There Are No Stars in Brooklyn

Octopus Pie (New Collection) #1

by Meredith Gran

What is Octopus Pie?
 
Follow the adventures of two Brooklynites—Eve, a nerdy acerbic twentysomething and her roommate, Hanna, a long-lost friend who has blossomed into a chronically happy-go-lucky stoner. Crazed childhood rivals, art world hipsters, Eve’s meddlesome mom, and boyfriends past and present crowd their odd yet ordinary lives.

In the twilight zone between college and the adult world lies the sardonic, witty, maddening, and sometimes melancholy terrain that Meredith Gran’s addictive comic Octopus Pie maps with devastating, drop-dead-funny accuracy.
 
This book collects the first two years of strips, plus bonus material.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Webcomic, Comedy, Graphic Novels Comics, Humor

272 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2010

About the author

Meredith Gran lives and work in Brooklyn as a freelance comic artist & occasional animator. She's been drawing the webcomic Octopus Pie since 2007. She teaches a weekly webcomics course at the School of Visual Arts. She also wrote and drew the Eisner-nominated Adventure Time comic book spin-off, Marceline & the Scream Queens.

Reviews

[Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happened was I went to Montreal, and in between gawking at block-wide murals, traipsing through a rusted installation-art sculpture garden, and zooming around the city on a Bixi Bike, I went to so so so many bookstores. And I kept asking for some like quintessentially Montrealean writer, some novelist whom I'd never heard of in the xenophobic States. But no one could really recommend anything! In one shop the guy (who seemed totally bored by my question -- wtf) was like "What about Michael Ondaatje?" Which, come on, he's like an internationally renowned bestselling heartstring-jerker, not an undiscovered Canadian indie genius!

So in desperation I about-faced and instead bought the New York–est book I could find: a twee graphic novel about hipster ladies smoking pot and biking around Brooklyn.

Which is so much fun! I really adored this book, although I guess it's fairly surface and not super like groundbreaking or whatever. Probably it helps that this is about the place I live in, and the people in it are so like my lovely idiot friends doing their lovely idiot things, like getting a bike stolen or going to a Renaissance Fair or dating morons or selling pot or lazing around in Prospect Park or what have you. Plus the main character is just the surliest, jaded-est, grumpiest gem -- which obvs is nothing like me or whatever.

IDK, I'm still not a great judge of graphic novels; I fall back on the "I can't explain what I like, but I know it when I see it" platitude. I mean, look how cute!




Right? Irresistable!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit frenetic and sometimes hard to follow. Maybe I'm just not good at telling characters apart? It's a fun and engaging tale of young adults trying to make something of themselves, and having a terrible time of it. It's all in the attitude!

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first collection of Meredith Gran's charming web-comic relates the adventures of two twenty-somethings in Brooklyn: Eve, a pessimistic Asian nerd who works at an organic grocery, and her roommate Hanna, a buoyant stoner who bakes her own line of pastries. Between the requisite relationship troubles, parental interactions, and sight gags, Gran often steers off into the delightfully surreal especially in "grocery misconduct," where Eve assumes control of the store, and "skate or don't" in which Gran elevates the absurdity to Scott Pilgrim-like levels. Gran's simple cartoony art perfectly compliments her complex explorations into the 21st century young adult life.

[Arnela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume collects chapters 1-13 of the Octopus Pie webcomic [which is roughly the first 2 years of of comics existence]. I got just one question, WHY ARE THE PAGES GREEN?? Like I don't mind it, but why green, why all green, what was the decision making process that lead the change from black and white to green? I just really wanna know.

I really don't have much to say. I love this comic. Love actually being able to hold it in my hand and flip to my favorite scenes without having to deal with laggy internet. Love that it's a different color for some random reason.

The paper is a really nice quality, smooth, more like photo paper but not quite. More likely to survive a spill. I really like the texture of it.

There's also, what I believe to be [and I say believe cause I don't remember reading it online], a little comic at the end that shows Hanna and Eve's interactions in Pre-K. It's cute and funny in the Meredith Gran sort of way.

I know the book is out of print now, and sometimes hard to get a hold of, but I suggest trying to hunt it down to feel the weirdness of reading it in color.

PS. you can get the little bonus story in PDF form, as I am told by the internet, by searching Octopus Pie the end of the world.

[Isaiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.

This is one of those books I never would have read, but it was on the boyfriend’s book shelf and it was a comic when I wanted to read a comic. So I stumbled across this amazing read, just out of coincidence. This book is the fukken shit.

The plot of the book is seemingly random and fun. There is a deeper plot to all the shenanigans, but even if there were not the stories would still be really enjoyable. Eve is uptight, weird, and really adorable. Hanna is outgoing, a baker, and a stoner. They wouldn’t seem like they would mix, but they do really well. They really compliment each other in a way that I have not seen in a comic or in a book in a long time. I want them to be friends forever.

I want to read more of this comic. I just bookmarked it and I will read it all one afternoon.

This comic has enough silly to amuse me, but is serious enough that I don’t feel like it is ridiculous. It is a good mixture of silly serious that everything seems really fun. It is like Devil’s Panties funny and weird, but easier to follow.

[RSC_Collecting · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay. A collection of comic strips over the span of two years. The strips follow two roommates and their lives in Brooklyn. One being a nerdy girl who works too hard and cares too much. The other being a stoner who couldn't care less. The cast of characters includes friends, love interests, coworkers, and family. The strips are chronological, so it reads pretty well. Though there are definitely points between the strips that are a little jarring. Facial hair changing, settings changing, whole topics changing. The actual stories are funny and sort of showcase that time of life between childhood and adulthood. The mid-twenties where you're just trying to figure everything out. I'm a big fan of the art. The cartooning is great. The characters are unique and interesting to look at. Tons of expressions and movement. That's the main reason I kept reading. Because the actual story didn't quite do it for me. The jokes weren't my type of humor and the characters didn't grow or change much like I had hoped. Overall, it's still a decent book with wonderful art.

[Maxwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars ?

This wasn’t bad per say. It’s just not my favorite type of read I guess ?

There isn’t any real plot. It kind of felt like watching a sitcom. The humor wasn’t my cup of tea or I just don’t get it at all !

If you like a contemporary, unproblematic, graphic novel type of read, then this one s for you.

Just not my type.

Artwork was unique and pretty nice I must say !

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never really read Octopus Pie even in webcomic form, figured this would be a good introduction. I enjoyed this but didn't have much deeper feeling, but definitely found it to get more engaging as it went along as you get to know the characters better (and suspect that's true for the comic as a whole). of the mini-arcs here I especially enjoyed the Ren Faire one, laser tag, Ollyween...

bye

[David Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an autographed copy of this secreted away somewhere, but I read a library copy this time. Really need to get my mitts on the physical copies of the rest of this series.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky and fun!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite comic series

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did; lineart was very smooth and the whole thing was very Brooklyn. :)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hilarious printing of a web comic about female friendship. There is the contrast of staid and cynical Eve Ning and her stoner "friend" Hannah.

The humor is pretty good and like any comic, every page ends with a joke. The storylines are clearly separated with chapter names and an illustration. The art is loose and funny and adds to the characterization. Despite being black and white, it's pretty easy to decipher the race of the characters from context clues, but often it doesn't matter except for the introduction of Eve's Asian friends.

I just love how the humor is a mix of outlandish, strange, and cute. I'd recommend this book, and I can't wait to catch up with this comic on the Internet.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of webcomic about a nerdy snarky chinese-american brooklynite who works at an independent organic food store and her stoner roommate.

Definitely great ruminations on the twenty-something experience, plus punchlines at the end of every page. Accessible illustration style.
Particularly enjoyed the nerd-stoner rivalry and introduction of Eve's heritage (but I'm an Amy Tan fan). Plus the ethical quandaries of the organic store. Not as addictive as I kinda hoped it would be, but I'll definitely be checking in on the website on occasion.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this delightfully subtle story about Brooklynite misanthrope Eve Ning, her roommate Hanna, and a handful of other characters who inhabit the newly-college-graduated, still-sorting-out-their-lives scene in NYC and its environs. I'm betting that a lot of the New York jokes sailed right over my head, but fortunately, there are plenty of other jokes that ring true. Gran's artwork is perfect--distinct and funny, and with an eye for just the right details to make the story ring true. A lot of fun.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was lovely.

How did I not know about this? Or more correctly, how did I not seek Octopus Pie on teh Interwebz after a friend wouldn't shut up about it?

Everest "Eve" Ning is a misanthropic, curmudgeonly soul in a young person's body, working a shitty retail job in a city of potheads.

Sound familiar?

We've all been there, and this volume captures those moments, as well as the complications of new and old love, roommates, lasers, and cats.

Check it out!

Read the webcomic here!

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started with an interesting premise but was let down by its execution. The amount of exposition mixed in with the in-medias-res comic style was inconsistent, and many times the way the panels were drawn made it difficult to understand what was going on. Also (this is primarily a stylistic issue), it was difficult to tell male characters apart. The only one identifiable was a boyfriend of a main character, noticeable only because he was the only character to have a beard.

[aa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a webcomic years ago and just picked it up from the library when I saw it was produced in print. Certain strips and moments have stuck in my memory fairly well ("Crunch?????"), and the main characters are still definitely likable. That being said, it isn't much of a page turner, and the plots are usually silly and forgettable. It's worth reading, and I'll check out the second volume some day.

[elstaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pull quotes/notes
"'C'mon, let's go to the park. It's great at night.'

'What? Seriously?
Isn't Central Park at night basically synonymous with rape and murder?'

'It's cool, I trust you.'" (93)


"'Don't do it, Eve!
Never fly into an old flame!'

'Oh, I know what I'm doing.'

'Like a moth you do!
Name ONE romance story that's as good as you THOUGHT it was in high school.'

'Anna Karenjna.'
'That bitch is DEAD!'" (161)

[Rich Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Meredith Gran is on she's got some of the best comic timing and wittiest writing this side of Bryan Lee O'Malley. But I found the storylines here to be hit or miss and I don't think I ever warmed up to the character of Hanna like I did with Eve. Great introduction to this webcomic though and I'll continue reading it online.

[Michelle Song · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book after watching TheBookHoarder's vlog, where she compared the humor in this book to Broad City, one of my favorite shows. However, when I actually started reading, I didn't find that to be the case at all. Maybe the humor would have been good on tv, but it just didn't work for me in this context...

[Idleprimate · Rating 4 out of 5]

the blurb for this book is accurate. i might add it is at times kind of surreal.

I really enjoy her drawing style, and she has a gift for blending the scope of strip narrative with longer story arc narrative.

[verygarza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book for some reason but I WANT to like it. It was split into short segments and I noticed some typos in the text; the illustrations remind me of Dexter's Laboratory. It seems to have better ratings from other readers so perhaps I'll give it another try.

[Tiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't read the online comic, you need to devote a few hours to sitting back relaxing and checking it out. I love the fact that they make adulthood, the 20's seem as chaotic as it actually is.

[Nicholas Siebers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky adventures in Brooklyn. Interesting, diverse cast of characters but I felt like I missed a little bit of the plot when each chapter ended. Fun to spend time with, wish it wrapped up a little tighter.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Edited*

Some fun stuff happening, but I thought it was just ok. Sometimes I get frustrated when every character in a book is more likable than the main character.

[Manintheboat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up half way.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly sweet, poignant, and funny webcomic about growing up and not wanting to (and, occasionally, getting to do both and have them reconcile...if only it worked in real life!). Great stuff.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great artwork, very funny and essentially real in feelings, if not in all details.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the stories but the plot and characters could have used just a bit more development.