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Inappropriate
2 IGNATZ AWARD Outstanding Collection + Outstanding Story Foreword Indies Finalist One of the Best Graphic Novels of the Year ― Library Journal Gabrielle Bell returns with a brilliant new collection of hilarious short stories. From a revisionist Red Riding Hood, to uncomfortable role reversals, Gabrielle Bell revels in skewering modern mores with razor-sharp humor and wry observations. Culled from The New Yorker , Paris Review , and Medium , including several brand new previously unpublished gems, Inappropriate collects Bell’s best short comics form the last couple of years.
120 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2020
2 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Gabrielle Bell
58 books184 followersGabrielle Bell was born in England and raised in California. In 1998, she began to collect her “Book of” miniseries (Book of Sleep, Book of Insomnia, Book of Black, etc), which resulted in When I’m Old and Other Stories, published by Alternative Comics. In 2001 she moved to New York and released her autobiographical series Lucky, published by Drawn and Quarterly. Her work has been selected for the 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Best American Comics and the Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction, and she has contributed to McSweeneys, Bookforum, The Believer, and Vice Magazine. The title story of Bell’s book, “Cecil and Jordan in New York” has been adapted for the film anthology Tokyo! by Michel Gondry. Her latest book, The Voyeurs, is available from Uncivilized Books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
(source: http://gabriellebell.com/contact/)
(source: http://gabriellebell.com/contact/)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
February 24, 2021
I love this book. I see at a glance some of you are like eh, and I get it, some of it is sort of slight, but who cares, this is my stuff, (mostly) slice-of-life indie comix, with some fiction mixed in, such as the work of John Porcellino (and there's a funny piece about him in here!), Noan Van Sciver, the early Jeffrey Brown. Very much of the dead-pan, a-little-bit-crazy and a-lot-lovable humor of Keiler Roberts (they seem like sisters to me). These are, like most of Bell's work, diary comics, though these push the laughs with great effects; I smiled throughout and laughed aloud a few times.
That creepy cover is connected with the title story, but very few are really THAT edgy. . . okay, a couple, such as The Real Story of Red Riding Hood which is about Red and her boyfriend Wolfe and a kind of Bonnie and Clyde story, which is one of a few non-diary comics, flights of humorous fancy. There's one I completely appreciate about a trip to the dentist. Lots of stories about dogs that talk to her, walking around NYC with friends, being, uh, inappropriate. Stuff about polar bears, spiders, and some typically weird family stories. NYC apartment critters. A check-up with an inappropriate doctor. Party-crashing (where they steal a taxidermied baby pig!).
Overall, it's inappropriate, thank goodness. I got it from the library but am going to buy it now to do my bit to help her out of her scummy apartment-life poverty. You know, I see I gave early Bell books three stars, but now I think I get her. Sometimes I am a little slow i that way. I have also seen her twice in person and that helps understand her, maybe. I'm now a fan.
That creepy cover is connected with the title story, but very few are really THAT edgy. . . okay, a couple, such as The Real Story of Red Riding Hood which is about Red and her boyfriend Wolfe and a kind of Bonnie and Clyde story, which is one of a few non-diary comics, flights of humorous fancy. There's one I completely appreciate about a trip to the dentist. Lots of stories about dogs that talk to her, walking around NYC with friends, being, uh, inappropriate. Stuff about polar bears, spiders, and some typically weird family stories. NYC apartment critters. A check-up with an inappropriate doctor. Party-crashing (where they steal a taxidermied baby pig!).
Overall, it's inappropriate, thank goodness. I got it from the library but am going to buy it now to do my bit to help her out of her scummy apartment-life poverty. You know, I see I gave early Bell books three stars, but now I think I get her. Sometimes I am a little slow i that way. I have also seen her twice in person and that helps understand her, maybe. I'm now a fan.
May 10, 2020
A perfect work of art.
March 26, 2020
The comics collected in Gabrielle Bell’s newest book, Inappropriate, show a new turn in her work. While these remain unmistakably diary comics, Bell doubles down on her comedy chops and flights of fancy.
What once might have been expressed via thought bubbles or panel captions, Bell expresses instead as a literal event, encounter, or conversation. In these comics, there are no “what ifs” or “if onlys.” Instead, everything happens how it might have happened rather than how it actually did. Not only that, but there are often no signs that a strip has shifted from reality to fantasy. That mixture mostly works. But sometimes that mixture also leads to strips that are more clever than they are insightful.
Nevertheless, Bell’s work continues to improve and mutate, and this new book shows yet again that she is one of the best working cartoonists.
What once might have been expressed via thought bubbles or panel captions, Bell expresses instead as a literal event, encounter, or conversation. In these comics, there are no “what ifs” or “if onlys.” Instead, everything happens how it might have happened rather than how it actually did. Not only that, but there are often no signs that a strip has shifted from reality to fantasy. That mixture mostly works. But sometimes that mixture also leads to strips that are more clever than they are insightful.
Nevertheless, Bell’s work continues to improve and mutate, and this new book shows yet again that she is one of the best working cartoonists.
July 27, 2020
A collection of short stories ranging from what appear to be semi-autobiographical slice-of-life bits about pets and bedbugs to a true-crime remix of Little Red Riding Hood. Aside from a couple humorous strips about polar bears, I didn't find much to love. Bell's work tends toward cringe humor and the vaguely unsettling, and I tire of that sort of stuff quickly.
March 31, 2021
This was so cool ! The Nicest Dog, Bucket and 1800 - CATS were particular favs.
Nocturnal Guests was personally very relatable because while I have not had bed bugs I HAVE had their sexy cousin, scabies :•)
Nocturnal Guests was personally very relatable because while I have not had bed bugs I HAVE had their sexy cousin, scabies :•)
November 4, 2020
Lots of fun in these stories, some more inappropriate than others. A few seemingly autobiographical stories interspersed with some supernatural ones. In the end, I don't know if I'd like to meet someone bold enough to cuddle with Duchamp's Étant donnés.
June 15, 2024
Ha! Not for those who get the heebie jeebies fairly easily. Bell is fearless.
March 4, 2020
After this book , I don't think I'll ever believe anything Gabrielle Bell says is true. But her lies are exquisite!
August 27, 2020
Gabrielle Bell's Inappropriate isn't as off-putting as its title, cover, or opening story suggest.
This is a collection of mostly unrelated comics-style short stories. They range from a dog walking his person one morning, the author walking geriatric dogs, the author's struggles with bedbugs, inappropriate doctors, the paradox of polar bears, and a remix of Little Red Riding Hood. Plus more. Many stories are a couple pages, but a few are longer.
Funny, disturbing, odd, strange, good, real, insane, surreal--these are the words I would use to describe this graphic novel. Many stories are strangely off-putting while also capturing the essence of living as a mid-twenties to early thirties comics artist in New York. Sometimes a comic focuses on a dream or goal, only to show how the author's personality would ruin the thing she had long hoped for. Sometimes it starts off as a childhood anecdote that turns bizarre, like telling of a time the author bonded with her dad... over jointly murdering someone over land rights. One of my favorite quirks of her writing is giving voices to dogs and other animals even though the humans still ignore them. Turns out all the animals in her life are snarky as hell.
Many stories had me laughing or at least feeling strongly amused, so I give it a 4 outta 5. Fuhgettaboutit.
This is a collection of mostly unrelated comics-style short stories. They range from a dog walking his person one morning, the author walking geriatric dogs, the author's struggles with bedbugs, inappropriate doctors, the paradox of polar bears, and a remix of Little Red Riding Hood. Plus more. Many stories are a couple pages, but a few are longer.
Funny, disturbing, odd, strange, good, real, insane, surreal--these are the words I would use to describe this graphic novel. Many stories are strangely off-putting while also capturing the essence of living as a mid-twenties to early thirties comics artist in New York. Sometimes a comic focuses on a dream or goal, only to show how the author's personality would ruin the thing she had long hoped for. Sometimes it starts off as a childhood anecdote that turns bizarre, like telling of a time the author bonded with her dad... over jointly murdering someone over land rights. One of my favorite quirks of her writing is giving voices to dogs and other animals even though the humans still ignore them. Turns out all the animals in her life are snarky as hell.
Many stories had me laughing or at least feeling strongly amused, so I give it a 4 outta 5. Fuhgettaboutit.
November 3, 2020
Gabrielle Bell is an acquired taste - Inappropriate is part for the course in that respect. The author's illustrated anecdotes are generally amusing and pleasantly over-detailed. The flights of fancy can grate. This collection in particular feels all over the place, a weird mish-mash of non-fiction and fiction, with no barriers in between. Still, I laughed out loud at 1-800-CAT, so a bonus star seems appropriate.
February 28, 2020
A billion stars, as with everything Gabrielle Bell does. Hilarious and touching autobiographical stories, whether true or... embellished. Bell is unflinching in talking about mental health, and merciless at exploring her own mishaps and fears, but draws everyone and everything with just enough sweetness and love.
The only *Inappropriate* thing would be not to read it.
The only *Inappropriate* thing would be not to read it.
November 7, 2021
Saw this in a Little Free Library and grabbed it to check out -- I'm pretty sure I've seen some of her work around, in anthologies, or at SPX or whatnot. Bell creates what I suppose would be called alt-comix, or indie comics, or something like that. This collection of 26 pieces mixes dreams, memoir, reflections, reality, make-believe and just weird tales in a variety of tones. If this book had trigger-warnings, they might include: bed bugs, dentists, spiders, rats, bears, naked dudes, and self-loathing.
The pieces range from 6-panel single page gags to the wild and hilarious 18-page version of Little Red Riding hood. Quite a lot of them involve animal problems, ranging from funny -- such as the hilarious attempt to hire a cat to get rid of a mouse -- to plumbing the depths of existential dread -- brought about by her having to dog-sit her friends' ancient, incontinent dog. Or simply wryly documentary -- as in the tale of her fifth encounter with bed bugs. Some are slices of the natural world-- the life of a trap-door spider, the attractions and dangers of polar bears, but even these have some kind of twist of the knife. Another running thread are vignettes that are more apparently autobiographical, from her childhood, or life as a New York cartoonist. All in all, if you are someone who would have read "Raw" back in the 1980s-90s, or the "Drawn & Quarterly" anthologies, or just like graphic storytelling with a bit of an edge, then this collection is certainly worth checking out.
The pieces range from 6-panel single page gags to the wild and hilarious 18-page version of Little Red Riding hood. Quite a lot of them involve animal problems, ranging from funny -- such as the hilarious attempt to hire a cat to get rid of a mouse -- to plumbing the depths of existential dread -- brought about by her having to dog-sit her friends' ancient, incontinent dog. Or simply wryly documentary -- as in the tale of her fifth encounter with bed bugs. Some are slices of the natural world-- the life of a trap-door spider, the attractions and dangers of polar bears, but even these have some kind of twist of the knife. Another running thread are vignettes that are more apparently autobiographical, from her childhood, or life as a New York cartoonist. All in all, if you are someone who would have read "Raw" back in the 1980s-90s, or the "Drawn & Quarterly" anthologies, or just like graphic storytelling with a bit of an edge, then this collection is certainly worth checking out.
August 6, 2025
This is a collection of short comics, all but a couple of which are at least semi-autobiographical. I'm not a big fan of autobiography, but a lot of these comics take an approach to the genre that I haven't seen before, and that I thoroughly enjoy: humour-driven and, at their best, featuring outlandish or even surreal twists that make it clear Bell isn't at all beholden to veracity. That said, a few of the comics here are the very worst kind of autobio: dull, meandering accounts of banal occurrences like getting a bedbug infestation or visiting a dog shelter. Thankfully those are a small minority, and they’re counterbalanced with some completely fictional work, which includes some of the collection's highlights, like a brilliant one about the life of a trapdoor spider.
Bell has a sardonic, self-deprecating manner, in the tradition of Adrian Tomine and Chris Ware, though more overtly comedic. I know that downbeat brand of alternative comics is a turn-off for some people – anyone who dislikes reading about shitty people being shitty should probably give this a miss – but cynics like me will appreciate the dry wit, bluntness, and total lack of sentimentality. Despite a couple of duds, the collection’s overall quality is very high, and it's left me eager to read more of Bell’s work – especially more fiction.
Bell has a sardonic, self-deprecating manner, in the tradition of Adrian Tomine and Chris Ware, though more overtly comedic. I know that downbeat brand of alternative comics is a turn-off for some people – anyone who dislikes reading about shitty people being shitty should probably give this a miss – but cynics like me will appreciate the dry wit, bluntness, and total lack of sentimentality. Despite a couple of duds, the collection’s overall quality is very high, and it's left me eager to read more of Bell’s work – especially more fiction.
January 25, 2021
This was my first introduction to Gabrielle Bell's work, and I was expecting it to be a collection of mostly silly short comics like the first one in it - a dog takes his pet human for a walk, hijinks ensue. There are a fair number of those, but there are also more poignant and thoughtful autobiographical ones that make it a much more emotionally and mentally engaging read than you would first expect. Ultimately, it made me want to read more of the author's work, which is about as strong an endorsement as you can get.
May 19, 2021
Some of the comics are great, awkward and funny reflections on life and randomness.
Some of the comics are pretty dull and don’t have a good conclusion (not that they have to have a huge “OMG” moment, as this is not the style of these comics)... they don’t have a moment that makes you understand the point of the comics.
The top ones are some with extremely strange conclusions, which I did enjoy. I just think a few of them could have been cut out to lighten the load and keep the quality up!
Also, the one about red riding hood was great.
Some of the comics are pretty dull and don’t have a good conclusion (not that they have to have a huge “OMG” moment, as this is not the style of these comics)... they don’t have a moment that makes you understand the point of the comics.
The top ones are some with extremely strange conclusions, which I did enjoy. I just think a few of them could have been cut out to lighten the load and keep the quality up!
Also, the one about red riding hood was great.
May 26, 2021
One helluva fun, extremely well-written book. The stories are so often fully honest to the point of being painful to read. At times, the reader ceases to be a voyeur and wants to help her to a therapist. But there's the rub! What is true and what is her misaligned self-esteem? I think Gabrielle is keenly aware thar her writing and illustrations perfectly matched, and will make even the keenest reader think about each story over and over. Or more simply put: this is a magnificent work of art and literature.
March 13, 2022
Here Bell resorts to talking dogs, human pets, and other surreal stuff. Funny throughout, but it lacks the intimacy of her other (better) books such as The Voyeurs and Everything is Flammable.
November 5, 2022
A nice collection of shorts/strips that range from slice of life to absurd. Bell's humor is wonderfully off-kilter, and never compromises to tell the easy joke. The artwork is loveably warm and crisp and organized well in rigorous six panel grids. The highlight stories for me were "My Prince", "John Porcellino", "Doctor Emmanuel" and "1-800-CATS", though perhaps the funniest for me was "Little Red & Big Bad", a true-crime retelling of the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The collection is very nice and has me interested in checking out more of Bell's other works.
May 6, 2024
This collection of comics surprised me with its experimental storytelling. A story would start like it was a recounting of a real-life story and then veer into the surreal. The effect was kind of thrilling! There is this moment where I'm not sure if I'm reading fiction or not, and I kind of like that. A few stories had a dog or cat acting in a more human-like role, which was funny and weirdly discomfiting. The kind of humor in this book is definitely on the uncomfortable side. I didn't like all the stories, but I loved the novelty of approaches.
CW: nudity; general inappropriate-ness
CW: nudity; general inappropriate-ness
September 22, 2020
A series of darkly comic vignettes that bounce between the surreal and real with dizzying speed. Coming from Bell's intense memoir "Everything Is Flammable", it was interesting to see the creator's humorous side while still being immersed in their bleakly realist world view. Topics explored include: love, dreaming, aging, and the absurdity of pet ownership. A very quick and entertaining read.
September 27, 2020
Absolutely what I needed. Gabrielle Bell's humor and story telling never fail to impress. If you are like me and most of the comics you love are women's autobio comics, and somehow you have not read anything by Gabrielle Bell, you owe it to yourself to check this book (and every other book she has written, out). She's very smart and very funny, in a subtle way.
May 6, 2022
Straight-up — or maybe a little sideways — hilarious. I love Ms. Bell’s somewhat naïve, spare style, with her characteristic brusque black strokes to define volume and shading. Her themes of insecurity, rage, frustration, and the sheer absurdity of everyday life — and the surreal turns her narratives take — make reading her graphic novels a travelogue through her psyche.
Delightful.
Delightful.
August 7, 2020
Somehow Gabrielle Bell gets better and better with each new collection. I expected her to plateau a couple of collections ago and stay THAT good, but she keeps getting inconceivably more interesting, more playful, more unexpected. Every page of this was fantastic and inspired.
March 30, 2021
bought this with not even a jingle from bell, but was proper quasimado for it
funny, interesting, similar style wise to noah van sciver while mind wise to yours truly
john porcellino and 1-800-CATS were personal favourites
funny, interesting, similar style wise to noah van sciver while mind wise to yours truly
john porcellino and 1-800-CATS were personal favourites
June 17, 2021
Interesting, quirky and somewhat inappropriate but I liked it. It brought to light thoughts that seen through a graphic novel appear more interesting than just being spoken. Big bad had a conscience. Deep down I think they all do.
December 24, 2021
After every story, I stop, think, think and think. I am amazed how different perspective Gabrielle Bell can present in so short stories with so intense drawings. Her story-telling and drawings are all amazing.
October 27, 2024
Another collection of short pieces, mixing dysfunctional reminiscences with fantasy elements, in Bell's unique style. Just occasionally disturbing (not for those with a fear of dentists) but always a pleasure to read.
April 24, 2020
The mundane meets the surreal. Perfect.
May 21, 2020
Well, that set the bar for my subsequent comic reading pretty high - 10/10 would recommend
July 1, 2020
More short stories, some very fantastical, from the wonderful Gabrielle Bell.
They are all good but one entitled "Late March" was absolute perfection.
They are all good but one entitled "Late March" was absolute perfection.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews