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dantastic's review
3.0
Holy Sh*t! The World's Weirdest Comic Books is a collection of 60-ish cover shots and accompanying explanations of some really weird comic books.
Actually, I thought the weirdness level in this was lacking, probably because I've already read Comix: A History of Comic Books in America. Still, it was an entertaining read never the less.
Most of the comics depicted in this book were shocking for the time period in which they were released but a little tame by today's standards. Some are still pretty offensive, though. The subject matter ranges from foreign versions of familiar superheroes to highly controversial topics like race and sex issues.
This is one of those books that you pretty much have to experience for yourself. I will, however, list some of the books I found to be the most memorable:
Reagan's Raiders
Godzilla vs. Barkley (yes, Charles Barkley)
My Friend Dahmer
Genus (lesbian anthropomorphic unicorns)
Trucker Fags in Denial
Amputee Love
Sh-t!
The Barn of Fear (EC style stories featuring farm animals)
La Donna Ragna (a female porno version of Spiderman)
All-Negro Comics
Fast Willie Jackson (a black version of Archie drawn by an Archie artist)
Leather Nun
Mr. A (drawn by Spiderman's Steve Ditko)
Hansi: The Girl Who Loved the Swastika
Actually, I thought the weirdness level in this was lacking, probably because I've already read Comix: A History of Comic Books in America. Still, it was an entertaining read never the less.
Most of the comics depicted in this book were shocking for the time period in which they were released but a little tame by today's standards. Some are still pretty offensive, though. The subject matter ranges from foreign versions of familiar superheroes to highly controversial topics like race and sex issues.
This is one of those books that you pretty much have to experience for yourself. I will, however, list some of the books I found to be the most memorable:
Reagan's Raiders
Godzilla vs. Barkley (yes, Charles Barkley)
My Friend Dahmer
Genus (lesbian anthropomorphic unicorns)
Trucker Fags in Denial
Amputee Love
Sh-t!
The Barn of Fear (EC style stories featuring farm animals)
La Donna Ragna (a female porno version of Spiderman)
All-Negro Comics
Fast Willie Jackson (a black version of Archie drawn by an Archie artist)
Leather Nun
Mr. A (drawn by Spiderman's Steve Ditko)
Hansi: The Girl Who Loved the Swastika
anttirask's review
4.0
This is one of those books where the title kind of says it all. The comics presented in the book are all weird, although the level of weirdness and the reasons why they are weird vary quite a bit. I'm also sure that some of the weirdness comes purely from the modern viewpoint as some of the books were legitimate comic books at the time they came out.
Most of the comics are weird enough for me to feel like I don't really need to read them, but there was one comic that was especially curious, rather than weird, that I really do want to read. [b: Longshot Comics: The Long and Unlearned Life of Roland Gethers|17854521|Longshot Comics The Long and Unlearned Life of Roland Gethers|Shane Simmons|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425695737s/17854521.jpg|24992919] by [a: Shane Simmons|7065726|Shane Simmons|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1463564325p2/7065726.jpg] uses black dots and dialogue to tell a funny story (at least judging by the one page that I read) about a somewhat tragic life in the 19th century.
This book and these comics might not be for you if (you're easily offended or if) you are only just starting to read comics, but for a general comic book lover this is a treat.
And I must say, hats off to Paul Gravett (and Peter Stanbury for this book) who is also behind even better comics-related books, such as [b: Graphic Novels: Everything You Need to Know|160447|Graphic Novels Everything You Need to Know|Paul Gravett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348136691s/160447.jpg|486501], [b: Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics|544325|Manga 60 Years of Japanese Comics|Paul Gravett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348075137s/544325.jpg|531613] and [b: 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die: The Ultimate Guide to Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and Manga|10469840|1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die The Ultimate Guide to Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and Manga|Paul Gravett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1321473924s/10469840.jpg|15374970].
Most of the comics are weird enough for me to feel like I don't really need to read them, but there was one comic that was especially curious, rather than weird, that I really do want to read. [b: Longshot Comics: The Long and Unlearned Life of Roland Gethers|17854521|Longshot Comics The Long and Unlearned Life of Roland Gethers|Shane Simmons|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425695737s/17854521.jpg|24992919] by [a: Shane Simmons|7065726|Shane Simmons|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1463564325p2/7065726.jpg] uses black dots and dialogue to tell a funny story (at least judging by the one page that I read) about a somewhat tragic life in the 19th century.
This book and these comics might not be for you if (you're easily offended or if) you are only just starting to read comics, but for a general comic book lover this is a treat.
And I must say, hats off to Paul Gravett (and Peter Stanbury for this book) who is also behind even better comics-related books, such as [b: Graphic Novels: Everything You Need to Know|160447|Graphic Novels Everything You Need to Know|Paul Gravett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348136691s/160447.jpg|486501], [b: Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics|544325|Manga 60 Years of Japanese Comics|Paul Gravett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348075137s/544325.jpg|531613] and [b: 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die: The Ultimate Guide to Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and Manga|10469840|1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die The Ultimate Guide to Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and Manga|Paul Gravett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1321473924s/10469840.jpg|15374970].
gregoryscottdilcox's review
3.0
Although short and far from exclusive Holy Sh*t was an great read for fans of comic books. Covering a wide range of truly weird comics, most of which I'd never heard of it was a good time. I'm considering checking titles out such as Fatman the Flying Saucer and Leather Nun. It's a quick read to at just a little over a hundred pages and a lot of pictures. The style of one of the books actually has inspired me to start a weird comic of me own since the style helps my lack of artistic ability. I could have used a little more detail and more pictures of the panels, but this wasn't meant to be a huge volume, but a quick list. For what it was, it was right on the money.
thefiercepanda's review
3.0
It's insane that the comic books featured here actually existed like Super Shamou about a Inuit superhero who rescues glue-sniffing teenagers from their evil ways and The Barn of Fear featuring super-strong chickens capable of decapitating an evil farmer with an axe. Then there are the extremely surreal titles like Tales of the Leather Nun, Amputee Love, Trucker Fags in Denial, and Hansi, the Girl Who Loved the Swastika. Holy shit indeed!
rickklaw's review
4.0
This fascinating and at times terrifying small format hardcover guides through the bizarre world of wacky comics including [author:Steve Ditko]'s stark ode to Objectivistism Mr. A. (1973), All Negro Comics #1 (created entirely by African-Americans in June 1947), the blasphemous underground comic Tales From the Leather Nun (1973), the pre-Brokeback Mountain unexpectedly manly love story Trucker Fags in Denial (2004), strange romance tales, and even public service publications. With over 100 entries, the graphically-intense, surreal adventure makes for a near perfect bathroom book.
rosseroo's review
4.0
I'm not a comic book buyer or collector, but I do like graphic storytelling in the longer format, and was curious to see what oddities might have emerged over theyears in the short form. This small gem of a book collects some sixty examples of the wildest and weirdest, ranging from a Tijuana Bible from the late 1930s satirizing Hitler called "You Nazi Man" to 2004's "Trucker Fags in Denial." Each title gets a two-page spread, with a full cover or near full-cover bleeding across the right page, and a synopsis of the book and sample panel on the left hand page, along with credits and publication information. The selections generally fall into the categories I expected:
Pornish comics -- "Tales From the Leather Nun" is pretty much described by the title, "Sweeter Gwen" is classic bondage, "Amputee Love" is also pretty well described by its title, "Genus" features lesbian unicorns, etc.
Weird superheros -- 1967's "Super Green Beret" battles the Viet Cong with his super strength, 1987's "Super Shamou" is an Inuit superhero fighting the scourge of glue sniffing, 1963's "Brain Boy" tackles communism, etc.
Industry promotional comics -- the American Cancer Society's cautionary teen tale "Where There's Smoke," professional service careers like being a barber or school psychologist are touted by Popeye, Wall's Ice Cream put out "Chill" with various flavors incarnated as superheros and villains, the California Prune Growers Association attempted to crank up the excitement about prunes by publishing the horribly titled "A Fortune in Two Old Trunks" in 1955, Greyhound did the same a few years later with "Driving Like a Pro", and the Savings and Loan Association wanted kids in 1968 to know that "Saving Can Be Fun!", etc.
Foreign oddities -- about 20% of the titles are non-American, including an anti-Soviet work from 1970s Czeckoslovakia called "Octoberbriana", the Australian "Book of Picture Stories" from 1943 brings to life aboriginal tales, "La Donna Ragna" from 1970s Italy is a kind of topless female Spiderman, the truly bizarre 1950s Australian sci-fi tale "The Purple People Eater", the torture porn of a 1980's Malaysian title and 1960s Mexican cheesecake "Los Novios", and soforth.
Other categories include romance comics, religious comics, and even presidential ones ("The Great Society" features a caped LBJ and "Reagan's Raiders" features a chiseled Reagan brandishing a machine gun). However, if I had to pick three favorites for flat-out weirdness, they'd be 1967's Fatman the Human Flying Saucer, 1993s Godzilla vs. Barkley (yes, that'd be Charles Barkley), and 1963's Herbie, which features a truly bizarre, almost autistic lard tub of a kid. On the whole, there's nothing deep to be learned here, just a fun little book that's bound to amuse and amaze anyone who picks it up -- perfect fare for the hipster's bathroom. My only complaint is that it's small, and as with any book on visual media, it would be better at a larger scale.
Pornish comics -- "Tales From the Leather Nun" is pretty much described by the title, "Sweeter Gwen" is classic bondage, "Amputee Love" is also pretty well described by its title, "Genus" features lesbian unicorns, etc.
Weird superheros -- 1967's "Super Green Beret" battles the Viet Cong with his super strength, 1987's "Super Shamou" is an Inuit superhero fighting the scourge of glue sniffing, 1963's "Brain Boy" tackles communism, etc.
Industry promotional comics -- the American Cancer Society's cautionary teen tale "Where There's Smoke," professional service careers like being a barber or school psychologist are touted by Popeye, Wall's Ice Cream put out "Chill" with various flavors incarnated as superheros and villains, the California Prune Growers Association attempted to crank up the excitement about prunes by publishing the horribly titled "A Fortune in Two Old Trunks" in 1955, Greyhound did the same a few years later with "Driving Like a Pro", and the Savings and Loan Association wanted kids in 1968 to know that "Saving Can Be Fun!", etc.
Foreign oddities -- about 20% of the titles are non-American, including an anti-Soviet work from 1970s Czeckoslovakia called "Octoberbriana", the Australian "Book of Picture Stories" from 1943 brings to life aboriginal tales, "La Donna Ragna" from 1970s Italy is a kind of topless female Spiderman, the truly bizarre 1950s Australian sci-fi tale "The Purple People Eater", the torture porn of a 1980's Malaysian title and 1960s Mexican cheesecake "Los Novios", and soforth.
Other categories include romance comics, religious comics, and even presidential ones ("The Great Society" features a caped LBJ and "Reagan's Raiders" features a chiseled Reagan brandishing a machine gun). However, if I had to pick three favorites for flat-out weirdness, they'd be 1967's Fatman the Human Flying Saucer, 1993s Godzilla vs. Barkley (yes, that'd be Charles Barkley), and 1963's Herbie, which features a truly bizarre, almost autistic lard tub of a kid. On the whole, there's nothing deep to be learned here, just a fun little book that's bound to amuse and amaze anyone who picks it up -- perfect fare for the hipster's bathroom. My only complaint is that it's small, and as with any book on visual media, it would be better at a larger scale.
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