Achewood: A Momentary Diversion on the Road to the Grave

Achewood self-published collections #1

by Chris Onstad

Achewood is what you might classify as "funny animals," if funny includes the sociopathic (Lyle), the painfully naive (Phillipe), Spicoli-esque, stuttering, van driving squirrels (Todd), compulsively dissembling robots (Lie Bot), and feline hipster gourmands-cum-music impresarios wearing thongs (Ray). Writer/illustrator Chris Onstad has an off-kilter sense of humor that is sometimes sombre, sometimes frenetic, and always unpredictable.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Emily LK · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating for this volume is a stand in for my feelings about the entire comic. Reading Achewood has definitely changed my brain pathways in some way and brought me extensive delight.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perversely funny as hell, these strips straddle the line between tastelessly avant garde and brilliantly pointless.

[Kyle Lorey · Rating 4 out of 5]

[UPDATE 08-23-2021] Hello. It has become clear to me that my ratings system is flawed beyond repair. Due to a lack of standardization, I have rated many books more highly than they deserve, resulting in an inability to rate newly read books accurately without creating an incorrect impression of quality compared to books previously read. As a result, I am re-rating all of the books I have read in 2020 and 2021. For each book, I will append this little explanation, my new rating for this book using Storygraph’s scale (which allows for quarter-star ratings), my reasoning for the change (if necessary), and finally a guide to my new rating scale. Thank you.


Old Rating: 5
New Storygraph Rating: 4

My Reasoning: Achewood is EXTREMELY funny, I want that to be clear – some of the goddamned funniest comics ever written. But like. It’s still fundamentally a webcomic they put between book bindings

Guide to my New Rating Scale:

* 5 Stars: This book was more or less flawless. One of the best things I’ve ever read.
* 4.75 through 4.25 Stars: This book had slight flaws, but I REALLY loved it. Marked as 4 stars on Goodreads.
* 4 Stars: This book had slight flaws, but I loved it.
* 3.75 through 3.25 Stars: This book had significant flaws, but I REALLY liked it. Marked as 3 stars on Goodreads.
* 3 Stars: This book had significant flaws, but I liked it just fine.
* 2.75 through 2.25 Stars: This book was extremely flawed, but I thought it had some merit. Marked as 2 stars on Goodreads.
* 2 Stars: This book was extremely flawed, but I didn’t actively dislike it. It was a waste of my time but not odious.
* 1.75 through 1.25 Stars: This book was irreparably flawed, and I actively disliked it. Marked as 1 star on Goodreads.
* 1 Star: This book was irreparably flawed. I actively hated this book and am worse off for having read it.

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[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahh. I just don't get the flurry of fandom over Achewood. When it's good, it's really good, but the percentage of time when it's good just doesn't get it done, in my book. Maybe I need to get on some really good recreational drugs and try again?

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

www.achewood.com , start at the start.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again a symbolic rating for the entire series, available at [http://www.achewood.com]. The best comic strip out there.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

AMAZING

[Vince · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius!

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This doesn't change how I feel about the Great Outdoor Fight.