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Paradox Press series of Big Books
The Big Book of Losers
Whether cursed by fate, stupidity, or genetics, THE BIG BOOK OF LOSERS tells the tales of real people who were forced to endure a damned existence. Exploring the unfortunate adventures of those who could not catch a break, this amazing reference book documents the stories of people who have lost in life, sports, business, and politics. From President Garfield, who died after several incompetent doctors turned a small bullet wound into a huge, festering malady to the woman who burned her husband's life savings in the oven, this tome shows that some people are just destined to come out on the bottom. Also included in this book are the most legendary loser products such as New Coke, the female urinal, and the paper dress.
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1997
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103 people want to read
About the author
Paul Kirchner
62 books35 followersPaul Kirchner is an American writer and illustrator born in New Haven, Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 24, 2019
I do love The Big Book series, but as you expect some volumes are just better than others. Most of that would be personal preference of material rather than any inherent problems in the book. This one was interesting but due to the subject matter it was also somewhat depressing. It's a story of people who just can't win for losing. As always there are plenty of great facts and its never boring, but there are better volumes of this series.
April 6, 2016
This collection of black and white entertaining comic-style renderings of vignettes about various "losers" is really well put together. The stories concern actual events, mostly from the last 150 years; it leans more towards US History than stories drawn from other places. Everything included in the collection is backed with bibliographic citations. Thus this collection with judicious use could be used as a supplement to a study of American History or World History.
January 20, 2023
My second installment in the Big Book series. Like the conspiracy one, there are a lot of anecdotes being thrown at you and they can be difficult to absorb due to the sheer quantity and speed, even if you try to space them out. As you can tell, this book is about taking Ls. It has some sections that just read like 1000 ways to die or the Darwin Awards, which are impossible to remember because they are unverifiable and could be made up. I prefer the ones about real historical figures or events. I hate seeing people lose so it was generally not fun to read the stories about individuals, although I don’t have it in me to feel bad for Rudolph Hess. I felt more gleeful during the section about corporate Ls or inventions that never took off, like the new flavor of Coke. I had no idea there were so many failed aviation attempts/inventions. There were multiple instances of failed boatcars and boatplanes in here. I feel bad for Mili Vanilli. There was one section with small vignettes on embarrassing moments for politicians. One panel was about Joe Biden telling an anecdote in a speech in 1988 about his grandpa’s life in the coal mines that had been directly plagiarized from a British politician. The end of that chapter said that these hilarious moments in American politics will never end, and they were right!
June 5, 2016
Definitely a winner. An intriguing collection of losers and their stories.
December 12, 2025
The Big Book of Losers is a hilarious and intelligent collection that transforms history's most unlikely failures into brilliant short stories, perfect for reading in bursts or in one sitting. The tone is light, often ironic, but never truly mean: behind the comedy, there's always a touch of empathy for these small (and large) human disasters.
The book's strength lies in the variety of episodes told and the lively pace: each chapter is a quick read that raises at least a smile, and there are some truly hilarious moments. The writing flows smoothly, with a flair for the absurd that works beautifully.
If there is a limitation, it's that some "losers" are described a bit too quickly: I would have appreciated a little more depth here and there. But overall, the book delivers exactly what it promises: intelligent entertainment, bizarre trivia, and a touch of humanity.
Perfect for readers who love strange stories, historical trivia, and a healthy dose of humor.
The book's strength lies in the variety of episodes told and the lively pace: each chapter is a quick read that raises at least a smile, and there are some truly hilarious moments. The writing flows smoothly, with a flair for the absurd that works beautifully.
If there is a limitation, it's that some "losers" are described a bit too quickly: I would have appreciated a little more depth here and there. But overall, the book delivers exactly what it promises: intelligent entertainment, bizarre trivia, and a touch of humanity.
Perfect for readers who love strange stories, historical trivia, and a healthy dose of humor.
March 1, 2022
Caveat: this is the pre-Trump edition. Losers probably make up the vast majority of the human race, hence this book surveys the infamous, for starters Howard Hughes, from world's richest man to misanthrope and hypochondriac; Nicolae Caecescu, going from god of the personality cult in Romania to being executed (along with his wife) on Christmas Day, 1989; Frankie Lyman, the teenage singer ho recorded the classic "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?", the married three women without divorcing any of them and celebrated his comeback to the record industry by O.D.ing on heroin. You might also enjoy perennial losers suck as Harold Stassen, U.S. presidential candidate in 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1980...
April 4, 2019
Απίστευτο γέλιο !
May 22, 2018
As with most of DC Comics' imprint Paradox Press' Big Book Of . . . series (at least so far), The Big Book of Losers (mostly compiled by Paul Kirchner, with assistance from other comics writers and artists) was a pretty good read, at least after I now have some more of the cultural and sociological context for many of the vignettes therein.
As the title suggests, The Big Book of Losers details individuals, corporate products, and the like that . . . didn't work out as intended. From music producer Joe Meek--who produced and recorded the massive hit "Telstar" but at the same time passed on The Beatles and torpedoed his own success at virtually every juncture--to New Coke and the Edsel--for which certain people, a friend of mine from college included, still have a soft spot--The Big Book of Losers casts a broad net, and it largely succeeds on its own merits, if only because of its extensive bibliography at the end that offers the reader further sources to delve deeper (and, with the Internet now ubiquitous in such a way that it wasn't when the book came out, that bibliography allows truly deep dives down the rabbit hole). Some of the profiles detailed play fast and loose with the concept of being a "loser" per se (most notably, a few of the "Presidential Also-Rans" (illustrated by Gordon Purcell, this vignette includes Edmund Muskie, the end of whose Presidential run was largely brought about by Richard Nixon's "dirty tricks" and nothing of his own doing), the "Picturephone" (written by Nancy A. Collins and illustrated by Val Semeiks, this section has been outdated by, if nothing else, FaceTime and Skype), and "Adam" (illustrated by Alex Wald, this one is simply a stretch)), but on the whole, The Big Book of Losers is as advertised--entertaining and informative.
As usual with this series, the comics art is excellent, and even the usual suspects who detract from the gravitas of various vignettes don't do so here (although that may be a function of the overall tone of this volume); Kirchner and his co-writers Collins and Irwin Chusid maintain a decent balance in tone and detail of information. The Big Book of Losers may not be the best title in the series so far--that "award" goes to Doug Moench's The Big Book of Conspiracies--but it definitely is by far more successful than not, not a bad achievement for an imprint that DC has abandoned, to my own great disappointment.
As the title suggests, The Big Book of Losers details individuals, corporate products, and the like that . . . didn't work out as intended. From music producer Joe Meek--who produced and recorded the massive hit "Telstar" but at the same time passed on The Beatles and torpedoed his own success at virtually every juncture--to New Coke and the Edsel--for which certain people, a friend of mine from college included, still have a soft spot--The Big Book of Losers casts a broad net, and it largely succeeds on its own merits, if only because of its extensive bibliography at the end that offers the reader further sources to delve deeper (and, with the Internet now ubiquitous in such a way that it wasn't when the book came out, that bibliography allows truly deep dives down the rabbit hole). Some of the profiles detailed play fast and loose with the concept of being a "loser" per se (most notably, a few of the "Presidential Also-Rans" (illustrated by Gordon Purcell, this vignette includes Edmund Muskie, the end of whose Presidential run was largely brought about by Richard Nixon's "dirty tricks" and nothing of his own doing), the "Picturephone" (written by Nancy A. Collins and illustrated by Val Semeiks, this section has been outdated by, if nothing else, FaceTime and Skype), and "Adam" (illustrated by Alex Wald, this one is simply a stretch)), but on the whole, The Big Book of Losers is as advertised--entertaining and informative.
As usual with this series, the comics art is excellent, and even the usual suspects who detract from the gravitas of various vignettes don't do so here (although that may be a function of the overall tone of this volume); Kirchner and his co-writers Collins and Irwin Chusid maintain a decent balance in tone and detail of information. The Big Book of Losers may not be the best title in the series so far--that "award" goes to Doug Moench's The Big Book of Conspiracies--but it definitely is by far more successful than not, not a bad achievement for an imprint that DC has abandoned, to my own great disappointment.
July 8, 2007
Sometimes, reading about other people's failures cheers me up. Is that twisted?
These loser stories are told in a page or two, in comic book form, with art by different artists, which keeps things from getting boring.
I enjoyed this book a lot.
These loser stories are told in a page or two, in comic book form, with art by different artists, which keeps things from getting boring.
I enjoyed this book a lot.
May 4, 2010
It will come as no surprise probably that my favorite kinds of books as a kid are crazy fact books. And, still true as an adult. Love this series of books so much! Now, whenever I use a paperclip I'll reflect on its poor inventor.
April 6, 2012
Rating this as a stand-in for the Big Books in general, because I really don't want my bookshelf clogged up with 10 different pointless Big Book entries. But yeah, they are pretty much all funny and great to read if the "random factoid" type book holds interest to you. Great bathroom type books.
February 1, 2008
Funny book. Kind of makes you feel good if you are like me and make mistakes and do dumb things. lol Makes you glad your not in the book.
October 3, 2008
I skimmed this comic book. What it talks about is things and people of history that failed and it's in comic form. Great book for people who like comics and want to read about history.
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July 29, 2011"Big Book of..." is great illustrated series on a wide variety of topics with lots of top-notch artists and authors.
May 1, 2017
Like all the other books in the BIG BOOK series, LOSERS is a winner!
August 8, 2012
After seeing this book at some friends’ cabin, I was delighted to find a copy at Powell’s Book. Strange tales told in graphic novel format.
June 13, 2015
informative as always.. :)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews