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Père fictif
Caleb est un peintre raté quinquagénaire au passé trouble. C’est aussi le fils de l’un des plus célèbres bédéistes au monde, Jimmi Wyatt. Renommé partout sur la planète pour sa BD Sonny Side Up sur l’amour entre un père et son fils, Jimmi est devenu millionnaire en dessinant des histoires familiales sirupeuses tout en négligeant son propre enfant.
Caleb, qui a cessé de boire, est hanté par son passé gâché et tente de se responsabiliser face à son présent avant qu’il ne soit trop tard. James, son amoureux toujours patient, est au bout du rouleau. Lorsque Caleb a l’occasion de sortir de l’ombre de son père et de façonner à son tour le visage public de l’entreprise familiale, il prend une mauvaise décision après l’autre et assiste, impuissant, à l’effondrement de sa vie.
212 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 2021
9 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Joe Ollmann
21 books56 followersJoe Ollmann lives in Hamilton, the Riviera of Southern Ontario. He is the winner of the Doug Wright Award for Best Book in 2007 and loser of the same award another time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
January 5, 2022
One of my top ten graphic novels from 2021. If you are into comics, especially "alternative" comics, you will as I did love this graphic novel focused on a middle-aged son living in the shadow of his famous cartoonist father. The idea isn't that fresh or surprising, and very little in the story is finally surprising, but I still couldn't put it down. Ollman is just one of the best and this is my favorite book from him. I put it in the category of comics about comics including such works as Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips's Bad Weekend and Bakuman, Death Note creators' spin-off series about the making of a Death Note-like manga series, works that both tell the brutal inside truth about how difficult the work of comics is, that also make it clear why they love comics.
Ollman ultimately writes a loving homage to the age of the comic strip in daily newspapers, work that was (and still is) done every day for hours and hours, obsessive work, physically and psychically taxing. He is known for making comics that tell the harsh truth about crusty, very flawed characters, and this fits, as he focuses on a father, Jimmi Wyatt, who became loved for making a schmaltzy strip, Sonny Side Up, a loving portrait about a father (a fry cook) and his son, Caleb. But, no surprise, the wonderful fictional father of the strip who inspired so many bears no relationship to the jerk who created the comics. He was emotionally abusive to his wife and son, who made his own paltry attempts at comics in his father's shadow.
Caleb is a middle-aged painter, not at all successful, a recovering alcoholic in a struggling relationship with James. When Jimmi dies, Caleb makes an attempt to take over the strip, but Ollman is no romantic; his characters are always flawed, real. Caleb is not the craftsman his father was. I like Caleb, but even James says he is hard to like, the son of a jerk who is is becoming quite like his father.
I like the references to other cartoonists who wrote strips for decades, father-son comics, or ones about kids--Charles Schulz's Peanuts, Bil Keane's Family Circus, Hi and Lois, Dennis the Menace. Some of these artists created better, more likable fathers than they themselves ever were. Daddy Dearest stories.
Again, nothing all that surprising in the story, but the telling is nevertheless engaging, wonderful, and unsentimental. Recommended for all classic comics lovers, lovers of comics history. Not romanticized in the least, with almost no deeply likable characters, but I loved it and them in spite of themselves.
Ollman ultimately writes a loving homage to the age of the comic strip in daily newspapers, work that was (and still is) done every day for hours and hours, obsessive work, physically and psychically taxing. He is known for making comics that tell the harsh truth about crusty, very flawed characters, and this fits, as he focuses on a father, Jimmi Wyatt, who became loved for making a schmaltzy strip, Sonny Side Up, a loving portrait about a father (a fry cook) and his son, Caleb. But, no surprise, the wonderful fictional father of the strip who inspired so many bears no relationship to the jerk who created the comics. He was emotionally abusive to his wife and son, who made his own paltry attempts at comics in his father's shadow.
Caleb is a middle-aged painter, not at all successful, a recovering alcoholic in a struggling relationship with James. When Jimmi dies, Caleb makes an attempt to take over the strip, but Ollman is no romantic; his characters are always flawed, real. Caleb is not the craftsman his father was. I like Caleb, but even James says he is hard to like, the son of a jerk who is is becoming quite like his father.
I like the references to other cartoonists who wrote strips for decades, father-son comics, or ones about kids--Charles Schulz's Peanuts, Bil Keane's Family Circus, Hi and Lois, Dennis the Menace. Some of these artists created better, more likable fathers than they themselves ever were. Daddy Dearest stories.
Again, nothing all that surprising in the story, but the telling is nevertheless engaging, wonderful, and unsentimental. Recommended for all classic comics lovers, lovers of comics history. Not romanticized in the least, with almost no deeply likable characters, but I loved it and them in spite of themselves.
November 12, 2025
Você não é seu pai. Mas vocês têm as péssimas qualidades em comum.
Caleb é filho do lendário criador de tirinhas Jimmy Wyatt. O pai tem uma tira nos jornais sobre a relação de um pai e do seu filho, Chapa e Chapinha. Para os leitores das tiras, a relação dos dois é um exemplo de uma boa relação entre pai e filho. Para o filho do Jimmy é um inferno, pois vê nas tirinhas a relação que ele gostaria de ter com o seu pai, mas que nunca foi possível, pois o foco do progenitor eram as tiras. Como o foco do pai eram as tiras, o casamento de Jimmy também não era grande coisa, o que também fazia com que a mãe não fosse grande coisa. Enfim, o Caleb cresceu num lar com uns pais que quase mais valia ser filho de chocadeira. Claro que, com uns pais destes, o filho não estava destinado a altos voos, exceto se tivesse muita vontade de fazer diferente.
E foi essa atitude de queixinhas e de desgraçado, de não fazer diferente, que me fez um pouco de confusão. É uma boa história, que traz reflexões importantes, só acho que os filhos culparem os pais de tudo não pode valer para desculpar todas as más decisões na vida.
Caleb é filho do lendário criador de tirinhas Jimmy Wyatt. O pai tem uma tira nos jornais sobre a relação de um pai e do seu filho, Chapa e Chapinha. Para os leitores das tiras, a relação dos dois é um exemplo de uma boa relação entre pai e filho. Para o filho do Jimmy é um inferno, pois vê nas tirinhas a relação que ele gostaria de ter com o seu pai, mas que nunca foi possível, pois o foco do progenitor eram as tiras. Como o foco do pai eram as tiras, o casamento de Jimmy também não era grande coisa, o que também fazia com que a mãe não fosse grande coisa. Enfim, o Caleb cresceu num lar com uns pais que quase mais valia ser filho de chocadeira. Claro que, com uns pais destes, o filho não estava destinado a altos voos, exceto se tivesse muita vontade de fazer diferente.
E foi essa atitude de queixinhas e de desgraçado, de não fazer diferente, que me fez um pouco de confusão. É uma boa história, que traz reflexões importantes, só acho que os filhos culparem os pais de tudo não pode valer para desculpar todas as más decisões na vida.
April 12, 2023
Part of my critical reappraisal of Joe Ollmann. I think he's actually one of the best cartoonists working in comics today. I wasn't a big fan of his 2011 book Mid-Life (I should probably revisit that book now that I'm 10 years closer to middle age!).
Caleb is a middle-aged artist (painter) who's father Jimmi is a famous cartoonist - known for his daily comic strip about a father and son. Unfortunately, in real life Jimmi was a terrible father - barely there at all for Caleb.
Caleb is a recovering alcoholic who tries to step out of his father's shadow and patch things up with his boyfriend James.
The strength of the book lies in Ollmann's ability to mine Caleb's inner torment. Caleb is likeable but far from perfect. Ollmann does a great job exploring the issues many recovering alcoholics could have - repairing the harm they've caused, avoiding making the same mistakes over again.
A book I couldn't put down and certainly one of the best comics of 2021.
Caleb is a middle-aged artist (painter) who's father Jimmi is a famous cartoonist - known for his daily comic strip about a father and son. Unfortunately, in real life Jimmi was a terrible father - barely there at all for Caleb.
Caleb is a recovering alcoholic who tries to step out of his father's shadow and patch things up with his boyfriend James.
The strength of the book lies in Ollmann's ability to mine Caleb's inner torment. Caleb is likeable but far from perfect. Ollmann does a great job exploring the issues many recovering alcoholics could have - repairing the harm they've caused, avoiding making the same mistakes over again.
A book I couldn't put down and certainly one of the best comics of 2021.
December 4, 2023
Jimmi Wyatt is the internationally beloved artist of the popular father and son comic Sonny Side Up - the sticky sweet story of a son and father who love each other unconditionally. But Jimmi is not a very good father in real life; his son Caleb is struggling to overcome years of neglect by a father who is idolized by a public that knows nothing of his true nature. This book really resonated with me; my father was not in my life - and every now and then someone would tell me how 'wonderful' he was because he was working so hard for the union. We often project traits onto individuals who we do not know. This book is a fictional account of Hank Ketcham (creator of Dennis the Menace) and his son the 'real' Dennis: “life imitates art far more than art imitates life” (with all due respect to Oscar Wilde).
February 28, 2022
Things to avoid doing in books:
1) Start with an introduction where you detail how the story I'm about to read is (accidentally) not particularly original.
2) Reveal the book I'm reading is the book a character in the book is writing.
3) Have a character in the book tell the author character how to edit and improve the book he is writing but don't actually include those edits and improvements in the book you have written for him.
4) Ironically include this quote, "Do you think -- in the present climate -- that anyone wants to listen to a rich, old white man complaining about an older, richer white man?"
5) Misspell Tony Bennett's name.
1) Start with an introduction where you detail how the story I'm about to read is (accidentally) not particularly original.
2) Reveal the book I'm reading is the book a character in the book is writing.
3) Have a character in the book tell the author character how to edit and improve the book he is writing but don't actually include those edits and improvements in the book you have written for him.
4) Ironically include this quote, "Do you think -- in the present climate -- that anyone wants to listen to a rich, old white man complaining about an older, richer white man?"
5) Misspell Tony Bennett's name.
August 20, 2025
Caleb is a hapless middle-aged man who is forever in the shadow of his famous cartoonist father. He is a painter and recovering alcoholic who resents his father's famous father & son comic strip, which was nothing like real life. When his father dies, he and his long-suffering mother have to deal with the public's adoration of a man they know was a miserable SOB. Caleb takes a stab at continuing his father's strip, but eventually gives up for various reasons and loses his boyfriend in the process, as Caleb is becoming more and more like his father. You will be equally be rooting for this sad sack while also wanting to shake him for his terrible decisions.
As a fan of comics and graphic novels, I appreciated the behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into a long-running comic strip series. I was pleased to find a jab at the For Better or For Worse artist's husband, who betrayed his wife in real life (don't mess with Lynn Johnson!). I found the graphic novel worthwhile, as it braided together reality and fiction in a very interesting way, and its art had a cool comix vibe.
As a fan of comics and graphic novels, I appreciated the behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into a long-running comic strip series. I was pleased to find a jab at the For Better or For Worse artist's husband, who betrayed his wife in real life (don't mess with Lynn Johnson!). I found the graphic novel worthwhile, as it braided together reality and fiction in a very interesting way, and its art had a cool comix vibe.
July 15, 2021
2.5 Stars!
I am not really sure about this at all, a lot of it really annoyed me. I suppose it wasn’t helped by the truly awful protagonist, who was deeply repellent and therefore hard to empathise with. I wasn’t a fan of the art work, although it was of a decent standard. The story arc was interesting enough, and it had enough imagination to lift it above average, and I learned a few random bits n bobs, but overall this wasn’t really my cup of tea.
July 27, 2022
This graphic novel focuses on the dysfunctional relationship between a famous comic writer and his son. The graphic interface of this book was very bold and detailed, but what I really enjoyed was the volume of text. There was a lot of detail in each panel, fleshing out the story nicely and giving the reader plenty of details.
September 1, 2021
Love Ollmann's art, and really enjoyed this one for the most part. Sometimes I think his writing is a little obvious, and the main character narrates a lot of things that are already abundantly clear. But he also has a lot of dimension, and isn't the automatically sympathetic son you might think he'd be from hearing the premise. Some well-developed supporting characters too. Liked it.
May 12, 2021
Ollmann is a charming, witty cartoonist and storyteller with a real talent for drawing nuanced characters—they grow (or don't grow) in organic fashion. I also laughed out loud several times. Good stuff here.
September 23, 2021
I liked this book more than I thought I would
It’s quite meta in some ways (a writer writing about a fictional writer writing a book) and very funny in some places. I liked the introspection about the relationship with the dad and the boyfriend (LOTS to relate to there).
The fictional writer is a contradictory mess, self aware and self deprecating which I find very funny, and I wonder if this fiction isn’t based on a lot of personal history
It’s quite meta in some ways (a writer writing about a fictional writer writing a book) and very funny in some places. I liked the introspection about the relationship with the dad and the boyfriend (LOTS to relate to there).
The fictional writer is a contradictory mess, self aware and self deprecating which I find very funny, and I wonder if this fiction isn’t based on a lot of personal history
May 31, 2024
3.5/5
A former professor bought this for me (“because dads,” he told me) as a thank you gift for helping him with a study. It only took me two years to read it (on my journey to try to read the books I own already and use the library for anything else).
I was invested in the journey of the character and liked the art style. A good little read about dead dads. Plus, Drawn & Quarterly is the best.
— owned
A former professor bought this for me (“because dads,” he told me) as a thank you gift for helping him with a study. It only took me two years to read it (on my journey to try to read the books I own already and use the library for anything else).
I was invested in the journey of the character and liked the art style. A good little read about dead dads. Plus, Drawn & Quarterly is the best.
— owned
September 10, 2022
love the visual humour and the devotion to the comics world in this one <3 i also found the depiction of stale, well-worn intimacy in the domestic relationship to be really beautifully (painfully) done.
i struggle a little with pacing myself through stories that are so thoroughly committed to their focus on the ego of a narcissistic, self-sabotaging dude (thinking too of adrian tomine's latest), but this feels more a matter of taste than anything. as with tomine's 'loneliness of the long distance cartoonist', the humour got me through this.
i struggle a little with pacing myself through stories that are so thoroughly committed to their focus on the ego of a narcissistic, self-sabotaging dude (thinking too of adrian tomine's latest), but this feels more a matter of taste than anything. as with tomine's 'loneliness of the long distance cartoonist', the humour got me through this.
March 1, 2022
Graphic novel that tells a story of an artist who takes over his father’s syndicated daily comic strip. Filled with obtuse humour and far reaching emotions that are sure to resonate with anyone who had a challenging relationship with their parents. Highly recommended!
August 8, 2021
Undercooked
I've read all of Ollmann's work, and this must be his least successful. It reads like an underwhelming version of his Mid-life, with the characters re-arranged.
Part of the problem is that Ollmann strives for character complexity, and it just doesn't happen. The narrator is supposed to be a variation of a spoiled rich kid, but the voice is that of someone who is (naturally) speaking from retrospect and in that he vacuums out what might be the problematic aspects of his youthful follies. You never get the sense that he was or is rich and privileged. His relationship with a man is wholly gratuitous. I don't care that Ollmann writes a gay character when he himself is not; but Caleb and James' relationship is tone-deaf: there is zero chemistry between them, no sense of gay cultural influences and nuance, and no understanding what draws the two of them together. James is Black; and while I admire that Ollmann is attempting to be inclusive, I got the sense that the character is Black only because Ollmann wants to show how inclusive he is. (Ollmann's puzzling jab at Charles Dickens' supposed anti-Semitism is not only trite but, in the case of David Copperfield simply wrong. Ollmann really needs to get off the look-at-me-being-socially-sensitive bandwagon; it's embarrassing.)
Caleb's mother is supposedly a shrew, with whom the narrator tries to understand and/or get close to. She is depicted as pinched and I couldn't help thinking of Lynda Barry's depictions of mothers and grandmothers. Does Caleb really want to be closer to her? Is she really that bad? There is so much vacillation that it's hard to tell.
His father is probably the only deftly drawn character, though the problem here is his creation, the comic strip that is Sonny Side Up. It's supposed to be beloved, likely a gesture to the sterility and falseness of Family Circle. But the few times the strip is included it is revealed to be a non-sequitur. It isn't warm or mildly amusing or anything at all. It's just dumb. I mean, even Family Circle registers as high art next to Sonny Side Up. I'm not sure if Ollmann meant for the strip to be so bad as if to critique the masses' tastes -- and if that is the case, then Ollmann would be condescending. I don't think that's it, so I'm wondering if Ollmann didn't really have any idea of what "warm and mildly amusing" is supposed to be. The strip's cookie trope reads as sexual innuendo, and in that it's just creepy.
In the end, the story reads of one of redemption, and it's no surprise how it ends up. There is so much exposition here that I wonder why Ollmann drew a comic. The art adds no complexity to the voice-over, and there are many pointless digressions. Ollmann wanders into being meta -- is Caleb the father of himself, in the same way comic artists reflect aspects of themselves? -- and it's simply not worth investigating.
Ollmann is a great talent, to be sure. But this effort is a clunker.
I've read all of Ollmann's work, and this must be his least successful. It reads like an underwhelming version of his Mid-life, with the characters re-arranged.
Part of the problem is that Ollmann strives for character complexity, and it just doesn't happen. The narrator is supposed to be a variation of a spoiled rich kid, but the voice is that of someone who is (naturally) speaking from retrospect and in that he vacuums out what might be the problematic aspects of his youthful follies. You never get the sense that he was or is rich and privileged. His relationship with a man is wholly gratuitous. I don't care that Ollmann writes a gay character when he himself is not; but Caleb and James' relationship is tone-deaf: there is zero chemistry between them, no sense of gay cultural influences and nuance, and no understanding what draws the two of them together. James is Black; and while I admire that Ollmann is attempting to be inclusive, I got the sense that the character is Black only because Ollmann wants to show how inclusive he is. (Ollmann's puzzling jab at Charles Dickens' supposed anti-Semitism is not only trite but, in the case of David Copperfield simply wrong. Ollmann really needs to get off the look-at-me-being-socially-sensitive bandwagon; it's embarrassing.)
Caleb's mother is supposedly a shrew, with whom the narrator tries to understand and/or get close to. She is depicted as pinched and I couldn't help thinking of Lynda Barry's depictions of mothers and grandmothers. Does Caleb really want to be closer to her? Is she really that bad? There is so much vacillation that it's hard to tell.
His father is probably the only deftly drawn character, though the problem here is his creation, the comic strip that is Sonny Side Up. It's supposed to be beloved, likely a gesture to the sterility and falseness of Family Circle. But the few times the strip is included it is revealed to be a non-sequitur. It isn't warm or mildly amusing or anything at all. It's just dumb. I mean, even Family Circle registers as high art next to Sonny Side Up. I'm not sure if Ollmann meant for the strip to be so bad as if to critique the masses' tastes -- and if that is the case, then Ollmann would be condescending. I don't think that's it, so I'm wondering if Ollmann didn't really have any idea of what "warm and mildly amusing" is supposed to be. The strip's cookie trope reads as sexual innuendo, and in that it's just creepy.
In the end, the story reads of one of redemption, and it's no surprise how it ends up. There is so much exposition here that I wonder why Ollmann drew a comic. The art adds no complexity to the voice-over, and there are many pointless digressions. Ollmann wanders into being meta -- is Caleb the father of himself, in the same way comic artists reflect aspects of themselves? -- and it's simply not worth investigating.
Ollmann is a great talent, to be sure. But this effort is a clunker.
December 30, 2021
4.5 and pretty darn close to 5. I loved this for several reasons and have a feeling that it’ll be sticking with me for a while.
I loved newspaper comics as a kid; I had a shelf full of Charlie Brown and Dennis the Menace paperbacks that I organized and worshipped. This graphic novel not only tells this father/son story -shades of Fun Home meets Great Santini -but also provides a wellspring of sources of other deeper dives into the lives of newspaper grinder cartoonists such as Schulz, Ketchum, Bil Keane and others, as well a glimpse of the cartoonists’ creative process.
The art was fantastic; reminiscent of another GN that I’m scratching my head trying to think of! (I’ll have to come back to let you guys know. ) Great fun, though; off to add to my Fantagraphics Complete Peanuts collection.
I loved newspaper comics as a kid; I had a shelf full of Charlie Brown and Dennis the Menace paperbacks that I organized and worshipped. This graphic novel not only tells this father/son story -shades of Fun Home meets Great Santini -but also provides a wellspring of sources of other deeper dives into the lives of newspaper grinder cartoonists such as Schulz, Ketchum, Bil Keane and others, as well a glimpse of the cartoonists’ creative process.
The art was fantastic; reminiscent of another GN that I’m scratching my head trying to think of! (I’ll have to come back to let you guys know. ) Great fun, though; off to add to my Fantagraphics Complete Peanuts collection.
July 18, 2021
If you don't like reading books where the protagonist is unlikable then this one probably isn't for you. I liked all the references to comic icons.
April 4, 2022
I have really enjoyed all of Ollmann’s previous graphic novels, and this one had the same dark humour as his other works. However, this one was noticeably more “woke” than his previous work, in plot lines as well as the much of the dialogue (ie people pointing out no one wants to hear a rich, white man’s opinions). I wish he wouldn’t have leaned so far into these leftist tropes as they often felt forced and that he was trying to stay relevant with the times. It just didn’t feel organic or necessary to me, and the story could have been told without having to wade into woke territory. For that reason, I give it 3 stars.
February 1, 2023
Why did Ollman keep comparing this book (in the preface and in the actual book) to other books/situations? I didn't know dad-writes-cute-comics-but-is-terrible-father was an apparently common situation until he told me in the preface, so why immediately get defensive about the work from the get-go...?
Like he literally compares this book to Fun Home in the text. And like. Yeah, you're never gonna be Fun Home, so why bring that comparison to my mind?
Like he literally compares this book to Fun Home in the text. And like. Yeah, you're never gonna be Fun Home, so why bring that comparison to my mind?
December 23, 2022
First time reading this cartoonist but it won’t be my last. He has a distinctive style and storytelling talent. It was a nice initiation that this story revolves around comics.
November 14, 2023
Originally written for Graphic Librarians bookstagram.
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We all know that families can be complicated. We all have that one uncle, grandma, or cousin who is a total jerk and who always causes trouble. Or, sometimes, it’s you.
Well, you’ll be glad to read “Fictional Father” and realize that you are not Caleb. Why? Because Caleb’s dad was Jimmi Wyatt, one of the world’s most famous cartoonists, who created the extremely successful and emotional father-and-son comic “Sunny Side Up”. While this daily comic was warm and full of love, in real life, Jimmi was emotionally neglecting Caleb and his mother. He was a terrible father; he was barely there at all for Caleb.
Caleb is now a middle-aged former alcoholic and a painter (not very successful) who lives in the shadow of his father (and money?), trying to process his emotionally ruined past and find meaningful life in the present. He is in a relationship with his patient boyfriend James, has an upcoming art exhibition, and is a sponsor for a young recovering alcoholic. Things look good on the surface. But as hard as he tries to free himself, his father is always lurking and bringing him down. Event after event, decision after decision, Caleb is going down, and after some time, he starts to recognize similarities between him and his father.
You will be pleasantly surprised at how Ollmann managed to perfectly describe the inner torment Caleb was going through, presenting this unfortunate family situation in such detail that you almost feel like a family friend, discovering the ugly truth behind the fake golden facade. The artwork is absolutely amazing, with each facial expression perfectly fitting the moment and the colours bringing the emotional temperature close to boiling.
As a father, I got a lot of value from this book about what NOT to do in a relationship with my child, and I suggest that all parents read it.
-----------------------
We all know that families can be complicated. We all have that one uncle, grandma, or cousin who is a total jerk and who always causes trouble. Or, sometimes, it’s you.
Well, you’ll be glad to read “Fictional Father” and realize that you are not Caleb. Why? Because Caleb’s dad was Jimmi Wyatt, one of the world’s most famous cartoonists, who created the extremely successful and emotional father-and-son comic “Sunny Side Up”. While this daily comic was warm and full of love, in real life, Jimmi was emotionally neglecting Caleb and his mother. He was a terrible father; he was barely there at all for Caleb.
Caleb is now a middle-aged former alcoholic and a painter (not very successful) who lives in the shadow of his father (and money?), trying to process his emotionally ruined past and find meaningful life in the present. He is in a relationship with his patient boyfriend James, has an upcoming art exhibition, and is a sponsor for a young recovering alcoholic. Things look good on the surface. But as hard as he tries to free himself, his father is always lurking and bringing him down. Event after event, decision after decision, Caleb is going down, and after some time, he starts to recognize similarities between him and his father.
You will be pleasantly surprised at how Ollmann managed to perfectly describe the inner torment Caleb was going through, presenting this unfortunate family situation in such detail that you almost feel like a family friend, discovering the ugly truth behind the fake golden facade. The artwork is absolutely amazing, with each facial expression perfectly fitting the moment and the colours bringing the emotional temperature close to boiling.
As a father, I got a lot of value from this book about what NOT to do in a relationship with my child, and I suggest that all parents read it.
December 5, 2021
I liked this book, but am conflicted on how I feel about it. The art style is simple but really up my sleeve. The facts about the actual comic book world are welcome. The story and the characters, though...
Caleb never really had a good role model in his life, a good mould to take after - so I think it's fair to say that he's a product of that environment and bares the same characteristics that he usually whines about. His acknowledgement (or lack of) of his own status - a man that has a fractured past, but is significantly more privileged than those around him - is unsettling at times. He had good support system - a loving partner, the work that he's done on his own, his volunteering job at the place that once helped him. With all that, he still occasionally plunges into caring too much about his father, whilst in denial about his behaviours being on the same wavelength as those of his father's.
That only intensifies after the death of Jimmi. Taking over the thing that he hated most and leaving behind all that helped him so much during prior tough times, straight up ignoring and abandoning someone who has been relying so much on him (the kid in AA), squashing the livelihoods of others (“a-hole Tom”) and not at all considering James' thoughts and his side of the story. Just to back out of that decision in a moment of defeat. The defeat that was already foreseen by, like, every single person in the story. Speechless.
There were a lot of things that weren't really explored, some humanity and vulnerability that just weren't there. The lack of depth and complexity that a story as ambitious as this needs - that left a bad aftertaste for me. The story can be predictable if it chooses (perfectly fine, great storytelling can be), but it certainly isn't what it hoped to be.
Caleb never really had a good role model in his life, a good mould to take after - so I think it's fair to say that he's a product of that environment and bares the same characteristics that he usually whines about. His acknowledgement (or lack of) of his own status - a man that has a fractured past, but is significantly more privileged than those around him - is unsettling at times. He had good support system - a loving partner, the work that he's done on his own, his volunteering job at the place that once helped him. With all that, he still occasionally plunges into caring too much about his father, whilst in denial about his behaviours being on the same wavelength as those of his father's.
That only intensifies after the death of Jimmi. Taking over the thing that he hated most and leaving behind all that helped him so much during prior tough times, straight up ignoring and abandoning someone who has been relying so much on him (the kid in AA), squashing the livelihoods of others (“a-hole Tom”) and not at all considering James' thoughts and his side of the story. Just to back out of that decision in a moment of defeat. The defeat that was already foreseen by, like, every single person in the story. Speechless.
There were a lot of things that weren't really explored, some humanity and vulnerability that just weren't there. The lack of depth and complexity that a story as ambitious as this needs - that left a bad aftertaste for me. The story can be predictable if it chooses (perfectly fine, great storytelling can be), but it certainly isn't what it hoped to be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2022
This was interesting but not compelling. It seemed the story arc was clear from the beginning and I kept reading to see it through to the end. But there was no dramatic growth or insightful twist. And the barely likable main character is only made so by his totally unlikable father.
It is what it is, a fairly detailed life story of a son of a famous cartoonist, who is beloved for his daily newspaper comic strip about a father and son and their loving relationship. Our protagonist grows up privileged by his father’s wealth and fame but alienated from his father by those same things and his father’s real life distance and disdain in marked contrast to his fictional creation. That drives the whole story although the second half does see the son taking over the strip for his deceased father and struggling to make sense of their relationship and its affect on his own relationships. The latter half does provide interesting insights to the work and business of publishing but the emphasis of the narrative is the life journey of the main character.
When I say “detailed” I might be influenced by the comic book format. All of the more than 190 pages are composed the same. Nine panels of the exact same size and shape. They requires a lot of drawing but there is also a lot to read. There is none of the artistic flair or visual interest I expect in a graphic novel.
But maybe that is part of the point. It is a story about a comic strip, four consecutive and identical panels. And I almost forget that this is a fictionalized story and not the author’s real story so I should acknowledge a level of creativity that my rating does not reflect.
It is what it is, a fairly detailed life story of a son of a famous cartoonist, who is beloved for his daily newspaper comic strip about a father and son and their loving relationship. Our protagonist grows up privileged by his father’s wealth and fame but alienated from his father by those same things and his father’s real life distance and disdain in marked contrast to his fictional creation. That drives the whole story although the second half does see the son taking over the strip for his deceased father and struggling to make sense of their relationship and its affect on his own relationships. The latter half does provide interesting insights to the work and business of publishing but the emphasis of the narrative is the life journey of the main character.
When I say “detailed” I might be influenced by the comic book format. All of the more than 190 pages are composed the same. Nine panels of the exact same size and shape. They requires a lot of drawing but there is also a lot to read. There is none of the artistic flair or visual interest I expect in a graphic novel.
But maybe that is part of the point. It is a story about a comic strip, four consecutive and identical panels. And I almost forget that this is a fictionalized story and not the author’s real story so I should acknowledge a level of creativity that my rating does not reflect.
July 17, 2023
A principal dificuldade que tive com essa graphic é dar nota pra ela. Ela é apenas 3 estrelas ou merecia uma meia estrela a mais? Se por um lado acho que a obra é acima da média, mais do que apenas bom, por outro acho que poderia ser melhor em alguns aspectos o que acaba deixando o todo apenas bom. Talvez a primeira coisa é ter um protagonista que é bem difícil ter empatia, isso vai acontecendo aos poucos. Único filho de um quadrinista muito famoso, cuja tira é muito popular e que fala da (boa) relação entre pai e filho enquanto na vida real a situação é oposta, que vive na sombra dessa fama do pai, nunca se firmando em nada, ex-alcoólatra, gay, tentando ser pintor, que sabe de seus privilégios mas volta e meia se faz de vítima o tempo todo, é um personagem que pode receber desprezo e carinho ao mesmo tempo, só depende de como é construído. Ollmann o faz de um jeito que nós nunca sabemos o que realmente sentir diante dele, vemos como são seus pais e a forma nada usual com que se tratam, só que o protagonista mesmo, como a maioria de nós, não reconhece que, quer queira ou não, repete padrões do seu pai, se tornando também desprezível.
O processo de descoberta disso pelo personagem é que vai deixando ele e a obra mais palatáveis.
O visual do personagem também não ajuda, além de lembrar o pai ele tem um look branco conservador que foge do que ele realmente é (ou era) o que também dificulta alguma identificação com o leitor.
Mas apesar disso tudo a obra tem pontos bem legais sobre pai e filho, arte e dinheiro.
Tirando toda parte ficcional do filho, do pai e da tira famosa, todas as referências sobre o mundo dos quadrinhos são reais.
O processo de descoberta disso pelo personagem é que vai deixando ele e a obra mais palatáveis.
O visual do personagem também não ajuda, além de lembrar o pai ele tem um look branco conservador que foge do que ele realmente é (ou era) o que também dificulta alguma identificação com o leitor.
Mas apesar disso tudo a obra tem pontos bem legais sobre pai e filho, arte e dinheiro.
Tirando toda parte ficcional do filho, do pai e da tira famosa, todas as referências sobre o mundo dos quadrinhos são reais.
September 30, 2021
Caleb Wyatt is the son of comic strip cartoonist Jimmy Wyatt, creator of the newspaper strip Sumny Side Up, which is about a loving father and son. But their real-life father-son relationship is less healthy. Jimmy Wyatt is an emotionally distant narcissist and middle-aged Caleb is more like his father than he cares to admit.
This is one of those literary character studies where the character is empathetic but not likeable. Which is fine. But all the text is very on the nose. Everyone is telling Caleb exactly what his problems are and he argues and then proves them right.
My favorite parts are the non-ficton parts. The introduction is the author, Joe Ollmann, telling other cartoonists like Peter Bagge and Seth about this project and getting frustrated when they cite examples of similar stories, like "Oh, like The Funnies by J. Robert Lennon." And, in the blurbs on the back of the book there's a quote from Sam Ollmann-Chan who says "Don't worry, my father is not really like this."
This is one of those literary character studies where the character is empathetic but not likeable. Which is fine. But all the text is very on the nose. Everyone is telling Caleb exactly what his problems are and he argues and then proves them right.
My favorite parts are the non-ficton parts. The introduction is the author, Joe Ollmann, telling other cartoonists like Peter Bagge and Seth about this project and getting frustrated when they cite examples of similar stories, like "Oh, like The Funnies by J. Robert Lennon." And, in the blurbs on the back of the book there's a quote from Sam Ollmann-Chan who says "Don't worry, my father is not really like this."
November 15, 2021
This is a sad story. Cal is a middle-aged artist who has spent his whole life in the shadow of his famous father's comic strip. "Sonny Side Up" is a Dennis the Menace or Family Circus-style strip about an endearing boy and his loving, patient father. Everyone assumes that Cal and his father must have had a similar relationship, but his father was actually distant and less interested in his own family than his fictional one.
Cal is a flawed character, who has struggled with substance abuse and maintaining a relationship with his longtime boyfriend. He longs to be recognized as a painter, but his minimal success is mostly due to the cache of his father's name. Ollmann injects a lot of pathos into Cal's yearning for real relationships and meaningful work. I'm not sure if I exactly liked the story, but Ollmann is a talented artist and a vivid storyteller.
Cal is a flawed character, who has struggled with substance abuse and maintaining a relationship with his longtime boyfriend. He longs to be recognized as a painter, but his minimal success is mostly due to the cache of his father's name. Ollmann injects a lot of pathos into Cal's yearning for real relationships and meaningful work. I'm not sure if I exactly liked the story, but Ollmann is a talented artist and a vivid storyteller.
May 6, 2023
This story about an inconsistent artist growing up under the shadow of his famous cartoonist father is ironic, entertaining and involving. Caleb is an angry sad sack inflicting his misery on anyone close to him, just as his father, the famous Jimmi Wyatt, inflicted his misery on his own family. Jimmi's beloved and saccharine comic 'Sunny Side Up' features a heartwarming father son relationship that in no way resembles the relationship between Caleb and Jimmi. Caleb has, and will continue to flounder his way through life. This story hits Caleb at mid-life with Jimmi on the decline when you might look for some closeness or redemption, but nah! Not from these guys. Along the way there is history and commentary on the daily strips in newspapers and other comic father and son relationships that peaked my interested to know more. Funny, sad and interesting.
December 31, 2025
Great book! The authors description of this kind of toxic relationship between parent and child is so realistic and nuanced, capturing many accurate details, that I was quite surprised the author hadn’t grown up with a father like that. I truthfully felt that this book had been written based off his own experiences especially because of how real and natural he made the faux memoir sound (I read a lot of memoirs). So kudos to the author for being able to capture that energy so brilliantly. Also, I appreciated that the author shared at the beginning that they are colour blind. Not only did I find the drawings charged with emotion, but I really especially liked the choices and combinations of colour.
September 30, 2021
Reading 2021
Book 126: Fictional Father by Joe Ollmann
A graphic novel selection, and book 31 of #30booksin30days.
At the beginning of this book the story lost me. I thought that I would put it down and try something else. Once the book got to the meat of the story the book settled down. Caleb, whose father is a famous comic book artist, wishes his father was more like the comic book character. The strip dad does weekly is of an awesome father and son relationship, but Caleb's father is anything but a good father. As an adult, Caleb is not a fantastic human himself, and he must figure out how to be more than a spoiled rich kid.
My rating 3.5 ⭐.
Book 126: Fictional Father by Joe Ollmann
A graphic novel selection, and book 31 of #30booksin30days.
At the beginning of this book the story lost me. I thought that I would put it down and try something else. Once the book got to the meat of the story the book settled down. Caleb, whose father is a famous comic book artist, wishes his father was more like the comic book character. The strip dad does weekly is of an awesome father and son relationship, but Caleb's father is anything but a good father. As an adult, Caleb is not a fantastic human himself, and he must figure out how to be more than a spoiled rich kid.
My rating 3.5 ⭐.
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