Andy: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol: A Factual Fairytale

by Typex

From the 32 canvas Campbell’s Soup Cans to the Marilyn Diptych , Andy Warhol’s silk-screen prints are the epitome of Pop witty, gimmicky and unafraid of repetition. Obsessed with consumerism and the cult of celebrity, Warhol (1928–1987) exalted the “surface of things”—and yet he was a man of deep complexity. In Andy , Typex captures the remarkable life of the king of Pop Art, from his working-class upbringing in Pittsburgh to the dizzying heights of his celebrity. Spanning a period that began with the “talkies” and ended with the advent of house music, it is also a memorable portrait of 20th-century pop culture and the stars who defined it. Spanning Warhol’s early career as a commercial illustrator, his relationship with the Velvet Underground, and the development of his own instantly recognizable style, Andy is an exhilarating portrait of a transcendent artist and a master self-promoter. Intensively researched, this 568-page graphic biography—with silver edgestain on the pages—is the first to tell the complete life story of the iconic pop artist.

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

568 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2018

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are literally hundreds, possibly thousands, of biographies of Andy Warhol out there. I had home two of them, Andy, Typex’s 562-page wild comics biography of Warhol and also This is Warhol, Catherine Ingram's 80 page board book for adults. I mean, I like Warhol well enough, and find him amusing and interesting and maddening as pop artist and pop person, but I think this is quite enough Warhol for me for awhile, thank you for very much. I’ve had Typex’s long book—all in comics—around here for a long time now, reading some of it here and there, over Cheerios in the morning, while having a drink in the late evening, and I really do admire the very achieve of it, especially noting it for Warhol fans, but I am glad to be done with it. It’s funny and sad, and an artistic accomplishment in itself. I can’t imagine any biography more complete or creative I evoking him, from soup cans to Velvet Underground.

[Jeff Lewonczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

For years I've dismissed Warhol, in part because of his ubiquity and in part because of his simplicity - while I wouldn't have gone so far as to call him a hack, I've felt that he's overrated, and that in some ways he spoiled modernism (whatever that means) and pointed the way to a shallow, cynical, money-grubbing era of cooler-than-thou, less-is-less artistry. Then the new exhibit at the Whitney cropped up, and I started reading about it, and I realized I really wanted to go. It's as if enough distance passed between his life and our current influencer-saturated moment that I could both better admire his prescience and more accurately dissect our collective romanticism toward his era, astonished at how much he touched, and how much of it he sent rolling off in its own new direction, for better or worse. Suddenly, his tireless, endless searching, his willingness to try just about anything and his adventurous co-mingling of commercial and fine art started to seem very appealing to me.

In the midst of that thinking, this graphic novel by Typex jumped out to me from a bookstore shelf. Flipping through it, I was immediately seduced by his choice to depict each era of Andy's life in a completely different style, reflecting his chameleon-like career. It also contains an abundance of poppy whistles and bells, with celebrity cameos in the background of packed splash panels and trading card-style breakdowns of the dramatis personae at the beginning of each chapter. It's a gorgeous production, and on that level alone I had to have it.

I'm thrilled to say that the content lives up to the form. It's a sprawling poetic biography, from childhood to his last day on earth, packed to the gills with characters and stories and side-plots and myths and legends and poetic license at every turn. I didn't try to read it in one big burst but came back to a chapter or two each week, with the effect that the passage of time felt more real as Andy matured and aged and struggled with himself and with others during each successive phase of his career. As such, I found the experience more moving than I expected to, as figures pass in and out, and Andy in all of his awkward, ambitious, aggravating glory unfurls throughout.

I dunno, I just really loved it - exactly the right blend of grit and myth. If you're not predisposed to be interested in Warhol's life, you'll probably hate it - and a few years ago, that would've been me. But at this particular moment, I found it wonderful.

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 4 out of 5]

Są takie komiksy, w których najbardziej uderza ogrom pracy, jaki musiał włożyć autor w realizację. Odtworzenie barwnego życia Andy'ego Warhola to zadanie bardzo ambitne, z którego Typex nie tylko wyszedł obronną ręką, ale wzbił się na wyżyny kreatywności tworząc swoisty hołd dla artysty i wpisując się w jakiś sposób w estetykę jego twórczości. Ojciec Pop-artu był otwarty na tematy, które do tej pory w sztuce pomijano. Zachwycała go miałkość, realność i powierzchowność tego co masowe. Holenderski rysownik kapitalnie to odwzorował, zaczynając od formy komiksu, który w swoim kształcie (okładka, format, wymiary) ma przypominać proszek do prania, aż po samą grafikę, w której jest sporo nawiązań do słynnych sitodruków Warhola, ale również innych cech kultury popularnej. W ogóle strona wizualna jest tu fantastyczna, a najbardziej urzeka gra kolorem dostosowana do okresów, których dotyczą konkretne rozdziały. Ilość postaci przytaczanych i portretowanych w "Andym" może przytłoczyć. Bohema skupiona wokół artysty pokazana jest bez taryfy ulgowej, wraz ze swoją nietypowością i ekstrawagancją podniesioną do granic absurdu i śmieszności. Autor sugeruje, by dzieło dawkować, nie czytając w większej ilości niż jeden rozdział jednorazowo i ta rada jest sensowna, bo całość ze względu na swój dokumentalny charakter może przytłoczyć mnogością faktów i wydarzeń. Kapitalna rzecz, w której czuć przede wszystkim fascynację przedstawioną postacią. Chyba najlepszy tegoroczny komiks wydany przez Timofa

[Georg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warhol, a little brilliant, and (quite a) little more obnoxious. Fun to read, and the German translation is excellent.

[Koen Claeys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik ben onder de indruk van wat Typex heeft gemaakt, hoe de man zich enkele jaren heeft vastgebeten op dit onderwerp en al zijn creativiteit en talent heeft losgelaten op ongeveer 600 pagina's.
Alle aspecten van de man worden in beeld gebracht maar vaak is het, net als de persoon die in dit boek centraal staat, verwarrend. Wanneer ik dan extra info opzocht bleek dat Typex de feiten nogal wat heeft aangepast voor deze strip, iets waar Warhol zelf ook niet vies van was. Vandaar dus de ondertitel 'Feitelijke Fictie'. Dit creatief omspringen met de waarheid deed de stripmaker ook in 'Rembrandt', zijn vorige werk. Ik had het moeten weten.
Voor een meer objectieve, historisch correcte bio moet men dus elders zijn maar als strip-kunstwerk is dit een prestatie waar men enkel bewondering voor kan opbrengen.

[Steven Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What A Fun One! Graphic Novel, So Great. Took Ten Sections Of A's Life And, Cartooned 'em! Was Able To Get A Closer Look At Some Of The Players. Didn't Want It To End! Like A Giant Comic Book!
Five Super-Stars!

[Bob Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful !

[Berna Labourdette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un trabajo monumental de investigación sobre la vida y obra de Warhol, que logra amalgamar distintos estilos de dibujo, además de la presentación de la multitud de personas que compartieron o estuvieron en la vida de Warhol (su madre, sus hermanos, Nico, Eddie Sedgwick, Truman Capote, Valerie Solanas, todo la gente de la Factory y muchos más) y que logra mantener el interés durante las casi 600 páginas que tiene. Es un trabajo increíble y con muchísimo detalle, que puede interesar a todos, no sólo a quienes les interese Warhol.   

[Venus Maneater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in Dutch.

First of all; the design itself is amazing. Heavy, with golden pages. Cover like a cereal box, filled with hundreds of beautiful spreads. The juxtaposition between the gilded pages and the tacky covers are very much Warhol.

It's an intense read that will make you want to read more biographies of Andy and his many followers. It will make you love him, pity him, hate him and love him again. Typex worships Andy in the purest way possible and is honest in his vision; Warhol was a genius man, but a horrible enabler surrounded by even more enablers and yes-men. His life wasn't easy, but he had enough money and chances to fix that. Addicted to Hollywood culture even more than he was to love and fame, it was impossible for him to leave NY.

Typex's art is childlike and pure. He skips through different styles to match the many moods and periods Warhol went through. And like each and every life, it's not pretty. At times it's rough to look like and the artist himself suggest to read this book one chapter at a time. I get why. The many styles and moods of Andy do pop more with a palate cleanser in between.

It's sad and beautiful and maddening. A must read for any fan of either art, Hollywood culture, Typex or the man himself.

[Gerard de Bruin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bewonderenswaardige prestatie. Een gigantisch werk, letterlijk en figuurlijk. Het boek weegt 1,55 kg. Dat bevordert niet echt het leesgemak. Als grafische roman (sjiek stripverhaal) wat mij betreft niet helemaal geslaagd. Door de veelheid aan personages die ook nog eens van uiterlijk wisselen is het soms moeilijk te volgen. Daar staat tegenover dat de reden van die verandering, de stijlperiode waarin de hoofdpersoon verkeert, wel weer heel mooi uit de verf komt (pun intended). Het is onmogelijk om na dit boek niet van de mens Andy Warhol te houden.

[George Ilsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book advertises its 500 plus pages on the front cover, but only until it was too late did I see the warning on the back cover not to read more than one chapter at a time. I found the book chaotic and confusing and put it down several times.

Eventually I did read some of those chapters and skimmed others. It is always the same question with a biopic or reading a biography— is it better to know something about the subject or best to know nothing at all? Here it is probably best to start off knowing next to nothing and approach this thick volume with the spirit of discovery.

[Christoph Segers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zonder twijfel een ongelooflijk titanenwerk om dit te creëren, maar het kon me niet bekoren. Noch de stijl, noch het 'verhaal'. De overdaad aan personages in combinatie met de warrige prenten maakte het niet altijd eenvoudig om te volgen en Warhol is allesbehalve een aimabel figuur. Petje af voor dit kunstwerk, de magere score is louter op basis van mijn ervaring om dit lijvige/zware boek te doorworstelen.

[Virides Oculi]

Lettura amena, divertente. Da prendere con lo stesso spirito con cui si vuole bene a Warhol. Ma questo è prima di tutto un oggettino da avere in libreria.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot Take:
If you are interested in the New York art scene from 1960s Greenwich Village to 1980s Studio 54, if you want to meet some of the first out celebrity trans women, or you simply want to learn about or celebrate the pop artist Andy Warhol, this massive work of art is for you! If you don’t like emotional users, the occasional raunchy drug soaked erotic image, or the idea of carrying around a 550 page comic book, give it a pass.

Full Review:
Five hundred and fifty vividly illustrated pages long and five years in the making, Typex’s “Andy: A Factual Fairytale,” is a visual biographical extravaganza befitting its subject, the pop culture venerator and arch vampire, Andy Warhol, as it explodes with all the things he loved: color, celebrities, chaos, Campbell’s soup cans, candy and Candy Darlings, and, cover your eyes, gentle reader, and let this serve as a warning….c*ck! The book act not only as a chronicle of Warhol’s life and times, it also points to his contribution to our present moment, where celebrity is not always based on talent but on the ability to garner attention. This massive tome is also an impressive chronological paean to visual storytelling as each of the ten chapters celebrates the major comics artists, and dominant cartooning styles, of the times they illustrate.

Typex is a fair biographer, noting what is worthy of our attention in Warhol’s work and life while hiding none of his warts. Early in the panels, various figures offer critiques of Warhol’s pop art creations that stimulate the reader to consider the value of his work. Some dismiss it as lacking in expression or originality, saying it essentially “murders the artist,” while others praise exactly these qualities, saying it is a direct reflection of American culture—anti-elitist, mass produced, consumer oriented, and superficial, as it is offered without comment. A third voice points out that once a ubiquitous object, like the Campbell’s soup can, finds its way onto the canvas, “we start wondering what we have around us all the time…we become aware of it.”

Essentially, for better or worse, Warhol democratized the question of what art is and who makes it, asserting attention and dollars as the arbiter of worth over talent or enduring value.

As Warhol moved on from Brillo boxes and canned goods, he focused his attention on another mass produced commodity of the American market place: celebrity. Just as his canvases enlarged and colorized iconic images of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, Warhol began to explore celebrity itself as a form of art. Acting as a harbinger of social media notoriety, he created an iconic and easily identifiable look—platinum fright wig, leather jacket, and black turtleneck—and sought opportunities to be photographed and breathlessly reported on, being at all the right places with all the right people at just the right time, whether he enjoyed it or not. Along the way, he broke a cardinal rule of the art world as he directly commodified his celebrity image in order to advertise and increase the monetary value of his work. He constantly moved towards the next creative technology to expand the reach of his mass productions—from canvas to film, from print making to xeroxing, from magazine and outrageous events to TV commercials—continually playing the role of “Andy Warhol, artist.”

Back to the warts. Although my opinion of Warhol is far darker than the author’s, Typex does not hide the abusive nature of many of Warhol’s relationships. Warhol shamelessly used his celebrity to attract and cycle through a group of unique but needy people, especially during his “Factory” years. While profiting from their talent, he created financial and emotional dependency in his circle by providing food, shelter, and recognition in lieu of pay or autonomy in their creative endeavors. One could argue that Warhol provided a non-judgmental space for such marginalized people, but he could and did exclude some of these same people, often leaving them without emotional or physical shelter when they displeased him or they were no longer useful to him. My negative opinion of Warhol was shaped long before I read this work as years ago, in my teens, I had consumed the excellent, and highly recommended, biography, “Edie: An American Girl,” that chronicles the meteoric rise and tragic demise of one of his muses, Edie Sedgwick. Warhol’s life is full of many unique and sometimes fragile people, and Typex helps the reader manage the flow of this enormous cast of characters by offering a page of fun and informative trading cards at the beginning of each chapter, introducing each of the new figures. Some people in the book really deserve fuller attention than Typex can offer here, like Candy Darling and the other out trans women who are memorialized both in Andy’s films and in Lou Reed’s “Take a Walk on the Wild Side”.

The artists and art styles used throughout the book are as numerous as the shifting cast of figures, creating great visual interest and lending some themes to the storyline. For example, an early panel were Andy’s dreamy and imaginative nature is illustrated, borrows a famous image from Winsor McKay’s Little Nemo, as Andy, like the character, escapes into dream land by climbing through a mirror. At the end of the work, artist Chris Ware’s simple close ups technique which shows minute facial changes over the course of multiple tiny boxes, almost like the freeze frames of animated movie cells, shows Andy passing into darkness at the end of his life. The final page circles back to the beginning, as it shows the adult Andy climbing back through the mirror. The only thing I might have wished for would have been a key to name and honor all the artists Typex imitates while telling Andy’s story.

Ultimately when Warhol decoupled celebrity from talent and commodified the benefits, he helped create the world we live in today. He could have been describing the unique and transitory ability of social medias to bestow intense attention from a vast number of viewers in a moments notice, whether the subject wants it or not, when he said “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Typex slyly comments on the outsize influence of celebrity by including Warhol’s two interactions with Donald Trump. (The Donald twice quoted Andy’s statement that making money from art is no crime, as making money itself is an art, needing no justification.) Just as Warhol pursued the monetary value of attention by creating a persona that lasted long after his creative powers dissipated, Trump carefully crafted his brand as a successful business man and rode it all the way to the White House.

Highly recommended just for the spectacle of it all!

[Noemí · Rating 4 out of 5]

Más que un cómic es toda una tesis del artista, su entorno, de la época. Documentada, detallada y magnifícame ilustrada.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Typex’s drawing, and the way he structured and styled the different sections. I’ve had my fill of Andy for a while...

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 500 + page tome is quite an achievement there are some clever ideas at play, such as the old style drawing in the opening chapter, which inject a grim authenticity into his formative years. The shifting styles of drawing to reflect the changing eras was also a nice touch. I enjoyed the little cards (120 stars to collect!) with the factual details on the back which include all sorts of memorable and doomed characters from the likes of Truman Capote, Marilyn Monroe and Jackson Pollock to Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Madonna, which gives us a clear idea of the company Warhol was keeping and the circles he was moving in over his lifetime.

I wouldn’t say that I was a huge fan of Warhol and I always retain a healthy scepticism of the art world and the vast majority of people who profit from it, especially when it is so hyped up and commercialised like Warhol and his ever evolving entourage. This story is quite the sprawling journey, filled with drama queens, spoilt brats and bored rich people getting off their face to forget about meaningless their empty lives are which can grow a little tiresome. I found the drawing inconsistent and occasionally frustrating, but overall this was an entertaining enough read.

[Alvarex Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un cómic que hace sentir su formato papel como un objeto con el que nos vamos relacionando físicamente, más allá de la idea de saber cuánto pesa (información que aparece en el lomo) detalles como el lomo plateado, las postales recortables con los personajes históricos y ficticios que aparecen en la narrativa, la diferencia de colores y estilos de cada uno de sus 10 capítulos.
Warhol siempre fue el secundario o el que hacía un camel en los audiovisuales sobre la época que consumí (The Doors, Basquiat, I Shoot Andy Warhol) acá su vida, actitudes, contradicciones e imaginación están puestos al frente en un cómic excelente que lo hace sentir relevante como nunca antes... Ahora veré la serie de sus diarios...

PD: Valerie Solanas es una presencia (en "su" capitulo) que me recordó la enajenación de Rorschach en Watchmen y creo que es un poco intencional el guiño incluso, en una obra tan consciente de su calidad hipertextual.

[Jessie Summers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is it cruel to rate a bio a 1 star? Does that feel like giving someone’s life a big rotten tomato?

This is my third typex biopic and I think I’m done with them. I know Andy Warhol lived to be nearly 60 and was pretty prolific in his public works but… for me, it was WAY too graphic in his sexuality and really just any opportunity for nudity. Without exaggeration there was some amount of full frontal nudity in nearly every chapter of this 500+ page book. I wish it had more of a direct narrative to help organize the experiences/events instead of feeling like a bunch of sad sexualized events throughout the decades. I learned more reading his Wikipedia page than this jumble 🤷‍♀️

[Erik de Vries Lentsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some thoughts:
- The blurb tells you to read the book one chapter at a time. This is good advice, because the writing is excellent and dramatic.
- I thought that Warhol's art was meant to be ironic or was based on some complex social philosophy that eluded me. Judging by this book, however, the art seems to have come from a very different place: it was made by a man who was genuinely, deeply superficial.
- Warhol's entourage of substance abusers is a sorry sight, truly depressing. There are only a few moments of warmth in the whole story.

[Rafaela Oliveira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a lot of expectations for this graphic novel and finally it wasn't the way I imagined. I found this kind a difficult to read and follow the history. I'll probably read it again one day to try to have a second option.

[Federico · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really couldn’t stand the drawings and quit reading it at the beginning of the second chapter. It’s a pity ‘cause the design of the book is interesting and I love all the stories about Warhol, Malanga, Sedgwick.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a signed copy of this book from the publisher at ALA Annual 2019.

[Eef · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this!!

[Fb_leviathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Equally stunning and documented biography of the life of Andy (and others). A must to read!

[Liz Yerby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried so hard to finish this book but Andy Warhol is a mediocre man

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monumental biografía de Andy Warhol y su entorno en formato cómic. Estupendo.

https://liblit.com/typex-andy-una-fab...

[ArianeDeTroil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difícilmente se puede escribir una biografía más fiel a la locura, el caos y la genialidad en laque transcurrió su vida.

[Kornelis Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely piece of a graphic novel biography.

[Xvmichal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Komiks czyta się ciężko, historia jest dość skomplikowana, a bohater z niej się wyłaniający jest nieciekawy.