The Alcoholic

by Jonathan Ames, Dean Haspiel (Illustrator)

Acclaimed novelist Jonathan Ames writes his first comics work with the original graphic novel THE ALCOHOLIC, illustrated by THE QUITTER artist Dean Haspiel.

This touching, compassionate, ultimately humorous story explores the heart of a failing writer who's coming off a doomed romance and searching for hope. Unfortunately, the first place his search takes him is the bottom of a bottle as he careens from one off-kilter encounter to another in search of himself.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Bande Dessinée, Comic Book, Humor

136 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2008

About the author

Jonathan Ames is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, Bored to Death (HBO) and Blunt Talk (STARZ). In the late '90s and early 2000s, he was a columnist for the New York Press for several years, and became known for self-deprecating tales of his sexual misadventures. He also has a long-time interest in boxing, appearing occasionally in the ring as "The Herring Wonder".
Two of his novels have been adapted into films: The Extra Man in 2010, and You Were Never Really Here in 2017. Ames was a co-screenwriter of the former and an executive producer of the latter.

Reviews

[Tina Haigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story: 4 stars!
Art: 5 stars!

I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to like this one. It is called The Alcoholic after all. I read it in one sitting. Apparently I like memoir style comics with good art and writing. Who knew? I really felt for the main character. There were a lot of times I rolled my eyes at him too though. The first half of the book was better, or more interesting to me, but that could be because the second half was more melancholy.

I would definitely recommend it. It's a good story (I believe it's semi-autobiographical) and the art is good. There's sex, nudity, and drugs though, so I would say the age range is 18+.

[Imogen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that when you type 'alcoholic' in the search box, two Bukowsi books that don't have the word 'alcoholic' in their titles come up before anything else.

Anyway, I like Jonathan Ames. You like Jonathan Ames, right? We all like Jonathan Ames. Just like all of us, he grew up in New Jersey and then moved to New York. (well, maybe not all of us. Most of us though.) I haven't read all his books and, honestly, the most interesting thing to me (well duh) is how trans women continuously pop up in his books, and in a way that doesn't ever seem to reveal anything, except that, like, 'hi, I'm Jonathan Ames, and trans women are in my life.'

So that happened for a minute in this one.

I liked it. It's definitely a weird little book- a bildungsroman (I WENT TO COLLEGE) all about the bildungs of addiction, with an (spoiler) ambiguous/pessimistic non-ending, where some stuff happens but really just a bunch of sorrows get drowned.

Remember when I told you that I didn't think Jesus' Son resonated like it was about real addicts? Like how that thing seemed much more to be about, like, what if addiction were grimy-glamorous? There is something apologetic, meek, and self-implosive going on in this one that resonates with me way harder.

Are you listening to me? JONATHAN AMES IS BETTER THAN DENIS JOHNSON.

And, I mean, it's a graphic novel, which means you can read it in a night, which is always a plus for me. The art is, I don't know, functional? I'm not in love with this artist, but it's definitely expressive without being intrusive or obnoxious. I guess 'functional' is kind of a fucked up thing to say about somebody's art; all I mean is that it's not the art that made me like this book, it's the story.

I dunno. Sarah Goff, are you on goodreads? I can't remember. But you're the one with the boner for Jonathan Ames and graphic novels. Did you like this thing?

[Anthony Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an easy read, great story by Jonathan Ames, really touching, and very awesome art by Dean Haspiel.

A true to life almost memoir by Ames, my first read of his. I have been a long time supporter of his show Bored to Death, he always entertains me in his noir sort of way. He does, in his own way, remind me of Woody Allen. He writes humor but there is a great tragic aspect to his characters and the way Ames writes that character is sublime and unique, it truly makes him an artist.

The story itself is one of a very personal nature. One that you can't help but feel is a window into the past of Jonathan Ames. In "Bored to Death" the main character is named Jonathan Ames and in "The Alcoholic" he is named Jonathan A. Draw your own conclusions.

Any addict of any sort will find this graphic novel hitting close to home and too real for comfort. The constant ups and downs of life, struggling with interesting subplots concerning family, friendship, homosexuality, virility, and death.

Endings that aren't quite an ending are sometimes the best ending to me because they leave you thinking, wait did he? Is he going to? Did this mean that? or did it mean this? After a wild 136 pages of everything under the sun, from binging, to confession, from detox, to counseling. I'm not sure if Jonathan A. or Ames knew what was going on, so we the reader are left to wonder where he will go from here, is his glass half empty, half full, is it going to be completely full or is it going to stay empty? The choice is yours.

[Steven Godin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another semi-autobiographical alcoholic writer. Yet another victim plunging further and further into despair. I've been here before, but in graphic novel format I haven't, so this felt fresh and original. The artwork itself was very impressive in the way it captures facial expressions and body language, with images of his midlife in the present merging with those from the past to clever effect.
Johnathan A's personal revelations are at times harrowing and deeply poignant, fusing memories and emotions through love and grief and the odd bender or two, to put it lightly, but that's not to say it's void of any humor along the way. Sometimes I simply struggle to sympathise with these drinkers, but here it was difficult not to. This is a graphic novel that really goes for the heart, and it succeeds effortlessly.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though this graphic novel is billed as a fictionalized account of Jonathan Ames struggles with alcohol, I'm gonna go ahead and label it a memoir. Ames story rings true on ever page and Haspiel's art works really well in this sad and painful book. Besides alcoholism, this book also has interesting subplots concerning homosexuality, virility, and death. Of course, there are some great moments of Ames humor as well. And although readers familiar with Ames will recognize parts of his life that he has explored before, there are some new revelations and a more willingness (visual, visceral) from the author to uncover his demons. A powerful book.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun at points and really sad! The best part is obviously when he goes to Veselka with Monica Lewinsky.... my queen.

[Christina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't have any expectations about this book, and I still hated it.

"The Alcoholic," which is actually written by Jonathan Ames and drawn by Dean Haspiel (stupid Web site people), is about Jonathan A., a young man who starts drinking at the age of 15, really enjoys drinking, and becomes (guess what?) an acoholic. The book is about his troubles with alcohol and his visit to rehab and his relapse into alcoholism.

I'm sure I'm probably supposed to think that parts of the book are really funny. And I'm sure that at some spots, I'm supposed to feel really bad for Jonathan A.

But I don't.

The books reads to me as a series of really stupid choices.

And, frankly, those choices are boring. Oh, drinking is so cool... Riiiiigggghhht. I drink because Hunter S. Thompson and Ernest Hemingway and Jack Kerouac drank, and I want to be just like them. Riiiigggghhhht. Oh, I drink because I'm heartbroken over the loss of my best friend. Riiiiiggggghhhht. Oh, I drink because I'm heartbroken over the loss of the girl I loved. Riiiiigggghhhht. Newsflash: Everyone goes through that stuff. And anyone who says they haven't is lying. And most people find better ways to cope than drowning themselves in booze.

Jonathan A. strikes me as just a selfish jerk who makes stupid excuses for his bad habits.

And writer Jonathan Ames strikes me as a pretentious ass-clown who used a graphic medium (which can be truly wonderful when used properly) to disguise a really poorly written story.

I might have been more impressed if Ames had actually made the effort to describe some of the people and events in the book - you know, with words.

But I guess I'll get off my soapbox now, and sum up this review by telling you that I think this book sucks.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel focused on Jonathan A. (the main character) and his alcoholism, and how his battle with it affected everything in his life. There were so many wonderful, poignant, tragic and even funny details... I loved his devotion to his best friend, even when said friend ditched him for no apparent reason. I loved it when he referred to his ex-girlfriend by the city she happened to be living in at the time and came to refer to himself as "her bitch" because he couldn't let her go. I loved how he told part of his story while haphazardly self-buried in the sand trying to elude the police. I loved it when Monica Lewinsky said that the kielbasa looked delicious, causing Jonathan to astrally project to the ceiling out of sympathetic embarrassment for her...

It's hard to "love" some of the more tragic circumstances of the book, but while I can't identify 100% with the realities of alcoholism, I think everyone can identify with the feelings of inadequacy and want expressed in this book. The feeling of almost achieving something, and then losing it again. Hopefulness, and hopelessness, and then hopefulness again.

I was actually confused as to whether this book was semi-autobiographical. The main character is named Jonathan A., after all (the author is Jonathan Ames). But after doing a little research: it seems like it isn't. Just a really well-told tale that is true for different people in different ways.

[Václav · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not an autobiography. But it kind of is. Autor took his two ideas on comics and stitched them together with his own background. Because there is an intention to lell story which would be real, relatable, crude and believable. And that was accomplished well. I expected it to be story mainly about alcoholism, but it actually is a story about a guy who loves it but can handle it - alcohol, life, love, drugs. You can hardly generalize here because this is a specific story of somebody whos internal issues (ego, mild depressions, tendencies to drugs/alcohol abuse) drive him through his sometimes tragic but actually not so bad life with the eternal struggle to get yourself right. I enjoyed this story. There are shards of it which I can relate to (well most of us can find something relatable here) and things I can't understand because they are character-specific. I maybe expected something bigger, deeper and complex, but I enjoyed it anyway. The story is "fun" and is very well told (the moving back and forth in time is based on a specific storytelling pattern, so it is very organic and not annoying). This can be completely biographic of all made up, it doesn't matter. It feels real and adventurous. Believable, but one step ahead from our mundane lives.

[Malbadeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

He drinks. He stops drinking. He drinks again. He stops drinking again. He does drugs. He stops doing drugs. He does drugs again...

and so on and so on and dubby dubby do.

but woven in with all that, there are complicated relationships, loss, and confusion that would exsist even if he were always sober.

sometimes sad but not crushing.
sometimes hopeful but not cheesy.
and sometimes funny.

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tagged this as both fiction and memoir, because with Jonathan Ames one can never quite be sure.

Some of the tales here overlap with other pieces he has written. This book, in its honesty, feels like a graphic novel aimed at an adult market. This adult certainly enjoyed it.

The ambiguous, word-less, full-page illustration that ends this book speaks volumes.

[Ill D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since it’s a new year, I decided to do something new. Instead of picking something unread from the bookcase or the hard drive, I dove back into the stack of read books to give one an ol’ reread. Fingers sifted. Closed eyes opened and Jonathan Ames’ lush autobiography was chosen.

Under more aged eyes I definitely found more to be critical of yet also found a lot more to enjoy as well.

Featuring a highly exposed approach, the author’s transparency is as confessorial as it is painfully honest. Shying away from nothing, self-deprecation is utilized to strong effect. Disdaining the airbrush for an instrument more genuine, the result resonates with a warmth of pulsating deep self-awareness.

With the aim of expositional commiseration chosen as the highest goal, the past has been presented with warts (there’s a lot of them) and all. From homosexual experimentation to its titular obsession/from sexual-awkwardness to pathetic crushes that have long lasted beyond their expiration date/and from failure to even more failure Ames has presented us a story that is completely unvarnished in all regards. With a heaping helping of tragedy and the excesses of drug abuse to top it all off, an unmistakably human construction is to be read warts and all

There’s a lot of good here but there’s also some not so good.

While the art style is serviceable, it’s nothing to write home about. Choosing a starkly minimal duochromaticism, blacks and whites illustrate each and every panel within. The style is certainly up for subjective interpretation, but it adds an interesting level of contrast considering that the story within is highly colored in all aspects. Succeeding more as a contraposed backdrop more than on its own merits alone, the art style within is definitely the weakest aspect of this work.

Moreover, some technical flaws considering pacing, and minimal character development (in some instances) claw it back from a higher star rating it probably deserves. Respectively, multiple pages could easily have ben excised to aggrandize brevity and multiple important characters, most notably his parents, are woefully unevolved. Most failures are of the nit-picky varieties but they do add up over time.

All in all, there is a deeply human and unabashedly flawed protagonist presented to us readers within. We can hate, love, and/or hopefully commiserate with him but ultimately this intimate personal portrait is as authentic as it could have possibly been.

Give it a read, you deserve it.

[J.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, incredible artwork by Dean Haspiel. He's obviously informed by the superhero genre, which has never been of interest to me personally, but I kept marveling at his mastery of form, interesting perspective and shadow/light.

However, as much as I enjoyed the artwork, I think I found it distracted from or lessened the emotional impact of the story. It somehow comes across as inauthentic when a cartoonist tries to heighten your emotions with exaggerated facial expressions and extreme lighting & "camera angles". Ironically, I am more moved by Chris Ware's clinical, almost iconic, drawing style, perhaps because it allows the subtlety of his writing to shine through.

I've read a LOT of memoirs about addiction, so maybe I'm a little desensitized. Jonathan Ames' story was compelling enough to keep my interest, but it didn't pack the emotional punch of the addiction themed book I'd read just before this (Moshe Kasher's "Kasher In The Rye").

Anyhow, this is a solid, well written and drawn book well worth a read.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Ames, at the moment, is someone who entertain me greatly. In many ways he reminds me of Woody Allen. The character in his fiction is very much the same. Totally self-obsessed and funny. But there is a tragic aspect to this character and the way Ames writes that character and make it funny is what makes him an artist or even... an entertainer.

i pick up his books expecting to be entertained or at the very least to be part of his world. What we have here is Ames world in a comic book format. Or graphic novel to be exact. The artist Dean Haspiel really sets the narrative in visual form, and it's a hard-to-put-down book.

"The Alcoholic" is very New York, in that it reminds me of "The Lost Weekend." As a reader you say to yourself "Don't go there Jonathan!" And of course he does. This is a beautifully constructed piece of work -and Ames knows how to drive and take us on a wild and funny car trip to... his own private hell.

[Leslie Jamison · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to describe the experience of reading this book? It was like cringing for several hours straight, trapped in a bar booth with a man twice my age who might want to sleep with me but is probably too drunk to pull it off, all the while he's using words like "mid-list" and "self-care." It was like that. Intense like that. But also heartbreaking, and expert at summoning its own inky little claustrophobic world.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh this was okay at first but just didn't care for it.

[Emilia P · Rating 3 out of 5]

EH, but also weirdly hard to stop reading? Yeah.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

We follow Jonathan A. while he copes with addiction from teens years into adulthood, still able to be a successful writer but not able to move forward in life.

This was bleak from beginning to end and felt like it was leading up to something but never delivered.

(This reminded me a lot of Bojack Horseman, but still inferior. Imagine the show with a focus JUST on Bojack and the pitiful decisions he makes - no fleshed out side characters or storylines to help.)

[Lilirose · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Alcoholic è un fumetto crudo, viscerale, direi perfino iperrealistico, in cui la dipendenza è descritta con una lucidità che raramente ho visto altrove: non è mai demonizzata, ma non si cade nemmeno nella trappola del giustificazionismo e del facile vittimismo. Il protagonista è un uomo complesso e pieno di sfaccettature, è difficile trovare un senso a quello che fa perchè esattamente come tutti noi si limita a vivere un giorno dopo l'altro, affrontando a modo suo ciò che la vita gli mette di fronte. E' un debole, attaccato al passato e incapace di assumersi la responsabilità della sua vita, ma soprattutto è profondamente umano.
Lo stile è un bel mix di cinismo e leggerezza, adattissimo al tipo di storia che si vuole raccontare.
Non c'è nulla in questa graphic novel che mi sia particolarmente congeniale: né le tematiche, nè l'ambientazione e tantomeno i disegni, espressivi ma un po' troppo scarni ed essenziali per i miei gusti; eppure non si può negare che sia un'opera di pregio e con una precisa impronta autoriale, che poi può piacere o meno.

[Jason Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be the most pitiful public-humiliation spectacle since Coetzee's Summertime. "J. Ames" is not only a hopeless alcoholic and doper; he is sexually confused, prematurely bald, orphaned, even incontinent. The hell-on-earth of addiction is vividly evoked, and Ames achieves a nice mix of humor and awful honesty. The graphic-novel format (the unfussy art is by Dean Haspiel) suits the material; it's the perfect shorthand for this odyssey. But because the story is not strict memoir, one wonders why certain elements that add up to little (e.g., the 9/11 detour) were even included. The story never really crests.

(One hopes the real Ames is doing better with his problem these days. The first clip I found of him on youtube was from the Writers Guild Awards, and Ames was pretty damn plastered. He was also pretty funny, not to mention physically imposing—not much like the wretch he invented for this comic book.)

[Roberto López castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great story about the life of an Alcoholic in which the alcohol acts as the door for other stronger drugs. The depiction of self-destruction is very accurate and actually moving. I felt sorry for the character, seeing the misery he went down, the self-destruction he was willing to inflict along with the lack of emotional strength he's very aware of.

He's simply open to try any drug and forget about his existence, he just wants to scape. There are some very dramatic scenarios depicted:

* When the September 11/2001 attacks happened, he wishes to be on those buildings and die to finally escape his painful endurance.

* This line stayed in my head: "Alcoholics think they're bad and deserve to be punished"

It's quite a short book and there were days I put it down in order to enjoy the wait to open it and keep reading it.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really excellent graphic novel. I love Vertigo line and the book they put out and while the art in this book was just serviceable, the story itself was really good and engaging. Jonathan Ames wrote an incredibly honest memoir about his struggle with love, loss and addictions, particularly the titular one. If this was a fictional story, it would also work just based on the characters and strength of writing alone.I'm only familiar with the author from the very entertaining, albeit short lived, HBO series Bored to Death, so I was aware of his humor, but not so much of his actual writing and was glad to find out that it's really good and very candid. Recommended.

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was sad but definitely as an alcoholic myself -- many years away from my last drink -- I can relate to this kind of life and can tell this is someone's true story. Kind of funny at points and as I said very sad. Unfortunately realistic too as many of us have a similar sort of depressing past. Reading this made me think over and over "thank God I don't drink anymore."

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
Very honest, but not particularly profound.
I would recommend it more to people who are already interested in learning more about Jonathan as an author, rather than reading a graphic novel about alcoholism. Either way, it was good!

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up, as I come from a long line of alcoholics. My father, all his brothers and his sister, my brother, as well as a couple of friends of mine. I'm well acquainted with those who over-imbibe.

What I was hoping for—so really, much of the disappointment is on me, not the work—is that I'm always looking for insight into addiction. I'm always trying to understand why my father chose the contents of a bottle over this children, his wife, his job, and ultimately, his life.

I'm beginning to think, not just from this graphic novel, but from everything I've read, that there is no insight to be had. Addiction is a weakness. It's a collection of incredibly stupid choices, that mostly start with grabbing a bottle, and end wherever that alcohol-soaked mind takes you.

For example, in this case, waking up with an old street person trying to get your pants off, or waking up with your head in a vomit-coated garbage can.

Ames does a great job of showing how well he doesn't shut his brain off and obsesses over things that can be easily reasoned out for anyone else. He does a great job of showing the results of his addiction. He does a great job of painting himself in a very dim light.

I'd hoped at least for some awakening at the end—much like I did for my father when he decided to put his life back together—but both ended rather disappointingly.

Overall, this didn't impress me from any aspect: the writing, the art, or the insight.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I picked up this graphic novel from the library, I had no idea who Jonathan Ames was. Upon further investigation, I'd never even heard of any of his works, be they book, film, or TV show, save one (Blunt Talk). But even that one show I've never seen and only knew of it because Patrick Stewart played the titular role.

I gathered from the liner notes that this was the fictionalized memoir of a writer (Jonathan A.) who struggled with alcohol. Having had my own wanderings down that path over a number of years—luckily changing course before it was too late—I was curious to hear his story, even if there was a bit of fiction in it.

For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to refer to the fictional Jonathan A. as the author, Ames.

Ames explores how alcohol played a role throughout his life. Like many, his relationship started in high school. Alcohol is that wonderful social lubricant that helps combat the terrifying awkwardness of being a teenager, a human being. But alcohol didn't like Ames, and it kicked his ass. Ames ignored it though; the euphoria that came with drinking was worth it to him. And when various relationships with family, friends, and girlfriends turned sour, alcohol was there to get him through it. While he had periods of sobriety, there was always something to trigger a relapse, sometimes into harder drugs.

Ames takes us from high school parties in New Jersey to starry beaches in Bequia. He relives sexual escapades, detoxing, and the emotional fallout of 9/11. Dean Haspiel's black and white artwork perfectly encapsulates each scene, clearly conveying the emotions that Ames' character is feeling.

Although fictionalized, it still feels like Ames is telling an honest story, but only to an extent. He tries to balance the melancholy with humor, but when the latter wanders into the scatological, it took away from the sympathy I'd felt for the character. The ending seems rushed. The epiphany Ames experienced might be true, but I was left unconvinced that it would stick. An earlier epiphany after 9/11 was forgotten after a chance encounter with Bill Clinton went straight to the character's head. But the very last page has me thinking that no epiphany will ever suffice until the void in his life is filled.

3 1/2 stars.

[مصطفي سليمان · Rating 3 out of 5]

سيرة ذاتية صعبة للغاية للمؤلف جوناثان آميز يحكي فيه تجربته الشخصية مع ادمان الكحول و المخدرات واضطراب هويته الجنسية
القصة ليست مكررة أو ربما طريقة حكيه لها جعلها مميزة تستطيع أن تري أنه صريح للغاية لا يحاول تجميل أي موقف حدث له هناك موقف غاية ف الصعوبة بعد شراءه وشربه ل هيروين مع التاجر استيقظ ليجد نفسه نائم في صفحية زبالة بسبب أن الرجل وجده يقئ ف قرر اراحة نفسه وجعله ينام في صفحية القمامة!! بعد محاولة ممارسة الجنس معه!! في كل مرة يقترب من الخلاص من الادمان يتعرض ل صدمة ف يهرب منها عن طريق الشرب حاول عدة مرات ولكن الأمر ليس بالسهولة ربما كان يجد في كل هذا مهرب له ولكن ف النهاية الأمور لم تكن تسير باتجاهه الكثير من المواقف التي تعرض لها صعبة للغاية علي المستوي الاسري و الشخصي و العملي وكان سبب أو دافع ربما ليكون مبرر لتناوله الكحول أو المخدرات
رواية لطيفة يعيبها أحيانا المباشرة الزائدة

[Sarah Isaacson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Narcissistic, pointless, kind of goes nowhere… that’s probably the point but like yeah rly not for me

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a little to see where it was going, but I liked the end. Very poignant. Good art too.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9 stars. My first graphic novel by one of my favorite authors. He is incredible at portraying the rawness and rougher side of life and alcoholism. So powerful yet so short.