Be Everything at Once: Tales of a Cartoonist Lady Person

by Dami Lee

Why do things in moderation when you can just do everything? Cartoonist Dami Lee's hilarious four-panel comic collection illustrates her experience navigating identity, relationships, pop culture, and misunderstandings about basic human interactions.

From growing up as a South Korean immigrant kid in the foreign land of Texas to finding her home as a professional cartoonist in cyberspace, Lee laughs at it all. With favorite selections from Dami's massively popular webcomic As Per Usual, as well as many never-before-seen comics, Be Everything at Once is earnestly relatable and endlessly funny, full of (mostly) true stories for anyone who obsesses over their favorite snacks, struggles to take the best selfie, tears up at the sight of a perfect dog, or is maybe just trying to find their place.

• Humor for anyone who has ever felt out-of-place and overworked
• A mix of relatable moments and personal stories
• Comic strip format book of stories from a modern young woman

Fans of Superchill: A Year of Living Anxiously, Emotions Explained with Buff Dudes, Adulthood is a Myth, and Hyperbole and a Half will love this book.

This book is perfect for:
• Comic fans
• 20-somethings
• Fans of Sarah Andersen and Allie Brosh
• Dami Lee's social media followers
• Fans of pop culture

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Humor, Nonfiction, Memoir, Graphic Novels Comics, Biography

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2018

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 2 out of 5]

4 panel comics by Dami Lee, who three times moved to the states from South Korea. I think a lot of younger women will like it, focused as it is on some cultural issues, on how she became a cartoonist, dating, make-up, mildly funny, revealing how truly nice she is. I'm not a fan of the art style, either, which is kind of goofy manga. It's so nice it just makes me feel mean to say anything less than nice about it. These comics are selected from her very popular webcomic, As Per Usual.

Here's a review that finds her amusing and charming an in which you can see a couple examples:

https://www.comicsbeat.com/review-be-...

An interview with Lee:

https://medium.com/the-baton/dami-lee...

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book of diminishing returns. I liked the first section a lot as Lee wrote about being a South Korean immigrant to America as a child who then returns to South Korea as a fish out of water. The next section about becoming a cartoonist was good. Everything thereafter (two-thirds of the book) seemed to be super mild gags straight out of the Cathy comic strip about clothes, eating and laziness. Ho-hum.

[Justine]

Review to come.

[Ken Yuen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, a fun ride. I want to subscribe to her web comic now.

If you like Sarah Andersen comics, you'll like this. Plus, all the drawings are just so cute.

[Amanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Dami Lee's art, it's the right amount of awkward cute combined with smart lessons and anecdotal material. I laughed really hard when I learned what she coined W.F.S: a condition in which everything you eat goes straight to your face. I suffer from this exact thing, where anytime I eat, my face will puff up immediately. It's small funny things like that that made the book, but I also appreciated the discussion about being stuck between two cultures, never being quite American, nor South Korean (and never really feeling welcomed by either).

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute & weird & hilar

[USOM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be Everything at Once manages to balance these panels of humor with insight. Each comic page has a distinct feel, almost like looking at snapshots of a life. Varying with degrees of humor and wisdom, Be Everything at Once was an entertaining look at a life. A life of immigration and feeling a bit lost, at struggling with family, and also just general everyday concerns.

[Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It had comics that made me laugh and comics that taught me things. The author is Korean-American and shared stories about her cultural identity and her experiences being a three time immigrant. This collection also explored highly relatable moments from work and social life in the modern world which were deeply entertaining. This was an excellent book.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, while the book starts with some interesting comics about culture and identity, it quickly devolves into a generic joke book that isn't particularly funny or innovative. Meh.

[وضحه · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across an instgram post of this book and fell in love with the wit so I decided to follow the account when suddenly I realize that there's actually a whole book of these comics. I did not waste any minute before actually reading it.
I laughed so hard and related alot it was honestly too short for my liking I wanted more. I honestly think that this book deserves more recognition and hype it's AMAZING and I really enjoyed reading it and forced most of my family members to read it with me. They all enjoyed it as well.

[Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022 bk 296. Interesting look at a young person's life between two countries/continents told through cartoon panels and sections of text. This is one of the few books where I have found a difference in generations makes a difference - it was very obvious that she was speaking to her own generation. That isn't a bad thing, but as a cartoonist who wants to reach a wide audience, the author needs to develop an awareness of 'almost universal truths' as opposed to a small region/one age group. Her talent is too good to be bound by such limitations.

[Felipe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️. Me gustó en general, pero siento que la idea de mezclar el texto y los cómics queda como desordenado, a veces sentía que los cómics no coincidían mucho con la sección en la que estaban, pero a lo mejor no tenía donde más ponerlos

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leftover from a long ago Alex committee. Cute, but I'm not the target audience. Some of the cartoons I really liked, but quite a few were "meh." Definitely a good "new adult" choice, though--and a very fast read unless the cat is sleeping on it and you can't disturb her to get the book.

[Hana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute and relatable!

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! Is a really good comic that made me laugh. I love Dami's humor, and I every monday read "As per usual". Both of them made me rethink about simple things, I relate to many things such as having cringy art that you want to throw off a cliff, people eating your food and don't even like it (THE WORST KIND), or filling your brain with endless facts about the characters you like. So I hope that Dami is having a great future, even tough isn't anymore writing comics. I really recommend this book! Love ya Dami Lee!


P.S. Even though this is book is called "Be everything at once", I call it "Ass per usual". Lolz

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
I thought that this was a pretty charming graphic novel. Some of the jokes are a little mediocre, but the drawing style and coloring are both pretty cute. I especially liked Lee's comics about her experiences as both a woman and an immigrant. All in all, I would say it is worth your time to read, especially if you are a fan of the Sarah's Scribbles series.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eep! This book was just too fun, too good, but then again, I love Dami Lee's work so it was no surprise!

First up, thank you to my sweet fiance for giving me this one for Christmas! I just love Dami Lee's work, and so I had to have this book when I spotted it on her Twitter.

This book is mostly her comics, but there are also parts in between talking about eggs, about Korea, the fact that being bilingual is a great help when one wants to buy online, about family, about becoming a Cartoonist Lady Person. She has a fabulous writing style and I was looking forward to each in between part. I wanted to see what she would tell in that one. I read a few of them to my fiance (he is also a fan of her comics). We both had such a laugh about the in between parts about eggs. She kept on talking on and on why she picked it and then ended that it was just done because it was easy to draw. :P

Also, I guess now we know what came first, chicken or egg. The chicken. In Dami's childhood comics she is wearing a chicken shirt/sweater instead of her egg one she is wearing as adult.

Of course, as I follow and read Dami's comics I knew most of the comics in this book. There are few I didn't instantly recognise so either it has been too long or she added new ones. Did I mind though? Nah, I am happy to re-read her comics over and over again, they stay funny no matter how many times one reads them.

All in all, this was just the best, and I am glad that Dami Lee brought out this book. It makes me happy that my favourite artists are bringing out books featuring comics, stories, and more. I would highly recommend it if you want to laugh.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

A heartwarming and funny graphic novel that not only encapsulates the life as an immigrant child raised in a foreign country, but also the struggles of Millenials trying to find themselves in a technologically advanced and globalised world.

The graphic novel did start off on a more serious note, however, two-thirds in, the tone started to change, and there was more sarcasm. As a twenty-something year old born to Asian immigrants and raised in a culture unfamiliar to my parents, Lee's depiction of her childhood and struggles with not being both 'American enough' or 'Korean enough' resonated with me. I would've wished that nostalgic, warm feeling was consistent throughout the book had I not understood where the humour surrounding her adulthood came from. The latter parts of the book were less nostalgic, but it perfectly demonstrates my -and I believe a lot of (young) adults- feelings of inadequacy or frustration when trying to become responsible a responsible adult.

"Unfortunately, I don't know how to exercise so I've just resorted to moving furniture around in my apartment"

This light-hearted tone is justified for me when at the end, Lee concludes that "this is living". Her easygoing personality shines as she reminds us that we will go through many ups and downs growing up, however, we should try to make light of the situation instead of being harsh on ourselves.

Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The art style was cute and the layout made the story easy to read. As mentioned, I appreciated the light-heartedness and Lee's sarcasm, and I only wished there were more heart-tugging scenes.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of comics by Dami Lee that are mostly autobiographical about her experience of immigrating from South Korea to the US several times (2 times as a child and 1 time as an adult), and the joys and challenges of going back and forth between languages and cultures. She also shares how she got into being a cartoonist, and some random comics about adult life.

I really liked the section of this about what it was like for Dami to go back and forth between South Korea and the US. I have several Korean American friends and students who I know can relate (and I did the reverse moving from the US to South Korea to teach for a year so I tangentially relate). Her story was interesting, especially how much she used pop culture to learn languages. The adulting comics are relatable and likely to make readers smirk at least a time or two. I would love for Dami Lee to do an autobiographical graphic novel memoir for kids...I think there are so many who could relate to her experiences.

Notes on content: 7 minor/moderate swears and 1 strong swear. No sex scenes or indecent illustrations. There are 2 comics about guys making inappropriate and suggestive comments to her. No violence.

[Leannes-Booklist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this was a nice way to pass the time! I bought this last year but never finished reading it, as I hate finishing graphic novels/illustrated books so quickly (usually in under an hour). I decided to pick it back up this evening and it was an enjoyable.

This book went off to a strong start, and I really enjoyed the section about Dami's Life experiencing Korean and US culture! I also enjoyed a few of the jokes in the second half, such as the "Beware the Tides" sketch. What's nice about this book is that you really get an understanding of Dami's personality; I think it (and her love of online culture) comes across really well in her 4-panel sketches :)

I'll admit there are some sections that felt a bit underwhelming, but all in all it was a quick, fun read. It's definitely something I can see myself going back to every once in a while.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little collection of comics about a bicultural Korean immigrant. This is not a cohesive story — mostly four panel comics relating to her childhood and adult experiences as a tater tot eater, a potential mother, and an online shopper. I totally identified with lots of her introverted, lazy day humor. I appreciated her humor about embracing her biculturalism in order to enjoy TWO internets 😲

The art is, well, let's say efficient. Simplistic, but cute. The author is much cuter than her drawings suggest. She seems like the kind of person I'd want to Netflix marathon near.

3 stars: I liked it! But I wish it had been one continuous story, rather than just a collection of comics arranged in chronological order. Maybe that's just my way of saying I want to read another try from her.

[Courtenay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was a new book by the creator of Sarah's Scribbles. Sadly, I was mistaken. Whereas I loved the other comics, I found myself scratching my head, rereading many of these to try to find the humor. For example, on p. 50, entering "the yelling room" to get to the internet, the character comes out panting, all scratched and bruised as though she'd been at war. Asked how it was, the cartoon lady responded "great, I'll be back tomorrow." So, is this character masochistic? abused and enjoying it? I felt like I was missing something??? Not a great fit for me.

[Joansie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm kind of into cultural quirkiness at the moment so I thought I'd enjoy this based on the first few pages I flicked through before deciding to get it. I thought it was going to develop a more serious tone as the chapters continued, based off their titled pages however it seemingly got more and more hipster. I thought a thrice US immigrant would have more to share than 'be an egg', but if they did, this wasn't it.

This was fun at times but lacked any major punch. Probably wouldn't read again despite being a very quick finish.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since the typical 4 panel comic is one of my favorites, I was immediately drawn to Lee's format by using the comics to explain what's going on with her life. She also intersperses a written page or two to further her story. I love graphic novel memoirs and this has an interesting spin because this young woman is caught between cultures having moved between Korea and the U.S. multiple times. She has some whimsical insights into being a 20something trying to be an illustrator.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

This was really cute. I got it as a birthday gift from a friend and it was just the kind of humorous break I needed in my reading after finishing The Goldfinch (which basically took over my life for a month). I laughed out loud a lot, and the art was adorable. The last section felt a little disjointed, but overall it's a good read and it was nice to read something different from my usual fare.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fav parts:

-"This is called the internet. You get two versions of it if you're bilingual"

-"I wasn't American enough in America. And I definitely wasn't Korean enough in Korea. For the longest time, I thought I had to choose between being Korean and being American. It turns out you don't really have to? You can just be your own person? Did you guys know about this?"

-"I don't wanna go to work!" "You left a half-eaten snickers bar at your desk yesterday"

[Cameron Toney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this was a victim of my expectations. I was expecting more of a graphic memoir, about the cartoonists life, both as an artist and as a person who grew up in two countries. But this was not exactly that. There are panels dealing with those themes, but mostly it seems to be a collection of her comics, which is fine, but not what I was expecting.
It's just a matter of taste here- these are fun, but not what I was looking for.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun book!! I love how well Dami Lee was able to tie together her previous comics about modern day life and jokes that I had previously seen on her Instagram with her unique experiences growing up in both South Korea and the US. A super funny and personal book that I will definitely enjoy rereading/paging through in the future!

[Amy Pickett · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars: A lighthearted, whimsical collection of slice-of-life comic panels chronicling the themes of growing up between cultures, becoming a "cartoonist lady person," the internet, fashion/appearance (a.k.a. "Girl in Skorts"), the state of things now, and life lessons. Very charming and intentionally on the fluffy side.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aww. It's her Instagram with more words!

That makes me like it a lot. I'd give it 5 stars if it just had the comics though. That's all I expected and wanted. It's more Dami Lee! Yay! If you expect more, maybe you'll like this book less. That's fine. I'm a happy fan.

More Dami Lee!!!