The Book of Grickle

by Graham Annable

Get ready for the most extensive journey ever into the brilliant mind of Graham Annable! A classically trained animator with credits in film (including storyboard artist on Coraline), television, and video games, Annable has for years spent his free time creating some of the funniest, most poignant comics anywhere. As befits his animation background, Annable's fluid art pulses with life, in stories that practically jump off the page. Alternately poetic and hilarious, Grickle presents a strange twist on the everyday with heart and humor. If you've experienced Grickle before, this is the greatest collection yet. If you haven't, there's no better introduction than Book of Grickle!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Short Stories, Humor, Comic Book

200 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2010

About the author

Oscar-nominated director Graham Annable is a cartoonist and animator living just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and two boys. Mr. Annable's unique voice has been consistently recognized in the mediums of film, games, and graphic novels throughout his career, garnering numerous awards and nominations along the way. When he's not taking his pugs on a walk in the woods he can usually be found doodling ideas for his latest project in the studio.

Reviews

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny short comic strips that read like animation story-boards. Worth grabbing if you're looking for some quick laughs. Nothing is too laugh-out-loud, but there is some good emotion to the stories too.

[Eric Mendoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annable's work periodically conveys a real sense of heart and vulnerability in between the moments of sudden violence, and it's all stylistically drawn in his (relatively) simple pencil sketch style. While some jokes might not land as well as others in the book, it's a quick read and it's well worth the time. "photo opportunity" might be one of my favourite comic strips of all time, and it almost perfectly encapsulates what makes Graham Annable one of the greats.

[Karen JEC · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reviewers liken the humour to Matt Groening's "Life in Hell" but I feel it's not nearly as dark and edgy and therefore was a little disappointed at first. There are a few funny bits but otherwise just a few stories stuck together for our pleasant viewing experience. (They shouldn't have built it up so much, I think.) That being said, it's a fun little read and the art is amusing and light. This particular copy from the library has obviously been well read.

[Alexander Lisovsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Гениальный Грикл, оказывается, не только делает суперские мультфильмы, но и рисует комиксы — в той же характерной манере, совмещающей абсурдно комичное с непостижимым. Сложно объяснить точнее, проще глянуть пару короткометражек на ютубе. Истории в сборнике комиксов большей частью хорошие, но поистине выдающихся среди них на мой взгляд немного. Прикладываю парочку в качестве примера.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short tales which are simple drawings but manage to convey some complex ideas with humour and where the good does not always win out
This was my introduction to the world of "Grickle" and it was fascinating.

[Donovan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I laugh my ass off at Graham Annable's daily IG posts, but didn't recognize any of that humor here.

[Adam Šilhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Má to v sobě něco z Jasona. Obdobný styl jen utlumenější. Tj. civilnější a daleko méně temné.

[August Neeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly don't know how to describe this collection. It's bizarre and disorienting in all the best ways. This book was an experience.

[An · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,75.

[Gianni Pratico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a fun, but also touching, little comic. Annabel conveys some heavy emotion in these doodles

[Sam Quixote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graham Annable's award-nominated decade long comic strip series "Grickle" gets a collected "best of" in this lovely hardback edition from Dark Horse.

Annable's day job is an animator and seeing the drawings of Grickle you can see that clearly. Varying from 6 to 12 panels a page, the one-step-up-from-stickmen characters in Annable's worlds move around fluidly and eye-catchingly.

The stories are fantastic and really funny. They range from pathos to humour and excel wonderfully at both. "Misery and his company" features two grandchildren pretending to be a policeman and a crack dealer in front of their sour faced grandpa with a great punchline from the grandpa at the end. "Decency" features two youngsters killing a frog with stones, while "Old Man River" enacts a real life event from 19th century America and gives death a magical, beautiful rendering.

While most of Annable's strips concern real life events he dares to dream and takes us onto space missions on distant moons, alien races invading other alien worlds only to be defeated by toothpaste, strange little people showing up, and a life lived under the sea.

My favourite was the longest story here "By Necessity" which deals with relationships brilliantly and features the funniest one liner about a dead wombat ever written.

I'd never heard of Annable but I'm glad I took a chance on this guy's work as it's amazingly funny and the stories are really well told. I highly recommend it to comics fans looking for a good read.

[Neven · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very frustrating book. Annable's art is great; perfect at communicating emotions with just a few scribbly lines. But that makes it so maddening that his stories make very little sense, and they flow in a weird, slow, stream-of-consciousness way that belongs to a much more twee book than he appears suited for. Any single panel will seem like a stroke of genius, but put together, they make very inefficient and awkward comics. Closer to 2/5, pulling ahead a bit by the strength of the truly enjoyable inking job.

[Damon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic stuff. This is a nice little edition which collects most of the best of the previous Grickle collections - the only one I can think of that's missing is the one with the time machine. Annable's stuff is a weird combination of hilarious and poignant, which the scribbly stickfigurey style somehow evokes perfectly.

[Chris Pitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had a chance to read this last night. I held off on purchasing it for the longest time since I had the previous Alternative Comics volumes... but I found it for a good price. Also, it's nice to have this as a HC version. What's not to love about Grickle? Graham Annable is a master of emotions with minimal effort. Or it appears minimal. Wee Man!

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a few seemingly simple drawings, these comics convey a lot of emotions that sometimes make you think, but mostly make you laugh. On a second reading you are sure to discover some things you missed before.

[uzhuj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the Puzzle Agent videogames, so I have been on the lookout for some Graham Annable materials in print. Finally got this wonderful collection. The characters drawn with so few lines, yet can express so wide range of emotions. Absolutely lovely

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

To read my review go to www.tcj.com
You might want to wait 'til 4/10/10 to read it as there is only a rough draft there now and my editor had to go out of town.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

very funny

[Biff Nightingale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome and funny and weird. A must read

[Jessie Qi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely collection of short stories. Very fast read.

Love the art style. Clean and streamlined.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem.

[Asi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A seemingly simple collection of short stories, yet proving to be very interesting and thought provoking.

[Morbus Iff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed - some of these 17 made me chuckle.

[Dave Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story telling. Snippets. Strangely concocted.

[Bryanzk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly insightful and subtle novels!