Life in the Stupidverse

by Tom Tomorrow

Welcome to the Stupidverse! Good luck finding an exit.

Relive all the trauma of the first several years of the Trump presidency through the Pulitzer-nominated cartoons of Tom Tomorrow! You've never laughed quietly to yourself so much at humanity's impending doom!

It's a hilarious but nightmarish trip down memory lane, from the Great Inaugural Crowd Size debate to the nomination of Bret ("I LIKE BEER") Kavanaugh, from Muslim bans to concentration camps, from the Mueller report to the latest outrageous thing you just read about this morning --Tom covers it all so you can hide in bed with a blanket over your head and pray for that asteroid to finally hit the planet.

And don't worry, readers, the show is far from over. This merry-go-round of pain goes on and on, and Tom Tomorrow will be there, er, tomorrow. At least, until Trump finds a way to have him deported.

Genres: Humor

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2020

About the author

Tom Tomorrow is the pen name of editorial cartoonist Dan Perkins, creator of the weekly political cartoon, This Modern World, which appears in approximately 80 newspapers across the U.S., and on websites such as Daily Kos, Truthout and Credo. His work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Spin, Mother Jones, Esquire, The Economist, The Nation, U.S. News and World Report, and The American Prospect, and has been featured on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

From 1999-2001, he worked on a series of animated web cartoons which can be viewed here.

In 2009, he created the cover art for the Pearl Jam album Backspacer.

In 2011 he ended a 16 year run at Salon to create and edit a new comics section at Daily Kos.

He has published nine anthologies of his work:

–Greetings From This Modern World (1992)
–Tune in Tomorrow (1994)
–The Wrath of Sparky (1996)
–Penguin Soup for the Soul (1998)
–When Penguins Attack (2000) (introduction by Dave Eggers)
–The Great Big Book of Tomorrow (2003)
–Hell in a Handbasket (2006)
–The Future’s So Bright I Can’t Bear to Look (2008)
Too Much Crazy (2010)

He is also the author of a book for children, The Very Silly Mayor (2009).

He received the first place Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Journalism in 1998 and in 2003. Other honors include:

1993: Media Alliance Meritorious Achievement Award
1995: Society of Professional Journalists James Madison Freedom of Information Award
2000: Association for Education in Journalism and Education, Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award
2001: James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism
2004: Altweekly Award, 2nd Place
2006: Altweekly Award, 3rd Place

Tom Tomorrow is available for speaking engagements. For further information, contact tomtomorrow (at) gmail (dot) com. He is also currently in the market for a new publisher, if anyone’s interested.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious yet soul crushing.

[Dana DesJardins · Rating 3 out of 5]

(I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.) One can take relief in political satire or not. For those finding this decade almost unbearably absurd, Life in the Stupidverse boldly announces its agenda in its title. Tom Tomorrow's portrayal of the 45th president is instantly recognizable, less mockery than minor exaggeration. In one panel, he admits the challenge of critiquing this era: "How do you write satire when the president is a walking caricature?" The cartoonist's answer is to employ a combination of reductio ad absurdum (Steve Bannon admitting, "Look, nobody said destroying America from within was going to be easy") and tautology (a mocking news headline reading "Constitutional Processes Are Unconstitutional"). Each panel is bitterly contemporary. For example, one strip features a head shot of Rudy Guliani drawn with such restraint that it is even more shocking to read his speech bubble: "Few people know this kids, but there are many circumstances in which you have no obligation to respond to a Congressional subpoena.” A child replies to this salvo, mirroring the reader's uneasy surprise, "Um, really?" One of Tomorrow's strengths as an editorialist is knowing where to report the news verbatim, as when he writes the simple caption, "2.3 million Americans are losing health care coverage." To leaven such grim realities, Tomorrow then reaches to the other extreme, with news anchors exhorting viewers to "Put on your MAGA-vision spex to see through [Democrats'] transparent bias." And sometimes, the cartoonist evokes laughter out of despair, as when a Second Amendment advocate asks rhetorically, "Instead of blaming guns, why don’t they hold bake sales and buy Kevlar vests for everyone?" Tomorrow aptly names his approach "Post-Traumatic Discourse," but I regretfully believe we are not there yet.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best cartoonist/satirists working today. No, you're not crazy. The world really has gone mad. Tom Tomorrow let's us know we're not alone.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Tomorrow aka Dan Perkins, is my favorite alternative cartoonist. Or political cartoonist. His art is nuanced and intricate, kind of like WSJ columnist mini-portraits in motion within 6-9 boxes; his subject matter is clearly incredibly thoroughly researched; and his satire is as wicked as his midwestern lilt is calming. I've been a fan of Tom Tomorrow's since the mid-90s when I lived in NYC and his This Modern Life strip and Michael Musto's column were the first things I'd seek out in every issue of the Village Voice. Now I find his stuff online at The Nib (you can sign up and support its burgeoning independence), and of course these days it's all about The Coronaverse. I have so much admiration for Tomorrow's ability to keep on coming up with such a constant slew of on-point, maniacally hysterical yet somehow low-key deadpan skewering of this administration and its effect on America.

Thank you to Edelweiss for the ARC, Life in the Stupidverse paperback will be out in June of 2020.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to IDW Publishing and NetGalley, I received a copy of this guide to election 2020 in exchange for my honest review…no wait, this isn’t actually a guide to the election, it’s something to help us survive the next several months…

Full disclosure: I think the current President is the most corrupt, incredibly incompetent, racist, misogynostic loser to ever occupy the office. AND I happen to appreciate political satire, so I’m a big Tom Tomorrow fan.

I dipped into this book at several locations, and every one captured some fustercluck of the past 3 1/2 years…so if you want to be reminded of events or characters, they are all here. It also serves to remind me of the importance of the upcoming election. It comes out in August, so will be well timed to gift people before November! Five stars (and yes I am totally biased).

[April Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, here's the thing: this is funny, but it's a dark funny. I'm giving this props for successfully skewering this past twenty years we've been living through (I know it's really just been four years, but it feels like twenty), but I must acknowledge that not everyone is going to be able to handle this yet, it's too soon, still too real. Had I read these strips one at a time as they came out, I could laugh harder, but in big chunks, it's too much. This is a me thing, and I'm not going to fault the author for it. Years from now, I'll be able to read this and laugh harder. I have less delicate friends who I know would enjoy this now, and laugh like crazed monkeys at it. Now, not every strip is great, but the humor's pretty even, no duds.

#LifeintheStupidverse #NetGalley

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant, hilarious, insightful, terrifying, super left. The drawbacks to this book are its polarizing take on the political spectrum (anything an inch to the right of left is insidious, ridiculous, and ignorant) and the fact that in Trump's America, anything that takes time to be published is almost guaranteed to be dated. I can only imagine the strips covering the events of the last 4 months. If you hate all things moderate to conservative, you will love this book. If you are repulsed by the current administration, even if you might self-identify as a centrist or right-leaning, you will find plenty to be entertained by.
ARC provided by publisher.

[Adam Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the collection. Tom Tomorrow is one of my favorite political cartoonists. Always quality satire. Having read so many in a row, I can absolutely see his pattern. In a world as insane as ours is, there is no more difficult task as creating satire that's even crazier. This collection starts just after Trump became president, but it stops just after COVID became a thing. I only wish that we had a little more into that era, as I recall a lot of those recent comics. As much as it was fun to relive the insanity of the early Trump years, I wanted a little more of his recent stuff.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tomorrow achieves the impossible. He satirizes the current Dark Age of amorality and retardation in the United States that appears beyond the reach of satire. The facial expressions are minimalist but perceptive, even POOTUS 45's hair and its various strands and fronds encircling a bulbous skull are ingenious. The writing is so funny, each panel could be performed as its own short play or sketch. Unfortunately, after reaching the end of the book, a deep state of depression sets in, because you can't forget all the indecent stupidity. And the complete chaos that won't go away.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally like reading satire about our current federal government. Especially the cheeto in chief, but this was just too much. Not because they were being too mean to the current president, it was just the right amount of fun. However, each strip is quite long and it’s just too real. To right now as I am stuck in quarantine. It is too much so I have DNFed it. Maybe in the future I will be able to find the funny in this. Right now it’s just depressing and I don’t need that.

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick impressions: Readers may want to think this is satire, but I think Tom Tomorrow is basically presenting current reality, which gets so ridiculous and painful that the dark humor practically writes itself. These are comics that for some folks may really hit close to home. However, the humor can vary in quality with some strips better than others. I liked it but in small doses.

(Full review on my blog later)

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Satire in the time of Trump is exhausting." - Tom Tomorrow (Dan Perkins).

Actually it's impossible. And ghoulishly hilarious.

Nobody does this better. Its actually unnerving.


The book, published in March, has a number of fictionial exaggerations, which have actually come to pass in meantime.

Ha,ha and ugh.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d give it 5 stars, but it’s too soon. The humor is on point, hilarious, and a perfect distillation of the four year nightmare that was the reign of Cheeto Voldemort. Love This Modern World. I’ll come back to this in a year, and it’ll be funnier. Cause it’s true. Don’t misunderstand me- this is great. I just should have gotten therapy for my Trump PTSD before reading it.

[Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Exhausting, disturbing and yet amusing. Suggest you limit your reading to 4-5 panels per session to avoid the onset of anxiety and depression. Despite the events in this book only having taken place a few years ago it feels like a lifetime ago and I had already forgotten many of the absurd and dangerous actions of the administration - this book is almost a reference manual.

[Ken McDouall · Rating 5 out of 5]

You just can't go wrong with a Tom Tomorrow collection. Sharp-as-a-knife satire shines a light on the never-ending absurdist drama in which we find ourselves enmeshed.

[Adam Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Tomorrow has done his best to write Satire about the Trump administration. This has to be one of the hardest things you could ever do.

[Jenn Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads described this book best when they said "Relive all the trauma of the first several years of the Trump presidency" and "It's a hilarious but nightmarish trip down memory lane". Life in the Stupidverse is a collection of cartoons from Tom Tomorrow. So much has happened during the Trump presidency that I forgot about a lot of the stuff mentioned in the book. Relive some of the past craziness like; Alternative facts, Lamestream media, ID required for groceries, and Trump's Valentine's Day card for Melania. You will laugh and want to scream as you read some of the cartoon strips in this book.

4 stars

[Lydia Timpson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good lord, this was depressing.
When reality becomes more absurd than satire it really is hard to write a political comic. In fact, at several points, the truth of the matter is so surreal that Tom had to write *actual quote' so we’d know it wasn’t made up.

Even though we wish it was.

The American Presidency has been such a circus that, looking back through the years’ strips, it’s hard to believe that we’ve forgotten some of this stuff- it’s old hat. I was reading it and going, “Oh wow, I forgot about that. Did people really buy that crap? How did they let that go?”
Tom’s accurate portrayal of the major players and the way he emphasized what both sides were thinking in such a succinct way is definitely what made him so popular. While I can’t say I enjoyed the comics, it was a real eye-opener to have the whole horrific episode laid out in such a bare way.

[Tony Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny but , sadly , true