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otterno11's review
4.0
After reading "American Elf: Book Four," I've followed James Kochalka's intimate daily slice of life comic through its entire published run, and at this point, I feel I almost know more about Kochalka and his family than I do about my own friend's lives. Not sure what that says about me, but I do enjoy the Vermont musician and cartoonist's sophisticatedly childish view on life. Equal parts funny, heartwarming, gross, and inspirational, Kochalka's deceptively simple four panel comics, illustrated daily, celebrates the wonders, both the highs and the lows, of daily life with a verve and creativity that never fails to impress me. This particular collection begins in January 2008 and ends December 31st, 2011, during some major turning points in Kochalka's professional life as his sons grow into childhood. In particular, I love Kochalka's cartoony lens in which friends and neighbors are depicted as a variety of fun creatures, from the self-insert Elf of Kochalka to otters, cyclopes, and birds. One of my favorite autobiographical comic series, and this volume continued with that.
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