If 'n Oof

by Brian Chippendale

Brian Chippendale, drummer for the acclaimed and outrageously loud noise-rock duo Lightning Bolt and collaborator on Björk's 2007 album, Volta , is an increasingly in-demand graphic novelist, one of those artists who draw because they're compelled to. This newest volume is a departure from his last work, Maggots , and from his first book, Ninja , which elicited the following assessment of the artist's style by Salon.com's Douglas "Chippendale's howling hyperspeed attack on every page with his pen is the kind of manifestation of pure style that has more to do with the contemporary visual art scene than with traditional comics and their ideals of clarity and representation." If and Oof are a Laurel and Hardy-esque duo who suffer a series of misadventures amidst Chippendale's frenetic landscapes on their simple quest to just survive, eat, pay rent and avoid confrontation. Comedy and horror ensue in this fast-paced trip through Chippendale's unconscious. The artist's most accessible work to date, If 'n Oof is replete with the frenzied line work and concise, witty dialogue for which he has become known. This first release of all new material since 2005 is a must for Lightning Bolt fans and graphic-novel aficionados, and proves more than approachable to those new to Chippendale's oeuvre.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Art, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

800 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2010

Reviews

[Mza · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I call this a kids' adventure story, I mean an adventure as told by a kid -- with all the discontinuities, quantum leaps, sloppiness, guilelessness, and un-neuroticism that that implies. The difference is that this kids' story concludes with an unexpected political revolution. What's surprising about the revolution is not that it happens but that it delivers a pretty conventional emotional payoff. Maybe I watched too much streaming bloody Al-Jazeera three days ago. I loved that in Chippendale's dreamworld, unlike in the everyday world I know, a political overthrow can be effected without complication and even without intention or thought, as casually as a kid decides to stop crying and watch Chicken Run. In favouring immediate connections between feeling and action, between wish and outcome, If'n'Oof isn't alone; other recent psychedelic comix -- Jesse Moynihan's Forming , Olivier Schrauwen's short comix, and C.F.'s Powr Mastrs, amongst others -- also mine this approach; but Chippendale goes further than most in matching the immediacy of his drawing style to the immediacy of his storytelling. His drawing prioritizes texture and violent, Panter-like linework that connotes speed. I have no idea if he does multiple drafts of drawings, but the illusion at least is that every page is a first draft. Not every page looks great, but in sequence -- especially toward the end when the story coheres and approaches an emotional asymptote -- the velocity can be a real thrill. By sheer velocity, Chippendale achieves moods and effects that you definitely don't get from literary comix, or even from the more tense, dramatic psychedelia of Jim Woodring or Al Columbia. It's a mess that's worth sorting.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maggots, which is maybe for adults, certainly an older audience, is less accessible than this but I liked it better because of the ideas he seems to be exploring seem more interesting. But maybe they are essentially the same ideas? Like considerations of narrative and its uses and abuses. Concerns about what art and representation are. Anti-art school art. Deliberate outsider art.

This is written and drawn as if it were a middle school kid drawing this in his art journal, very fast, sloppy, first draft. It is dream world, psychedelic, hallucinatory, like 700 pages of crazy sophomoric world-making, deliberately scratchy… with fantasy/sci fi elements, but deliberately incoherent… about these two sort of middle school characters If and Oof. Sorta doofus middle school humor. Reminds me of stuff like Jeffery Brown's Incredible Change Bots, an adult drawing as if he were a kid, except with more drug or dream influence.

If you look closely you know this is not drawn by a kid, too, as he throughout all the chaos he peppers this with pages that clearly reveal he knows how to set up a panel. He works very fast but he also knows what he is doing with comic theory, with perspective. Maybe this is Johnny Ryan, Brian Ralph territory?

So I didn't love this, but I can see it has something to offer. I am inclined to say this may appeal to a younger audience… but there's also this conceptual/meta aspect of it that will appeal to artists and lovers of art comics and conceptual artist types. It's noisy, like Maggots, but a little less so, because there's more white space to breath and reflect with in this one.

[A.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If N' Oof is from Brian Chippendale, drummer of Lightning Bolt and Mindflayer. His visual style is just like his musical style. It's assaultive, challenging, and, in the end, always impressive. The story is a bit crazy, but it was thoroughly engaging. His style has a slapdash quality to it like he photocopied his manuscript on a xerox machine or something. I liked it as well as the frenetic drawing style as both really both the story to life, making reading engaging.

If you are thinking about reading this book, do the following first: go listen to any lightning bolt album from Ride The Skies forward. If you like the assault that is happening to your ears, go read this and have it happen to your eyes because they are almost identical. If you turn off the Lightning Bolt album after like 30 seconds, read Bottomless Belly Button or something else because this book will not be your cup of tea.

[Austin Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bible

[Kate Atherton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite more surreal, acid trip, sketchily drawn graphic novels. The plot of If'n'oof FEELS appropriately like a dream state. Characters flow in and out and reoccur at funny moments, the world shifts and changes and the 'rules', if you will, and even the main character's appearance, change frequently. It's a fun read though, as, it feels like a lucid dream and it is fun to follow and try to put the pieces together for yourself. The main characters, If and Oof, are 'Adventure time'-ish friends who travel through worlds together, interact with all manner of goofy and scary creatures and, ultimately never do figure out much of a basis from their reality except that, at the end, the 'uncle' who it was mentioned was missing at the VERY beginning of this fanciful tale IS found. Now, for a moment, about the art work ; it's true strength is it's chaos of line and texture and it's making of and breaking of boundaries around the drawings. I especially love when, in key moments of the narrative, there is a ZOOM in on the main characters and bleed to the edges of the pages. The book itself is very chunky and pleasing to carry around. :)

[Printable Tire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure I was going to like this, but it was actually really cool. There's some great landscapes and character designs and goofy language and cryptic concepts and scary imagery. It has a dream-like logic and psychedelic moments that make it really fun to read. My only problem with it is that it ends too abruptly (at least it does with my library copy, who knows if pages are missing) and it seems this story could go on for a thousand more pages, which I would happily ogle and read. I hope it does continue some day, I was enjoying it. There's something really fulfilling and suspenseful about turning over one splash page after another: it makes everything that happens seem both random and inevitable at the same time. Some of the pages can make things seem animated, but mostly for some reason the comic reminded me of an adventure game: Altered Destiny, Twinsen's Odyssey or Woodruff and The Schnibble, maybe. If is like Tintin with a hard candy head.

Hope there's a volume 2 some day, and more.

[Nate D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Secretly the product of a determined middle-schooler devoting all of his study hall boredom and frustration grades 6 through 8 to obsessively drawing this messy, paranoid universe. Which is to say that this is as just about as dumb as that suggests, but also as awesome, and as, I guess, outsider. Which is saying something for the product of a 30-something artist. Just surrender to it and ignore the incomplete parts of the plot and read it as breathlessly and unthinkingly as it seems to have been composed.

[Jesse Baggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting experimental comic. Like an impressionist painting, Chippendale’s craft is very apparent. His panels look like powerful, energetic first drafts, made in ink, rather than something labored over to look like a movie, or to hide the fact that you’re looking at, well, drawings. On this level, the book is very enjoyable, a real feast for the eyes. The sticking point for most people will be the story, which is confusing: the visuals, settings, even the reality of the story change drastically from panel to panel. However, “If ‘n Oof” maintains a certain internal logic and can be very evocative, like a dream. While there also aren’t any “realistic” characters, the relationship between If and Oof (if that even are their names; it’s tough to tell) could be very sweet and told through moments of visual joy.

[TC Bekos · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a lot to say about if n oof. It doesn’t even feel real and that’s a huge concept, like another review said “deliberate outsider art” and i couldn’t agree more. The psychedelic feverdreamy feel of every page and how things just don’t make sense at some point really pulls this together as one of the raddest books I’ve read in a while. The end is so deliberately strange I love it. There’s not much that could make this better. I should’ve read it in 2 or 3 separate sit-downs than 3 months but that’s a me issue. Fuck give this one a read.

[Miguel Arsénio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, this is indeed a sci-fi epic and a good story about friendship, but it was just too long and cryptic for me. It's perhaps recommended to any readers that can't get enough of Brian Chippendale.

[c · Rating 3 out of 5]

An 'it was all a dream' ending. I even found myself liking that dumb, art-bludgeoned Mickey Mouse character and his mute, regicidal sidekick, and even the guy with the wardrobe accessories that severed heads and guts.
Lazy, maybe even malicious ending but fun 4.5/5 adventuring for the most part: lost in a shitty art wasteland full of monsters and mayhem drawn on the side of Brian Chippendale's math homework.

Seemed to draw most of its power from the unstoppable dark crystal generator that is Mat Brinkman's Multiforce. A plus for anything in any universe.

[Dave-O · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Chippendale's work, but something was off about this. A little too self-indulgent and masturbatory. It could have used some subtlety and a reigning in of ideas. Some of the drawings are great on their own, but the overall style, the one-panel-per-page and the hefty format make for a taxing read. Got to about the halfway point and realized it made no difference if I finished the book or not.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and fun and weird. There are definitely strong CF and Paper Rad influences on this, but ultimately it's just too all-over-the-place to really come together in a big way. Meghan and I sat down and she read most of it aloud to me while we both looked at the pictures, like it was storytime. She even did voices. Honestly, that may be the reason for 4 stars instead of 3.

[George Marshall · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truly dire. Sloppy scratchy art. Rambling, incoherent, immature meaningless storyline (something about big eared what? in what? alternative reality...what?) in an absurdly overblown (one panel per page) and overpriced format. Chippendale is gifted artist- and Ninja and Maggots really contribute something original and exciting to comics, but this is awful.

[Eric T. Voigt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian Chippendale of Lightning Bolt wrote and illustrated one of the trippiest, goofiest little adventure graphic novels I've ever had the pleasure to read. What a quaint/eye-exploding under-an-hour of fun.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say that I "got" this massive tome of post-apocalyptic sci-fi pyschedelia my first time through, but this book is mighty impressive and I know I'll be revisiting it again and again.

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

*Edited*
Apparently I liked the cover. But I did not feel like there was much to the book. "It felt like leafing through a Mead notebook full of drawings by a high school boy..."

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blah. Weird blah. Lots of weird blah.

[John Isaacson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny as hell. Looks like Gary Panter listening to Lightning Bolt...er...

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a weird and trippy graphic novel. The artwork was very interesting. Just be prepared for a lot of dreak sequences moving into dream sequences. Like Inception on acid.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gary Panter on acid. Fun!

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this book on the bed with the sun shining on you.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think this is his best yet for sure. he's getting way more clear and accessible in the best way.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those works of art that doesn't seem born from darkness so much as the desire to create, and whatever fire Chippendale has inside is infectious.

[Kim]

Chippendale is a great comics artist and a great storyteller.
Pedro Moura's review of the work is well written. http://lerbd.blogspot.ca/2011/05/ifn-...

[Jamil · Rating 1 out of 5]

nah.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have liked seeing this with a tighter script, one pared down to 80 or 100 panels.

[Alice Paterra · Rating 1 out of 5]

disappointing