A subversive, hilarious, dark-but-uplifting collection of comics skewering the commercial figures, Disney stories, and pop cultural touchstones that Millennials and Gen X-ers grew up with in the '80s and '90s. Ben Zaehringer's versatile art styles and wicked curveballs are sharp, clever and accessible, prompting many readers to comment that the author is "ruining their childhood" in the most delightful way possible.
***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I very much believe that my assessment or impression from this book is clouded/influenced by two things. I enjoy this dark or even cruel humour, some people may find it horrible or even disgusting, and I totally respect that. Furthermore, I was in a bit of a down mood, did not want to go to sleep, I did not enjoy the movie my family was watching, I did not feel like reading, so I went to NetGalley to see if I could find some comics or something similar to this. This caught my attention because the colour was the same as my mood, down and the picture is pretty much me. So, it completely fitted me at the moment.
Apparently, this comics is also published online, but I never saw it before.
I cannot say that I laughed aloud at any of this, but most of the time I had a bit of a smirk. Sometimes I was a bit missing the point, and when I finally found it, it was usually hilarious.
My favourites were the "space" Roomba, ghost bedbugs, snails doing drugs and burying at sea.
But as I said, this book is definitely not for everybody.
Andrews McMeel has made a pretty successful business publishing the best gag comics the internet has to offer, giving us the likes of The Oatmeal and Sarah Andersen, along with some of the crummiest like Soppy and Man, I Hate Cursive. Fortunately, Ben Zaehringer’s Sorry I Ruined Your Childhood from berkeleymews.com is among their better titles.
The format is mostly the classic three panel strip and, while your mileage may vary given that everyone’s comedic tastes are different, I thought the majority of them were genuinely funny and really imaginative. The content largely references childhood movies and shows - anything somewhat nostalgic for adult readers today - but some of the best gags were separate from those subjects.
Some of the funniest for me: a clown getting upset that his partner’s laughing while they’re having sex; God ripping out one of Adam’s ribs and drawing a face onto it with a pen; Santa eating weed cookies, forgetting to deliver presents and getting Taco Bell instead.
Real life TMNT, Prince Charming looking through an app called Cinder, the waterbed shark, the terrible father (screaming when his kid tells him the floor is lava and making them cry; telling his son he owes him forty bucks after smoking his weed), the Independence Day ship turning out to be a giant alien Roomba. It goes on like this - there are too many bangers for me to list off.
As expected, not all the gags were that good. The Superman parodies weren’t that funny, nor was the Sesame Street stuff and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the mummy sat on the toilet using his bandages for toilet paper elsewhere. But there’s so many great, clever jokes here to make it worth checking out, particularly if you’re in need of a laugh or ten. Fans of Nicholas Gurewitch’s Perry Bible Fellowship will really like this.
Υπάρχουν πολλά πράγματα τα οποία με κάνουν να γελάω και γελάω με πολλά και διαφορετικά πράγματα και με πολλούς και διαφορετικούς τρόπους. Για παράδειγμα σε στιγμές απόγνωσης παράγω έναν λαρυγγικό ήχο χρρρα-αχαχα-χρρρα και όσοι δεν με ξέρουν νομίζουν πως κάτι μου έκατσε στον λαιμό και πνίγομαι. Έχω επίσης ένα ψεύτικο γέλιο που χρησιμοποιώ μερικές φορές στα εταιρικά meeting που ξεκινάει από στο στέρνο και μοιάζει περισσότερο με βήχα γκχιγκχιγκχι. Κάποιες φορές γελάω και μαρσάρω αχαχααα χααα χααα χαχααα και κάποτε με πιάνει ένα γέλιο με παράλληλη εισρόφηση χαχαχαγλουπ- χαχαχαγλούπ!
Είμαστε το μόνο είδος του ζωικού βασιλείου που πάσχει από τη φριχτή συνειδητοποίηση της ματαιότητας της ύπαρξής μας και ως τέτοιοι, εμείς οι άνθρωποι, πάντα θα ψάχνουμε και θα δημιουργούμε αφορμές για να μετριάσουμε ή να ξεπεράσουμε όσα μας προκαλούν φόβο και πόνο. Εν ολίγοις μπορούμε να γελάμε με τα χάλια μας κι αυτό είναι μια σημαντική παρηγοριά.
Ο Ben Zaehringer με έκανε να γελάσω με χρονοκαθυστέρηση. Είναι αυτό το γέλιο που έρχεται μετά από μια μικρή παύση, αφού σκεφτείς λίγο τι είναι αυτό που μόλις διάβασες και κάνεις τη σύνδεση με ένα σημείο αναφοράς, προερχόμενο ως επί το πλείστον από την ποπ κουλτούρα. Τα σχέδιά του είναι απλά αλλά πίσω τους κρύβουν τη δική τους ξεχωριστή ιστορία και εκφράζουν κοινές ανθρώπινες εμπειρίες με πειρακτική αλλά καλόκαρδη διάθεση. Καταπιάνεται με μύθους και μνήμες τις παιδικής μας ηλικίας προκειμένου να σατιρίσει αντιλήψεις, εμμονές, πρότυπα και στερεότυπα. Είναι κάποια πράγματα που εκ πρώτης όψεως φαίνονται ανώδυνα. Αλλά με μια δεύτερη ματιά αποδεικνύεται πως δεν είναι.
Σε αυτό το βιβλίο υπάρχουν ιστορίες για το πώς απέκτησε η Άριελ, η μικρή γοργόνα το σουτιέν της, ιστορίες για τον Καλό Θεούλη που έφτιαξε τον κόσμο και απαντάει στις προσευχές μας, τις φοβίες της παιδικής μας ηλικίας για πράγματα όπως το τέρας που κρύβεται κάτω από κρεβάτι, τον Άγιο Βασίλη και τα ξωτικά του που μας φέρνουν τα δώρα, την αλήθεια για τα μαγικά σκουπόξυλα του Χόγκουαρτς, την πραγματική ιστορία πίσω από το αυτί του Βίνσεντ βαν Γκογκ, την αληθινή ταυτότητα των ιπτάμενων δίσκων και τις θεωρίες συνωμοσίας που υποστηρίζουν πως βρισκόμαστε υπό συνεχή παρακολούθηση, την ανάγκη μας για επιβεβαίωση και αποδοχή από τα μέσα κοινωνικής δικτύωσης.
Κάποια στριπ περιέχουν πράγματα που είναι αδύνατο να μεταφραστούν στα Ελληνικά και αποτελούν σημεία αναφοράς της Αμερικανικής κουλτούρας, πχ για παράδειγμα το το λογοπαίγνιο με το pumpkin carving contest αναφέρεται σε ένα είδος διαγωνισμού όπου οι συμμετέχοντες χαράζουν τρομαχτικά πρόσωπα σε κολοκύθες για το Χαλοουίν και τα καλύτερα κερδίζουν κάποιο βραβείο και τα Magic Eye είναι μια δημοφιλής σειρά βιβλίων που περιέχουν μαγικές εικόνες (αυτοστερεογράμματα στα οποία πρέπει να εστιάσεις τα μάτια σου με συγκεκριμένο τρόπο προκειμένου να δεις τα τρισδιάστατα σχήματα - ποτέ δεν κατάφερα να τα δω όσο κι αν έχω προσπαθήσει).
Κάποιες άλλες ιστορίες ωστόσο πετυχαίνουν τον στόχο τους κατευθείαν στην καρδιά, γιατί κατά βάθος η παιδική μας ηλικία με τις αγωνίες, τις απορίες, τους φόβους, τις παρεξηγήσεις και τα θαύματά της δεν μπορεί να καταστραφεί. Απλά με την ενηλικίωση αρχίζουμε να βλέπουμε τον κόσμο από διαφορετική γωνία, θέτουμε διαφορετικές προτεραιότητες και ορίζουμε διαφορετικά τις προτεραιότητές μας:
You've probably seen them posted as memes on the social media of your choice. Little snippets of dark humor.
So, if you like this sort of funniness with a bite, then here is a whole collection of the same.
The problem is, like eating cake, if you have it all at once, the humor starts to be repetitive. How many times can bad things happen to the main character?
The book is a collection of mildly amusing cartoons, but I found, that I only really laughed at a few.
But, since humor is subjective, if you already like Berkeley Mews Comics, then this is right up your alley.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
I don't think I was that familiar with these comics before reading this book. I may have seen one or two here and there online, but never really paid much attention. Collections like this can be hit or miss; sometimes it seems like there's just too much all in one place. But I actually found that the selections here are so diverse that I didn't really get bored or feel like I was seeing too much repetition.
Some of these are laugh-out-loud funny. Some will make you think. There are plenty of pop-culture references for Generation X-ers and Millennials (and Xennials) that'll have you taking a few trips down memory lane. Some of the comics are a little disturbing, but the drawing style is usually so simple that even when things get gory, they're not too difficult to look at.
Overall, I quite enjoyed these. The book is a quick read (you could easily finish in one sitting, if you wanted) but it's packed full of amusing stuff.
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing a digital ARC.
I enjoyed most of the comics in this collection. If you don't have a dark sense of humor it may be better to give this one a pass, but if you do, then definitely give it a try.
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
Sadly, this didn't do a lot for me! I usually really like these little comic bind-ups, but I wasn't overly familiar with Berkeley Mews Comics, so I knew it would either be really fun and new... or a whomp. It was the latter, unfortunately. I don't think it was so much that there's anything "wrong" with the humor here, I just felt like it wasn't trying very hard to be legitimately funny? And I saw these comics being hyped as pretty dark humor, which I tend to be a fan of, but I didn't think this was dark at all. Maybe it's one of those "it's me, not you" moments.
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I wanted to love this one and to be charmed and entertained but I struggled with this book and I couldn't figure out who the audience is. My complaints are: 1. Each page is a new story, but some of them fall flat and would be so much better if they were extended to a few pages in length. 2. None of the stories flow from one to the next and it lacks a theme. What I liked: The art is simple in appearance and I liked it for that reason.
I want to thank Netgalley, Ben Zaehringer and Berkeley Mews Comics for the opportunity to review this ARC.
*not what I expected* I wanted to enjoy this comic so much but it came out somewhat underwhelming and lacking in humour. Maybe my expectations were too high when I picked it up. I wanted to relate to the comic but somehow it came out to be a bit over the top sometimes and sometimes trying too hard to make things funny. I am and always will be a fan of dark humour. With the hope that I find another book by the author really enjoyable, I am looking forward to more books by the author. Thanks #NetGalley for providing me this book #SorryIRuinedYourChildhood
This collection is definitely worth a look, as there are some big laughs sprinkled throughout. It petered out for me toward the end, perhaps because I read the whole book in one shot. Or perhaps because the cartoonist goes back to the standard cartoon tropes pretty regularly, like Noah's Ark, St. Peter at Heaven's pearly gates, Superman, fairy tales, Disney movies, Sesame Street, etc. Those bits are funny, but I think the best strips in the book are the ones without all the pop culture references.
I've seen a bit of Berkeley Mews Comics online before, and grabbed this collection out of the library for a quick read. It's short, but filled with pretty solid strips, and some of them gave me a real good laugh. It didn't knock my socks off, but I did enjoy the ride, and it wad a good break from serious stuff, especially while I'm in a bit of a visual reading slump. Worth the read!
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
When I spotted this book on here I was interested, but it wasn’t until I went on Twitter to find the artist that I saw this comic collection would be perfect for me. I read a few comics on twitter, laughed aloud, showed them to my hubbie who also laughed aloud. And then I requested the book on here.
And then two days ago I started reading this collection and OH BOY, I had so much fun reading it. The comics in there are exactly my (and also my husbands) humour. Silly, over the top, at times tiptoeing the edge of what is correct and incorrect (if that makes sense). Eventually I started whatsapping my hubbie to send him comics as I wanted to share them with him and couldn’t wait until we were both home again. We both had a lot of laughs while reading it, while I didn’t hear him laugh of course, he did send me plenty of emojis.
There is a wide variety of topics, there are comics featuring God, but also pop culture, Snow White pops by as well, Medusa (poor poor Medusa), people get stranded on islands, Mario is here, and so much more.
The style of the art fits perfectly with the comics.
All in all, highly recommended if you are looking for something silly and fun!
Quick little read, lots of dark humor. I wish the Hoopla app I read this on would allow screenshots because there were definitely a few comics I'd like to share with others.
This was an interesting little collection! I know that a lot, if not all, of the little comics featured in this book originally started as web comics. I can totally imagine these popping up on my Twitter or Instagram feeds, and a few of them made me really laugh. Some of them, however, fell a little flat, and because there is no continuous storyline and they're all so short, it felt kind of like an abrupt joke book. The theme of "ruining your childhood" wasn't super consistent throughout it, and while it was a quick enough read and brought enough smiles that I wasn't mad I had picked it up, I also don't think I would at all consider this a must-read. However, if you're interested, maybe check out the author's socials or, if you're already a fan, pick up this bind-up of his work.
These were a mixture of some laugh out loud funny and other's charming and sweet and still other's that were not either. That may have been a generational thing more than the actual comic value of each though. I could definitely see that many were "to be appreciated" by the younger generations who use all versions of social media fluidly. Overall, this was a pleasure to go through. My son sends me a daily (and random) clip of either football in the south or a clip of a comic strip that is a good laugh between us. This reminded me of that, which definitely makes me smile. Thank you for that!
I got this book from NetGalley and it seemed promising based on the title. It disappointed. The comics were fine but I was confused as to the purpose of the book itself. Maybe if they were funnier, it would be better, but they weren't that funny.
Another web comic book. Very quick read as always. I have to admit some of them make me laugh, not much but some, most make me smile. Nothing extraordinary but above the majority of this genre!