The Big Book of Hell

Life in Hell

by Matt Groening, Cindy Vance (Designer)

Painstakingly assembled and rigorously organized by that master of clutter, Matt Groening, this is not another mini-jumbo, hard-to-read, abbreviated compendium in that seemingly endless series of discourses on hell but a gargantuan historical extravaganza of ten years' worth of the everpopular "Life in Hell "RM" " cartoon strip, which still mysteriously appears weekly in several hundred newspapers tricoastally. Read the whole story of "Life in Hell "RM" ," from early prehistory to late last night.

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

169 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 1990

About the author

Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist, television producer and writer from Portland, Oregon.

Groening is best known as the creator of The Simpsons. He is also the creator of Futurama and the author of the weekly comic strip Life in Hell. Groening distributed Life in Hell in the book corner of Licorice Pizza, a record store in which he worked.

He made his first professional cartoon sale to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. The cartoon is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers.

Reviews

[Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Where the elite meet to eat meaty treats!"

[Scott Baggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember loving this book... until my 8th grade keyboarding teacher confiscated it. That's some bullshit.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the funniest books in the WORLD! From the Simpsons' Matt Groening, this consists of some of his other works, such as Little Bongo, Jeff & Akbar and others. You start laughing after a couple of pages and then it just escalates. My fav in here is "How to Waste 8 Hours a Day Without Getting Fired!" A true gem to put up on the wall of your cube. Another one is a limerick, "My name is Little Bongo, I sing a little song-o ..." Just outright stupid stuff but truly funny. Basically it sets out to illustrate just how much life can suck. I read this when I need a little pick me up.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Self-indulgent. Never met a person who finished this book.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many of the strips are far too wordy for the small payoff. I appreciated a lot of what he was trying to say too but just didn’t find it very funny.

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this exactly as much as I did the first time around. It's still good, and has a bunch of good gags, but I forgot just how many of those almost-pure text pages there were. half the book is text you have to read with no real order to them, its disorienting and this time around I decided to just skip them. Solid book, funny.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Big Book of Hellby Matt Groening (Pantheon 1990)(741.5073). These are the collected "Life in Hell" comic strips drawn by Matt Groening, creator of "The Simpsons." My favorite of these are the ones featuring the twins Jeff and Akbar. My rating: 7/10, finished 7/30/14.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forget the schoolyard - I learned what the "four bases" are from this book (or maybe it was from "Love is Hell"). Either way it has loads of humorous goodies.

[Jolyne Kujoh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather than being amusing, the majority of this collection feels like a depressed young adult spewing out nihilistic bullshit and working through their emotional problems.

About halfway through, we start seeing Matt's struggles with school as a child, through the eyes of Bongo. This is where the book begins to pick up a little, as it still feels like 'Life In Hell', but it feels pointed, and not entirely hopeless.

I loved the hell out of this series back when I was, for lack of a better term, 'Camus-esque', but now that I don't live in that same rut, this whole collection is exhausting.

I've been rewatching early Simpsons, and even at its darkest moments, it always feels full of love, family, and hope. And that's the main reason anyone should read this. As the years pass, you can witness Matt grow as a person.


In short, retreaded jokes, exhaustingly nihilistic attitudes, and a near lack of funny jokes keep this from being a good time, aside from being a historical artifact.

[John Collings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Futurama, and the Simpson, Matt Groening wrote a weekly comic that would get published in the smaller newspapers of America. It told the story of a family of bunnies with their gay friends Akbar and Jeff and was appropriately named, Life in Hell. If you ever find any of the old books that have collected these comics you will see the inspiration for Matt Groening's blockbuster shows, but you will also find some of the most relevant satire even to this day. This is a collection of some of the best comics that he wrote during that period of his life, and you will see the same biting edge that makes all satire great. He points out the flaws in our society better than any other satirist this day. You'll see how little we have changed as a society for the time he sat down and wrote these comics almost thirty years ago, but you will still laugh at these characters. The best thing about laughing at these characters is that you are really laughing at yourself which is the best medicine for anybody out there. I keep this book by my bedside table so if I ever need a laugh I can pick it up and read it. I would suggest that everybody else does the same thing and maybe we wouldn't have as many problems in society today that we do have. This comic strip is really that important.

[Garrett Cash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before there was The Simpsons or Futurama, there was Life in Hell. Matt Groening's long-running cult comic that covered topics like "love, sex, work, death, and rabbits." Since I'm starting the foolhardy task of watching ALL of one of my favorite shows of all time (The Simpsons), I thought it would be reasonable enough to see up Groening was up to before that took off. This is the most famous greatest hits collection of the strip, and I definitely feel like I got the flavor of it. Incredibly wordy, staunchly nihilistic existentialist, self-loathing, misanthropic, and absurd. Also very funny when its darkness doesn't drain you. There's a lot of great gems here if you spend an hour or so going through the book. The Simpsons was definitely an improvement, but there's a lot of gold here as well (his observations on love and work and education are worth the price of admission alone). If you're a big fan of Groening's TV shows, I would recommend giving this a look.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've taken to giving everything five stars, but this book actually earns every one of those stars.

Fans of Groening's other better-known work, "The Simpsons" telly show, will also likely like this book, although I find his "Life in Hell" comics rawer, edgier and darker; the social satire and political satire here is more pointed and direct than in "The Simpsons."

Anywho, I've heard that some Chinese discourses call satire "laughing knives," and this book definitely qualifies as such, because Groening cuts to the bone in such a way that after I finished laughing at his zaniness, I often find myself rather depressed after reading his comics.

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Groening's first major work wasn't The Simpsons; it was Life In Hell. It is a quirky, sarcastic, sometimes angry strip featuring a rabbit named Binky and his fellow cast of characters. This book collects a good chunk of them, from the first strips onward, and they are seriously funny. For anyone who only knows Groening from The Simpsons or Futurama, these strips might be a bit of a shock considering his liberal swearing and pessimistic outlook. But it's a must read, if only to appreciate another side of the man's humour.

[Becka Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Groening isn't just The Simpsons...Granted it will always be what he will be known best for, but truth be told, it should be this. There is a lot of dark humour...political satire..just some really good stuff in it. Things you wouldn't expect..some things you would, just knowing how he's done the simpsons. He isn't afraid to cross into any kind of territory and take it on.

Excellent stuff! I would give it a 5 stars, but I give those out kind of sparingly these days! So technically it's 4.5 stars from me :)

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read if you're a big fan of The Simpsons (like me). Groening's humor here is consistent in tone but hit or miss when it comes to making me laugh, which is to be expected considering when he wrote all of these. The cynicism is great and unlike the simpsons, it's all up front about what it wants to say. Nice and simple. The fake advertisements and charts he's put together in this are some highlights. I haven't read anything that resembles these comics but I'd bet that the Captain Underpants series was somewhat influenced by them.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know HOW many times I read this thing cover to cover. I especially loved the crazy mom types..."I AM EITHER GONNA KILL YOU OR KILL MYSELF...WHERE ARE MY PILLS??"

I always hoped that after The Simpsons did so amazingly well, and are still going strong, that Groening would get to create something with the HELL characters, but alas, not yet.

[M.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before he created the massive global entertainment machine regarding some doofus and his family in the Heartland, Matt Groening was just another underground cartoonist writing and drawing sparely detailed, uncomfortable, emotionally tense cartoons about things Big Comics wanted nothing to do with. And this is the comprehensive collection of them. Enjoy it while it's still legal to do so.

[Jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! Vulgar, cruel and one of the best of Groening's work (imo, possibly one of the only contenders against the Simpsons). Simpsons drew much of its inspiration of itchy and scratchy from this book no doubt. Highly recommend for light reading in between exams especially!!!

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a long time fan of Matt Groening, I followed his work long before the Simpsons. This is my favorite Groening- even better than the Simpsons, which is saying a lot! It doesn't get better than this- I wish I could give it another 5 stars. :)

[Dawn Fable · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved Matt Groening's work since before "The Simpsons." I would read his comics in The Chicago and Reader and laugh every time. This book is a great compilation of some of his best from his many "Hell" books. I would suggest buying all of them!

[rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's my little rubber earmuff

[Call Me Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent, curiously animated, easy to spot the later influences on the Simpson's humor as well as aesthetics. Immensely diverse and super creatively detailed. A must have for any Simpsons fan.

[Gopi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, but oh boy is it dark. I can only take this book's cynicism in small doses.

[Lafcadio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt Groening's my homie, what can I say.

[Inggita · Rating 4 out of 5]

uber cheeky matt groening's gem before his other creation bart simpson took off. it's binky time with jeff and akbar!

[Marianna Evenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

simply one of the most brilliant books ever.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!!

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential user's guide to living in 20th/21st century America.

[Leandra Luecke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most insightful, true, and hilarious book EVER! And that's not hyperbole.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius. Hilarious, perceptive, and a little too true. Also, the source of the name of our best dog, Bongo.