The New Yorker. Singularly.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great collection of Wheeler's dingle-panel comics.

[Melle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtle, witty fun.

[Ming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny, though I'm not sure I got all the gags.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of single-frame cartoons. Some very good stuff in here.

[Lulu Joanis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Me too.

[sherwin]

"I'm looking for that special someone to hate." <33

[Trevor ComicFan · Rating 2 out of 5]

60

[Jim Hardison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny stuff.

[Timothy Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny little comics