Skibber Bee Bye

by Ron Regé Jr.

"Ron Regé is one of a handful of cartoonists in the history of the medium not only to reinvent comics to suit his own idiosyncratic impulses and inspirations as an artist, but also to imbue it with his own peculiar, ever-changing emotional energy. To me, he is unquestionably one of ‘the greats.'" ―Chris Ware Skibber Bee Bye Ron Regé, Jr., creates his own visual poetry that sets him apart from other cartoonists as one of the most original artists to enter the medium in the past decade. His storytelling is neither linear nor altogether accessible; however, his recognizable thin line and cute characters draw you into a dreamlike, sensitive fantasy world that, as odd as it seems, is entirely realistic.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Novels

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2000

About the author

Ron Regé Jr. began drawing and self publishing comics in the early 1990’s in Cambridge MA. His first book Skibber Bee~Bye was published by Highwater Books in 2000. His most recent book Against Pain collects short works from 1986-2006 and was published by Drawn & Quarterly in 2008. His comics and drawings have appeared in hundreds of zines and comics anthologies. Illustration clients have included Nike, Sony, Tylenol, HP, McSweeney’s, Vice, The New York Times, and Canada’s National Post. Ron currently lives in Los Angeles.

His current project The Cartoon Utopia began in early 2008 as a series of 60 small drawings, but has expanded to include larger drawings, and longer comics pieces, including those presented here. Drawings from The Cartoon Utopia have been presented as solo gallery shows in Los Angeles, Montreal, Richmond VA, and Austin TX. They will eventually be collected as a book.

Reviews

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ron was my roommate when he started the first bits of this book. It was originally supposed to come with a CD of his music performed under the name "The Discombobulated Ventriloquist." I guess the narrative didn't match the soundtrack, though he had 1,000 CDs made. Where are they now?

[Tony Vacation · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trundling elephant sporting a derby seeks companionship with an anthropomorphic teddy-bear nymphet and her younger brother. Mutual appreciation of pop melodies, tinkering with gadgets and passages from a journal of frontier explorations leads to the inevitable outcome of cosmic despair and high-powered suicide. Odd slice of the hippy-dippy and oh-so trippy from the minor guru of incomprehensible New-Age cartooning, Ron Rege. Jr.

[Sonic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super brilliant,
super weird,
exceptionally original.

Not sure I followed it all, but I loved it....
And I want to re-read it.


{ Reminds me of Jim Woodring
(and also Kim Deitch)
[with maybe a dash of Dash Shaw.] : Three original artist/writers who I dig! }

Awesome!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

ron rege jr. is my all time favorite graphic novelist/comic book artist/artist. this book is what did it for me. genius.

[Katie]

what the hell!?!?!?!?!?

[Ell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baffling, disturbing, and strange. Definitely have to return to this for a re-read in the near future. Excellent line work with regard to movement and storytelling from Ron Rege Jr.!

[Matt Matt Tobin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was really well woven and surprising

[StrictlySequential · Rating 2 out of 5]

No main characters speak and the occasional solid info that you get in words only helps to "put a frame on" situations. The spiritual side of it annoyed me in its vague pretentiousness.

This is like sitting in front of a storyteller that's alternating between sign-language and Spanish (of which you only understand the similarities with English) who doesn't care if you're following or not and is all snooty about it.

No matter how original and/or unique your work is- you're not skilled at doing so if your audience can't understand it.


It seems (from back cover) that he has the first case of alliterative initials that I've noticed- it seems strange that it's so rare.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art style is very 2D, by which I mean that there is little to no distinction between foreground and background. Thus, it sometimes requires great effort just to figure out what is going on in a panel. (An amount of effort that, in my opinion, does not offer a sound return on investment, given that the storyline is thin, bizarre, and nearly inscrutable.) This isn't as headache-inducing as Brian Chippendale (my personal standard for pointless weird shit in comics), but it's close enough.

[Janis Maudlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun little book about a kinda creepy twee elephant who is enamoured with a muppet woman who is oblivious to the situation. They have many mutual miniature dufflepud friends who comfort the hopeless elephant. Some bad stuff happens to the muppet woman, of course. Not really my thing but i imagine would be 10/10 loved by the d&q graphic novel nerd types.

[Danny Crowley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping to find more of that effervescent spirituality found in Rege’s other works, but this is chock full of nihilistic eye bleed panels that were often painful to unfold. Redeemed at times by humor.

[Erik Wirfs-Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally took it down from the shelf today, baffling but awesome, a super cute (maybe twee) romance for most of its length until it ends with an act of violent mystical destruction and rebirth. Ron is very singular comics artist; you can't deny that!

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're interested in Jim Woodring or Chris Ware or Lewis Trondheim (and his rather wonderful A.L.I.E.E.E.N.), then you'll get a kick out of this surreal and distinctive tale.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original and 95% visual story telling but the narrative is messy and a bit too nonsensical for my tastes and includes bad things happening to the female creature which is always a big nope for me.

[Y Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if I fully understood the plot. It’s a little bit weird and hard to read. But I love the art style 10/10

[Jordan Clawsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a mess of chaos and emotion. A rollercoaster of confusion with no answers or conclusions. With no definite understanding or ending it felt like it was complete, one of the most original graphic novels I had the pleasures of reading. Just like life, there is no definite answers or endings... and that's okay because these emotions are what make our human existence one worth cherishing.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think if I spent the rest of my life looking at this book, I'd still be baffled. I am confident it is magnificent, though!

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don’t come to this looking for any kind of cohesive narrative as it’s pretty much incomprehensible. It’s all over the place but it does feel like there are bits and pieces of something good in here.

[Mills College Library]

741.5973 R3336s 2006

[Ricardo Triviño Sánchez · Rating 1 out of 5]

El dibujo no me gustó. Me pareció malo pero típico de los nuevos cómics indie donde lo que supuestamente importa es el guión, que es inteligente, o bellamente introspectvo, u original.



Bueno, Skibber Bee-Bye es original, si por original entendemos incomprensible. Es más un conglomerado de "cosas guays", "trendy", "cool", yo qué sé, pero todavía me explico cuál es su fin, su contenido o su sentido.



En la contracubierta se puede leer "Ron Regé es uno de los pocos autores que no sólo reinventa los cómics para adaptarlos a sus impulsos artísticos sino que además los dota de una energía emocional muy peculiar". En resumen, hace lo que le suda la polla.