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Are We Having Fun Yet??
Zippy the pinhead learns about the human brain, dreams, fashion, business, nuclear war, cuteness, stupidity, physics, and life on other planets
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
1 person is currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Bill Griffith
112 books45 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 16, 2018
When I was in high school back in the late 70s, I rarely had any money. When I pulled together three or four dollars, I made the trip to our local head shop/record store called Co-op Records. Here, I would look for an hour or so at the album cut-outs. For those too young to have experienced album cut-outs, these were albums that hadn’t sold, and had a big notch cut into the cardboard album cover. Strangely, or perhaps due to my eclectic tastes, I always found a new album I wanted. And while at the record store, I would pick up a copy of the “Prairie Sun”, a Midwestern rock happenings newspaper published by Co-op’s founder. It was free and interesting. And part of what made it interesting was that it contained a comic strip called “Zippy the Pinhead”.
I grew to really enjoy the oddities of what Zippy said. Always strange, and in strange situations. In the “Prairie Sun”, Zippy was published as short strips, like you would see in weekday newspapers. I found these short snippets very refreshing, with Zippy zinging an absurd response or two every week. That was just about the right dosage.
Fast forward to 2017, and I find a Zippy book, “Are We Having Fun Yet?” at the Half-Price Books clearance section for $2. (See a trend here?) This is kind of a story, with 29 “chapters” representing 29 days of a calendar, or so the cover says. Each chapter tells a little of the story, but often with a different style. Some chapters are textual, one being poems. One chapter is in the style of the Nancy comic strip, with Nancy and Zippy conversing. There are some reappearing characters, including Cubists that are trying to capture Zippy, and a beatnik that temporarily swaps personalities with Zippy. Zippy is his absurd self throughout. Quite funny in his way, but I think I prefer the shorter form of the Zippy comic strips over this lengthy story of Zippy traveling his world.
For those that haven’t encountered Zippy, a typical scene is showing good and bad days at a donut store. On the good day, the clerk tells Zippy that every flavor is in stock and they are all free. To illustrate the bad day, the clerk says “I’m sorry sir, but today they’re all filled with B-B pellets or small, rusted plumbing fixtures.” A bad day, indeed.
Also included here in a few pages are the family, Mrs. Zippy (a Southern bellhop) and his twins Fuel-Rod and Meltdown. A word of warning – the cover of the book says that it includes recipes. It does not. Count your blessings. Also, in my clearance copy, I found two Zippy postcards that it appears were part of the package. As Zippy often said, “Yow!!”
So in addition to fostering my Zippy habit, Co-op Records also allowed me to purchase most of Mott the Hoople’s early 70s albums for less than $10 total. I think Zippy would approve. Thanks Co-op, and thanks “Prairie Sun.”
I read this for the Book Riot 2018 Reading Challenge, where it filled two prompts - a comic not from a major and a comic written and illustrated by one person, here being Bill Griffith.
I grew to really enjoy the oddities of what Zippy said. Always strange, and in strange situations. In the “Prairie Sun”, Zippy was published as short strips, like you would see in weekday newspapers. I found these short snippets very refreshing, with Zippy zinging an absurd response or two every week. That was just about the right dosage.
Fast forward to 2017, and I find a Zippy book, “Are We Having Fun Yet?” at the Half-Price Books clearance section for $2. (See a trend here?) This is kind of a story, with 29 “chapters” representing 29 days of a calendar, or so the cover says. Each chapter tells a little of the story, but often with a different style. Some chapters are textual, one being poems. One chapter is in the style of the Nancy comic strip, with Nancy and Zippy conversing. There are some reappearing characters, including Cubists that are trying to capture Zippy, and a beatnik that temporarily swaps personalities with Zippy. Zippy is his absurd self throughout. Quite funny in his way, but I think I prefer the shorter form of the Zippy comic strips over this lengthy story of Zippy traveling his world.
For those that haven’t encountered Zippy, a typical scene is showing good and bad days at a donut store. On the good day, the clerk tells Zippy that every flavor is in stock and they are all free. To illustrate the bad day, the clerk says “I’m sorry sir, but today they’re all filled with B-B pellets or small, rusted plumbing fixtures.” A bad day, indeed.
Also included here in a few pages are the family, Mrs. Zippy (a Southern bellhop) and his twins Fuel-Rod and Meltdown. A word of warning – the cover of the book says that it includes recipes. It does not. Count your blessings. Also, in my clearance copy, I found two Zippy postcards that it appears were part of the package. As Zippy often said, “Yow!!”
So in addition to fostering my Zippy habit, Co-op Records also allowed me to purchase most of Mott the Hoople’s early 70s albums for less than $10 total. I think Zippy would approve. Thanks Co-op, and thanks “Prairie Sun.”
I read this for the Book Riot 2018 Reading Challenge, where it filled two prompts - a comic not from a major and a comic written and illustrated by one person, here being Bill Griffith.
January 8, 2017
I had a copy of this when I was a teenager (in the '80s) and I LOVED it. Zippy the Pinhead's surrealistic universe of nonsense and non-sequitur resonated so strongly with me back then that I called this book my "Bible." I actually carried it around in my backpack like it was a warped version of Dianetics or the Little Red Book.
Reading it again in my forties, I find my brain is no longer operating on Zippy's wavelength. I've become too normal. But there were still plenty of chuckles in the nonstop stream-of-consciousness gags, and a lot of the panels brought back happy memories of that bizarre decade. I get more of the art and philosophy jokes as an adult, and now that we have the Internet I can finally look up all those passing references that eluded me the first time through!
Now I think maybe I need to reclaim some of that teenage weirdness. Thanks, Zippy!
Reading it again in my forties, I find my brain is no longer operating on Zippy's wavelength. I've become too normal. But there were still plenty of chuckles in the nonstop stream-of-consciousness gags, and a lot of the panels brought back happy memories of that bizarre decade. I get more of the art and philosophy jokes as an adult, and now that we have the Internet I can finally look up all those passing references that eluded me the first time through!
Now I think maybe I need to reclaim some of that teenage weirdness. Thanks, Zippy!
December 18, 2014
Zippy the Pinhead is one of the best absurdist/surreal comics I've ever read. He bucks all norms while poking fun at politics and society in general. This book is a great intro into the world of Zippy. I also especially life Griffys pen and ink style.
March 18, 2025
Zippy the Pinhead, a relic of the 80s, is only comprehensible -barely - by those who went through it. While the jokes and references are clever it suffers, just like Bloom County, from being too topical. Having Leona Helmsley as a character was witty in 1987, but who the hell remembers her in 2025? As such, people's enjoyment will suffer. It's no longer anarchistic social commentary, but pure Dadaist insanity - with most of Zippy's comments being gibberish non-sequiturs, even more than they actually were. There isn't much of a plot here, so one has to approach this book as one would a Beckett play, allowing the weird emotional state drive the story.
February 17, 2008
you either like Zippy or you don't. you either like ding dongs with taco sauce, or your don't. you either like arbitrary pancakes with Ruth Bader Ginsburg or you don't.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2022
Did not age well.
August 3, 2020
I bought this at a Waldenbooks (or maybe a B. Dalton?) in the 80's. Was it my introduction to Zippy? Quite possibly. I was hooked and remain a fan. This could be called Zippy's first "graphic novel." Such random absurdity, it perfectly fit my teenaged weirdo mind. It will always have a place in my library.
February 28, 2008
We're all pinheads on this bus!
March 1, 2013
DEFINITELY!
November 14, 2014
While it held up better than I expected, it still didn't hold up terribly well.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews