Undeleted Scenes

by Jeffrey Brown

Undeleted Scenes presents a decade's worth of shorter works from indie comics legend Jeffrey Brown. This huge compendium contains stories from the previous collections Minisulk, Every Girl Is the End of the World for Me, and Feeble Attempts, as well as Jeffrey's work from anthologies such as Kramers Ergot and McSweeney's, plus rare material from minicomics and elsewhere, including dozens of pages of never-before-seen material. Spanning humor, autobiography, and beyond, some of Jeffrey's most beloved comics are in here - including the fan-favorite self-parody collection Be A Man!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Memoir, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Short Stories, Biography

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Jeffrey Brown was born in 1975 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up reading comic books with dreams of someday drawing them, only to abandon them and focus on becoming a 'fine artist.' While earning his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Brown abandoned painting and began drawing comics with his first autobiographical book 'Clumsy' in 2001. Since then he's drawn a dozen books for publishers including TopShelf, Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, McSweeney's and Chronicle Books. Simon & Schuster published his latest graphic memoir 'Funny Misshapen Body.' In addition to directing an animated video for the band Death Cab For Cutie, Brown has had his work featured on NPR's 'This American Life' His art has been shown at galleries in New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Paris. Jeffrey's work has also appeared in the Best American Comics series and received the Ignatz Award in 2003 for 'Outstanding Minicomic.'
He currently lives in Chicago with his wife Jennifer and their son Oscar.

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda boring with some but too few moments of charm.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is it I never read this book when I have devoured almost anything I can get my hands on my Jeffery Brown? I think it's my misreading of his title, as if it were sort of like just a bunch of miscellaneous stuff that most people wouldn't care about... not YET deleted... I dunno. Well, I STILL would have maybe considered a different title, but I'll get over it. And the point is these are NOT deleted scenes, they are here, and worth reading, autobiographical sketches arranged in a kind of chronological order, like a kind of pastiche memoir, with some great self-deprecating and honest humor... I had read Every Girl is the End of the World for Me and loved it when I first read it--I had been a kind of romantic "slow learner" with plenty of experience to say back to Brown if he had been related these stories to me in a bar--but here it is even better, because it is contextualized with even more funny and self-deprecatingly honest stories of even MORE "challenging" (sometimes humiliating, sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious) encounters with women, mostly. And on order, his latest memoir! I like this stuff better than the cute Vader comix (though I do like those a lot and find them humorous in another way and they are deservedly more popular with MOST people, I get that), because they go less for the cute and more for the honest and Woody Allenishly women-obsessed struggles... There's real human struggle in this book, though I wouldn't call it "deep" in any way, or pretentious, which is in part the point of the art and the understated stories. He's not an intellectual, he's one of us, we are like him. I also grew up in Grand Rapids and am living in Chicago, so his growing up stories always resonate with me a bit more, it feels like to me. Feels familiar in so many ways.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this, in quick sequence with Little Things: A Memoir in Slices and Kids Are Weird: And Other Observations from Parenthood as my way of getting to know Jeffrey Brown.

As inferred by the title, this is a bit of a grab bag, much less cohesive in vision or style than either of the other two. There's a lot of Brown's iconic messy boxes, but also sections with smudgy shadow, some less autobiographical pieces, and the story of his first child's birth.

Enjoyable, quick, but not particularly memorable for me.

[Chris Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeff Brown's Clumsy was a book I was so excited to check out this month (finally) and Undeleted Scenes was one I was even more eager to read. I've just finished it. It's 3am. It was awesome. I want to read it again. I shall.

[Sooraya Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lousy art. Lame story.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

jeffrey brown makes me smile... although he makes his pregnant girlfriend look insane. good reason to never have a baby

[Chris Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

As this is something of a mopping exercise, I had read a lot of these stories before in one form or another but it’s good to get some more context on the autobiographical stuff, including some actual commentary on what it’s like to be the subject of these books. It’s all wonderful - and I hugely appreciate the unsentimental way in which Brown portrays the birth of his son (and continues to show himself as being a jerk sometimes) - but I do love the confidence he has to be able to poke fun at himself in Be A Man. This is why Brown and Kochalka are the kings of autobiographical comics for me, because they’re not interested in the big narratives but the small minutiae of every day life

[Michael Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is apparently a collection of unpublished or previously published autobiographical comic strips. Often warm-hearted, funny, and otherwise entertaining, the strip lapses into boredom just enough to make me feel that I have read enough of these volumes of Jeffrey Brown’s life.

[Emmet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent art. Entirely forgettable.

[Shoshanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I miss reading Jeffrey Brown! Somehow I never read this one!!!

[Laura Feo · Rating 2 out of 5]

joder con el final

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good collection that shows the breadth of Brown’s comics for adults. Some of this I’d read before but I enjoyed rereading it alongside entries that were new to me.

[nnoelles]

Cute! I liked being able to see Jeffrey Brown's style develop in this book

[Birch · Rating 1 out of 5]

?

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very unimpressed with the first few strips in this eclectic collection--they seemed to be textbook examples of the studied pointlessness prevalent among some alt cartoonists. Boy gets tickled until he farts a few times, leaves the room crying, end of story. Boy pulls car out of garage, damages mirror, end of story. Etc. The point of such strips seems to be their very banality, but a little banality goes a long way. Some of the longer stories are more interesting (especially the pregnancy diary, though it does seem rather uncharitable in its depiction of Brown's girlfriend), and occasionally amusing, if also problematic on numerous fronts. The key problematic front for me is the sheer crudeness of the art. Brown's style is very simple and cluttered, his lettering often almost unreadable, his panels generally unimaginative (the grid pattern almost never varies, and most are designed from very similar perspectives), and what is going on not always at all easy to discern (in one strip, he and a girl do . . . something to their feet--loofah them?--and they end up looking . . . well, kinda like hamburger; is this supposed to represent a healthy glow? rough abrasion? pain? search me). A couple of the strips are actually about the very amateurishness of Brown's style, so clearly it's something he's aware of and has been called on before, and presumably he chooses to retain that style (at least, a few strips do suggest that he is capable of better draftsmanship when he wants to be). But basically, this stuff looks generally tossed-off. If you have a high tolerance for autobio comics in which the artist is keen on depicting himself as a douche (especially in the "Be a Man" sequence) or a loser, this is for you. I'll stick with the other Brown, Chester--who, amusingly, is the subject of one strip, about Jeff being mistaken for Chet (shades of Rick Springfield!)

[Margot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been really enjoying memoir/autobiographical graphic novels lately, and this one is pretty great. I always wonder the ancillary characters included in memoir and autobiography feel about their portrayals, and my curiosity is even stronger in the graphic novel realm. How do these family members, friends, and random characters feel about their appearance and remembered dialogue and actions? Do they feel cheated, betrayed, or honored? Maybe I'll meet some and can ask them someday. So, with all those questions about memoirs, I was pleased with Brown's direct response within this volume.

Anyway, this specific autobiographical compilation is pretty raw in both the artwork and plot/dialogue, as well as the self-portrayal by Jeffrey Brown. He definitely doesn't pump his appearance or character up in his own drawings, often coming across as a random victim with minimal control over the action in his own life. Life keeps happening to him, and he reacts with sometimes dubious responses.

I have to say that my favorite section was "Be A Man," a collection of scenes of the opposite of Brown's typical character. Perhaps his alter ego? The heartless, selfish typical man. Hilarious scenes. Such as this one:
"Do You Love Me?" (pg. 325)
Him: So, do you love me?
Her: Yes. So, do you love me?
Him: Oh, hey, I gotta go, the football game is on.

HAHAHAHA!

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this a collection of Jeffrey Brown's mini-comics? There wasn't an introduction.

Anyway, it's hard to stop me from reading straight through his books once I have them, no matter how... sad? they make me feel? I don't know if that's the right word. Jeffrey Brown's striving within his infatuations always brings back a visceral feeling of being a teenager in a small town, lonely and wondering what it feels like to find someone who will love you. It's strange, I know, because he's writing from the perspective of a twenty-something. But he's good at it! (I mean, except for the end where he unexpectedly has a baby) Thanks for being vulnerable and scribbly, Jeffrey Brown.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of my favorite songs are b-sides, so it makes sense that Jeffrey Brown's collection of odds and ends is one of my favorite things he's done. I'd read some of these stories before ("Just Don't Stop" from Blood Orange, "Don't Look Them in the Eye" from Kramer's Ergot, and the mini-book "Every Girl is the End of the World to Me," which I always thought was a real gem), but it was great to re-read these and to have them all in one place. Most of the stories that were new to me were also great, especially "Pregnant Pause" and the one about going to White Castle after a breakup (can't remember the name of this one). A strong collection overall.

[chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

After going through a period of mild fascination with Jeffrey Brown, where I would check for him first in every anthology and read whatever he had to offer (and he is in just about every anthology), I went through another period where I was mentally disparaging of him and didn't want to see any of his comics ever again. I don't know why this occurs. But this collection brought me back around (and it contains alot of those early pieces I liked, and some later ones I, then, didn't. Again: I don't know why this occurs). To anyone who says that JB can't draw (which I'm ashamed to say I've said), I say try to do what he does. It's not as easy as it looks.

[Burrito Hayworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cartoonists rarely lead interesting lives and Jeffrey Brown is no exception. He spends his time drawing in cafes and chatting with friends. He's an aimless, amiable person.

But when put to paper his life is strangely charming. As he states in the introduction, Brown has managed to find meanings in his anecdotal existence.

Brown's draftsmanship is unironed to match his appearance. It suits the stories. Add Undeleted Scenes to the same, small pile as American Elf of good autobiographical comics.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Jeffrey Brown, it's been a couple years since I've read any of your books about cripplingly awkward relationship comics. I missed you, and especially loved re-reading "Be A Man," which is the perfect antidote to otherwise acceptable emotional responses to girls.
The long story about five girls over the holidays didn't have as much of a payoff as I was expecting, but this jumble of short stories is pretty great.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Undeleted Scenes is a montage of Jeffrey Brown's comics collected from other volumes, or comics that were never published. I'd never read Brown before, and I'd say that this was a good introduction, because I immediately went to The Strand bookstore to pick up Unlikely, and plan on adding his first book, Clumsy, to my shelves soon.

My favorite from this collection is "Be a Man," but I loved every piece, really.

[J.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost didn't buy this book since I own almost every piece in it (it contains comics from various anthologies and publications), but I'm really really glad that I did. There are several previously unpublished pieces that definitely made it worthwhile, "Pregnant Pause" in particular. Plus, it was fun to revisit comics I hadn't read in a while in a larger context. Jeffrey Brown does it again!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn't so sure about this compilation--the stories weren't very engaging and both the drawing and the writing were sloppy enough I had a hard time deciphering it all. However, it picked up momentum, and I came to really appreciate the honest take on his own thoughts and behavior as well as those around him. "Pregnant Pause" and "Be a Man" were my particular faves.

[PJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything that Jeffrey Brown makes. This book is no exception. The only problem I have is that he includes the entirety of EGITEOTWFM, as well as excerpts from a few of his other books. He could have left those out and still had a very good, if somewhat shorter, book. I would definitely suggest reading this if you have enjoyed any of his work.

[Nick Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Toward the end of Undeleted Scenes a character in one of the strips says of Jeffrey Brown's work: "It's dripping with self-pity! And the art is strictly amateur!" That's as good a description as I would have given it, though I'd add that almost none of the stories in the book felt as if they were remotely interesting enough to bother telling.

[Sean Benson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a fan of Jeffrey Brown. I love his Star Wars books and his observations of life books but this autobiography....well the thing with the Star Wars books is that they had context. This has context but I don't know it, so I was rather lost a lot of the time and it was rather crowded so gave me a headache.

I think I'll just stick to his Star Wars books.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd pretty much reach almost all of this book already, as it simply collects some of Brown's smaller books of short stories. But for anyone who hasn't, there's plenty to enjoy, and even those who have read it all already might still find some new pieces.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeffrey Brown's work is always a pleasure to read. His drawings may be simpler stylistically than some artists, but in a way that brings out humor, warmth, and sad moments in the text. Recommended to anyone looking for comics about sex and relationships.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. I know that's a naughty word, but it's what I think of when I read his work.

There were segments in this one which made me feel as if I were reading my own life.

I feel like this collection was a little disjointed, but good nonetheless.