Alec: The Years Have Pants
- Downloads：2350
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-10 09:54:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Eddie Campbell
- ISBN：1603090258
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
For the first time ever， the pioneering autobiographical comics of master cartoonist Eddie Campbell （From Hell） are collected in a single volume Brilliantly observed and profoundly expressed， the ALEC stories present a version of Campbell's own life， filtered through the alter ego of "Alec MacGarry。" Over many years， we witness Alec's （and Eddie's） progression "from beer to wine" - wild nights at the pub， existential despair， the hunt for love， the quest for art， becoming a "responsible breadwinner，" feeling lost at his own movie premiere， and much more Eddie's outlandish fantasies and metafictional tricks convert life into art， while staying fully grounded in his own absurdity。 This Life-Size Omnibus edition of ALEC includes all the stories from The King Canute Crowd， Three-Piece Suit， How to be an Artist， and After the Snooter， as well as the very early， out-of-print ALEC stories and a staggering amount of bonus material。
Reviews
Hiko Murs
，
Səhifələrdə 9 yox， daha az panel olsaydı， yəqin ki， daha çox bəyənərdim。 Fuck！ Komiks yox， roman oxuyurdum elə bil ki。 -_- Ya normal roman yaz， ya da normal komiks çək də。 Bu nədir eee？
Gavin
，
Both cryptic and mundane: take a diary written by someone with the usual amount of self-obsession but no time to explain。 Alec is pretentious - the character not the book， except that the author is the character。 I find the 70s dreary for some reason， not just the visual style and relative poverty， but something deep about information poverty and conformist anti-conformity。Massive amount of time in pubs with no particular narrative goal。 Or: the main narrative goal here is to laud aimless friend Both cryptic and mundane: take a diary written by someone with the usual amount of self-obsession but no time to explain。 Alec is pretentious - the character not the book， except that the author is the character。 I find the 70s dreary for some reason， not just the visual style and relative poverty， but something deep about information poverty and conformist anti-conformity。Massive amount of time in pubs with no particular narrative goal。 Or: the main narrative goal here is to laud aimless friendship and pubs。 The other half is chasing women， ineptly。 An epic in length only。 。。。more
Bill Coffin
，
There are undoubtedly plenty of folks for whom this book is the perfect read。 But despite its flashes of brilliance， it is an epic autobiography of the most self-absorbed sort that feels less like an effort to share one's story than it is an extended cry for attention。 There are undoubtedly plenty of folks for whom this book is the perfect read。 But despite its flashes of brilliance， it is an epic autobiography of the most self-absorbed sort that feels less like an effort to share one's story than it is an extended cry for attention。 。。。more
Dominick
，
This collection of （most of） Eddie Campbell's autobiographical， semi-autobiographical， and pseudo-autobiographical comics may not be the best introduction to his work， but it sure is a great way to trace the evolution of his style （especially in the final， eponymous， section， in which he to some extent deliberately returns to earlier stylistic devices such as the use of zip-a-tone， but with a couple more decades of experiencing behind his drafting， pacing， and layout skills）。 Even from the begin This collection of （most of） Eddie Campbell's autobiographical， semi-autobiographical， and pseudo-autobiographical comics may not be the best introduction to his work， but it sure is a great way to trace the evolution of his style （especially in the final， eponymous， section， in which he to some extent deliberately returns to earlier stylistic devices such as the use of zip-a-tone， but with a couple more decades of experiencing behind his drafting， pacing， and layout skills）。 Even from the beginning， Campbell's work shows a remarkable ability to blend an almost photographic quality with an almost expressionistic line。 Early on， this serves largely mundane， if amusing， accounts of life as a young artist struggling to make sense of his place on the world。 These earliest sequences are perhaps the weakest in the book （unsurprisingly， as they are the oldest and represent a period in which Campbell was still literally finding his voice and style）。 Later sequences are arguably just as concerned with the mundane and just as fragmentary， but they also seem more intentional， more carefully chosen and paced。 Possibly the strongest sequence， though， is also one of the earlier pieces， the experimental and quite amusing "How to Be an Artist，" Campbell's tracking of and theorizing about how being an artist works （or doesn't）。 Some of the pieces are less autobiographical than opinion pieces （e。g。 the unfortunately never-completed history of humour material， included in the "Fragments" section）， while others are less autobiographical than flights of fancy （e。g。 much of "After the Snooter，" which includes， in the Snooter， one of the most surprisingly creepy creatures I have seen in a while）。 Nevertheless， as a whole， this is a surprisingly eclectic （given its ostensibly autobiographical core） collection， not to mention a master class in cartooning。 And there are some dandy anecdotes about Alan Moore （"The Magus"） and Neil Gaiman， among others。 。。。more
Chris Drew
，
I really enjoy Eddie Campbell's work， but this one was a bit slow for me， and ultimately not engaging enough to really keep and hold my attention。 Campbell's art style is well on display and is still a joy to see， but the plot is rambling， often with no clear direction， and this didn't work as well for me as it does in Cambell's Bacchus books， which are also rambling but with a little more charm and spark to the characters and action。 If you have read and enjoyed his other books I'd say it is wo I really enjoy Eddie Campbell's work， but this one was a bit slow for me， and ultimately not engaging enough to really keep and hold my attention。 Campbell's art style is well on display and is still a joy to see， but the plot is rambling， often with no clear direction， and this didn't work as well for me as it does in Cambell's Bacchus books， which are also rambling but with a little more charm and spark to the characters and action。 If you have read and enjoyed his other books I'd say it is worth trying， if you have not， I would not recommend starting here。 。。。more
Grady
，
I can see why the autobiographical comics collected here are lauded as influential， and the sophistication and quality of the craft improves over time。 His pastiches of other cartoonists’ styles show real skill。 But I couldn't get all the way through it - it just maunders on and on， and for much of the first half， anecdotes that I think are supposed to be funny - or at least， to leave a reader thinking， wasn’t that a wild and crazy time - all sort of run down or play out inconclusively， and the I can see why the autobiographical comics collected here are lauded as influential， and the sophistication and quality of the craft improves over time。 His pastiches of other cartoonists’ styles show real skill。 But I couldn't get all the way through it - it just maunders on and on， and for much of the first half， anecdotes that I think are supposed to be funny - or at least， to leave a reader thinking， wasn’t that a wild and crazy time - all sort of run down or play out inconclusively， and the accumulation is just exhausting。 Which is perhaps a failure of empathy on my part。 Although for the first third of the collection， no one thinks he’s pursuing anything， Campbell （‘MacGarry’） is an artist pursuing his vision of life - which I think is the better way to understand his comment that the only continuity in his life is himself。 It’s not so much himself as his evolving narrative/graphic voice that is the continuity。 I’m glad he’s had a successful career and met interesting people， but I was not won over。 The most affecting sequences are those in which he interacts with his young daughter; those are warm and mostly delightful。 。。。more
Salah Hassanpour
，
The King Canute Crowd part of this omnibus anthology （a huge chunk of the first 100 pages or so） was the only part I disliked。 Campbell's découpage style of making comics is masterful。 I liked the passages that demonstrate the development of From Hell into a multi-media property from Campbell's perspective。 But the best were some of the smaller， one-page series of wry life observations or Australian biology studies that appear between the longer pieces/series。 The King Canute Crowd part of this omnibus anthology （a huge chunk of the first 100 pages or so） was the only part I disliked。 Campbell's découpage style of making comics is masterful。 I liked the passages that demonstrate the development of From Hell into a multi-media property from Campbell's perspective。 But the best were some of the smaller， one-page series of wry life observations or Australian biology studies that appear between the longer pieces/series。 。。。more
Neil Carey
，
I wish I'd known most anyone chronicled in The King Canute Crowd; I like that-- in addition to Campbell chronicling his own life and offering his general thoughts on "the adventure of art"-- How To Be An Artist is a history of the rise of the comics medium as a cultural force without just once again blubbering/bloviating about comics 'lost innocence'; it makes me glad I've never run afoul of a snooter。But mostly， I'm just glad I took a chance on this; shy of an all-expenses-paid vacation， I can' I wish I'd known most anyone chronicled in The King Canute Crowd; I like that-- in addition to Campbell chronicling his own life and offering his general thoughts on "the adventure of art"-- How To Be An Artist is a history of the rise of the comics medium as a cultural force without just once again blubbering/bloviating about comics 'lost innocence'; it makes me glad I've never run afoul of a snooter。But mostly， I'm just glad I took a chance on this; shy of an all-expenses-paid vacation， I can't think of a better way to spend two weeks than with Eddie Campbell's Alec 。。。more
John
，
Basically 30 years of slice of life comics。 It's incredible to see how much evolution and growth takes place with the artist。 Yet， it's also sometime mind fumblingly nazel-gazing。 Eddie Campbell is an artist's artist。 He's quite possibly told THE autobiographical comic （other than perhaps Matt Wagner's Mage）。 It's great--but it's also very akin to the White Men and Their Ennui that has flourished for the past few decades， and is perhaps finally course correcting。 It's sincere and feels authentic Basically 30 years of slice of life comics。 It's incredible to see how much evolution and growth takes place with the artist。 Yet， it's also sometime mind fumblingly nazel-gazing。 Eddie Campbell is an artist's artist。 He's quite possibly told THE autobiographical comic （other than perhaps Matt Wagner's Mage）。 It's great--but it's also very akin to the White Men and Their Ennui that has flourished for the past few decades， and is perhaps finally course correcting。 It's sincere and feels authentic--but it's not always interesting。 But that's life。 。。。more
Michael
，
Nearly 650 pages， collecting nearly all of Campbell's thinly-veiled autobiographical Alec comics （except Fate of the Artist， from First Second） under one cover and adding a new story， The Years Have Pants is excellent。 Campbell's philosophical tangents and wry humor set him far above most autobiographical cartoonists。 He relates behind-the-scenes tales of the comics industry in the late 80s （when Sim， Eastman， et。 al。 were pushing creators' rights） easily alongside stories of his children or his Nearly 650 pages， collecting nearly all of Campbell's thinly-veiled autobiographical Alec comics （except Fate of the Artist， from First Second） under one cover and adding a new story， The Years Have Pants is excellent。 Campbell's philosophical tangents and wry humor set him far above most autobiographical cartoonists。 He relates behind-the-scenes tales of the comics industry in the late 80s （when Sim， Eastman， et。 al。 were pushing creators' rights） easily alongside stories of his children or his marriage。 The family strips he manages to make adorable without being too precocious。It's very， very funny， and deeply contemplative at the same time。 Campbell has a terrific pen and ink style， and he's able to capture anything no matter how fantastic or mundane。 In short， it's a must-have book。 。。。more
Brent
，
Here's a big beautiful collection of thirty or so years of great slice of life moments in great comics， told by a master in youth and then middle age。 I'm a fan， and you will be， too。 I first heard of these strips in an interview in Escape Magazine circa 1983， and， finally reading them， I recognized what great stuff Campbell keeps making。 Thanks to Marietta Georgia publisher Top Shelf， now part of publisher IDW。 Highest recommendation。 Here's a big beautiful collection of thirty or so years of great slice of life moments in great comics， told by a master in youth and then middle age。 I'm a fan， and you will be， too。 I first heard of these strips in an interview in Escape Magazine circa 1983， and， finally reading them， I recognized what great stuff Campbell keeps making。 Thanks to Marietta Georgia publisher Top Shelf， now part of publisher IDW。 Highest recommendation。 。。。more
Rob
，
Eddie Campbell knew more about comics in 1981 than almost all artists today。
Adam
，
Half a life in pictures。 Gets better with the passing decades （either that or I empathise with the middle aged Eddie Campbell）。 The art work is fine and instils the speed at which life passes。 It's not philosophy， rather a life well read。 A blog， from before such things existed。 Half a life in pictures。 Gets better with the passing decades （either that or I empathise with the middle aged Eddie Campbell）。 The art work is fine and instils the speed at which life passes。 It's not philosophy， rather a life well read。 A blog， from before such things existed。 。。。more
Dov Zeller
，
This is a big book with a lot of great art and brilliant literary moments， but it's also super-self-absorbed-naval-gazing stuff。 As a feminist and a queer， I just couldn't handle Campbell's attitude toward women， sexuality， queerness。 So， I got half way and had had more than enough。 Maybe the second half would have changed my reading of the book and its author？ I was so very done with the book by the half-way mark and just had no interest in finding out。 It was kind of like reading on the road。 This is a big book with a lot of great art and brilliant literary moments， but it's also super-self-absorbed-naval-gazing stuff。 As a feminist and a queer， I just couldn't handle Campbell's attitude toward women， sexuality， queerness。 So， I got half way and had had more than enough。 Maybe the second half would have changed my reading of the book and its author？ I was so very done with the book by the half-way mark and just had no interest in finding out。 It was kind of like reading on the road。 The adventures and beauty of it makes it tolerable to a point。 Maybe because OTR was so much shorter I managed to get though most of it。 And maybe because it was written in a previous era I put up a little more with the shitty attitude toward life and other human beings。 At this point， there are a lot of sequential art books I would much rather be reading。 And that is all I have to say。 。。。more
Tyler
，
I don't like to review a book when I haven't read it， or even gotten halfway through at the very least， but this is a slog in the worst way possible。 Something was very off-putting about it from the very beginning， but as each tale meanders around and we experience this slice of life， it is never entertaining。 I'm not saying Campbell didn't have an interesting life， because he's probably done a hell of a lot more than I， but it's not put across in a fascinating way that is engaging to the reader I don't like to review a book when I haven't read it， or even gotten halfway through at the very least， but this is a slog in the worst way possible。 Something was very off-putting about it from the very beginning， but as each tale meanders around and we experience this slice of life， it is never entertaining。 I'm not saying Campbell didn't have an interesting life， because he's probably done a hell of a lot more than I， but it's not put across in a fascinating way that is engaging to the reader。The artwork is fine， I guess， but it's just a competently drawn--but ultimately bland--exterior that houses pathos that fails to conjure up much in the way of intelligent observations。 You can do a slow-paced comic but you need to reward the audience with something to grab onto。 While trying to read it， I wondered why I was even continuing。 。。。more
Michael
，
The greatest thing about this omnibus edition is seeing how great Campbell becomes from his earliest efforts - how well he controls his craft， gets inside the moments， captures the exact humorous beat， understands his own neuroses and internal workings。 The early King Canute stories are the work of an ambitious amateur， occasionally charming but often not as fully realized or deep as a better cartoonist would've managed。 Each successive installment grows deeper and stronger， though some of the s The greatest thing about this omnibus edition is seeing how great Campbell becomes from his earliest efforts - how well he controls his craft， gets inside the moments， captures the exact humorous beat， understands his own neuroses and internal workings。 The early King Canute stories are the work of an ambitious amateur， occasionally charming but often not as fully realized or deep as a better cartoonist would've managed。 Each successive installment grows deeper and stronger， though some of the short bits and asides along the way won't be for everybody。 Overall， a terrific and insightful book。 Just be warned that it takes a little while to really find its voice。 。。。more
Batmark
，
http://morethansuperhumans。blogspot。c。。。Technically a roman à clef， Alec: The Years Have Pants follows thirty years in the life of Alec MacGarry （Campbell's alter ego）。 The book opens circa 1979， with young Alec， a burgeoning artist， taking a job as a sheet-metal cutter at a factory in London。 There he meets a forklift operator named Danny Grey， and the two become good friends。 What follows is 200 pages of heavy drinking， bouts of philosophy， and light hooliganism。 Later， Alec gets married and m http://morethansuperhumans。blogspot。c。。。Technically a roman à clef， Alec: The Years Have Pants follows thirty years in the life of Alec MacGarry （Campbell's alter ego）。 The book opens circa 1979， with young Alec， a burgeoning artist， taking a job as a sheet-metal cutter at a factory in London。 There he meets a forklift operator named Danny Grey， and the two become good friends。 What follows is 200 pages of heavy drinking， bouts of philosophy， and light hooliganism。 Later， Alec gets married and moves to Australia， at which point the book really comes together。 Over the years Alec matures （slightly）， raises a family， and explores those aspects of life we all find so wonderful and confusing。 As a central figure in the small-press comics boom of the late '80s， Campbell also provides a unique first-person perspective on the independent comic book artists and publishers of that exciting era。This is the best one-volume， autobiographical comic book I've ever read。 Weighing in at five（！） pounds， it earns every ounce of its heft。 I must admit I got a little lost amongst the seemingly dozens of characters who were walking through the narrative in the second part， "Graffiti Kitchen" （and， in fact， I started to worry that the next 400 pages would be just as confusing）。 But the following section， titled "How to Be an Artist，" is a masterpiece of the form。 Told entirely in the second-person singular， it brought me deep into Campbell's story and I remained immersed till the very end。The book's （sub）subtitle is "A Life-Sized Omnibus，" and that's about right。 In the span of these 640 pages I felt as if I'd read Campbell's life story。 Of course， you can't fit every minute of thirty years into 640 pages， but it nonetheless feels comprehensive。 Perhaps because， as Campbell wrote in the book's preface， his aim with these stories was "to not lose sight of the everyday details that we tend to otherwise forget when we have our eye focused on a goal。" By stopping to smell the roses， so to speak， he's created an illuminating memoir of daily life。 。。。more
Pixie
，
4。5 stars。 A true opus， this book compiles much of Campbell's life's work - by which I also mean the works are about his life。 The art of storytelling is apparent， including the choice of where to begin， as he says， the exact moment he found his artistic voice。 I always find the choices， and sharing the process with the readers， to be a welcome addition to whatever I am reading。 4。5 stars。 A true opus， this book compiles much of Campbell's life's work - by which I also mean the works are about his life。 The art of storytelling is apparent， including the choice of where to begin， as he says， the exact moment he found his artistic voice。 I always find the choices， and sharing the process with the readers， to be a welcome addition to whatever I am reading。 。。。more
Cristhian
，
Este Omnibus es inmenso， con casi la totalidad de las obras de Alec。 Seguro si no me hubiera sobresaturado con su storytelling， este trabajo recopilatorio sería de 5 estrellas。 De lo mejor que pueden encontrarse en Scribd bajo novela gráfica。
Scott Foshee
，
A Life， HonestlyI am a big fan of autobiographical graphic novels。 I think they appeal to me because of the way they can personalize an experience with the truth of a diary or journal while still allowing the author to stylize the narrative to present multiple layers of meaning and impression。 Excellent examples of this genera include works by Chester Brown， James Kochalka （the “American Elf” series）， Derf （“Punk Rock and Trailer Parks” and “My Friend Dahmer”）， Harvey Pekar （“American Splendor”） A Life， HonestlyI am a big fan of autobiographical graphic novels。 I think they appeal to me because of the way they can personalize an experience with the truth of a diary or journal while still allowing the author to stylize the narrative to present multiple layers of meaning and impression。 Excellent examples of this genera include works by Chester Brown， James Kochalka （the “American Elf” series）， Derf （“Punk Rock and Trailer Parks” and “My Friend Dahmer”）， Harvey Pekar （“American Splendor”）， Guy Delisle （“Shenzhen，” “Burma Chronicles，” “Pyongyang” and “Jerusalem”）， and Jeffrey Brown。 Now I can Eddie Campbell and his terrific “Alec – ‘The Years Have Pants’” to this treasured list。In “Alec，” Eddie Campbell compiles decades of his autobiographical works in one volume， from his young bachelor days as a Scottish member of the wild King Canute bar crowd in Great Britain， where he scrapes out a meager existence in a manual labor metalworking job。 He dates， hones his artistic craft， and begins a journey of self-discovery。 We follow him through marriage， children， and the world of self-publishing to see him emerge a mature family man and reasonably-famous artist based in Australia。 We even get behind the scenes stories of Alan Moore， Neil Gaiman， and other famous writers and artists he comes in contact with。 Through it all Eddie Campbell， through his alter ego Alec MacGarry， shares with us the ups and downs， through good drawings and hurried， the real and the surreal。 Most of all， however， we share with him the honesty of life that he unfailingly paints on each page。 There is very little self-importance here。 We get the randomness and seeming irrelevance of the day-to-day through the colorful yet very real characters that flow through Alec’s life。I have the hard bound edition from Top Shelf and it is wonderful。 The spare， no-nonsense artwork on the cover and spine goes perfectly in tone with the gorgeous black and white drawings inside。 The paper is heavy and displays the ink well。 We even get bonus material in the back of the book。 The whole project is well-realized， done in the right way， and I am glad to display it in my home。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Koen Claeys
，
Bored me to death for 150 pages， I didn't have the stomach for another 500 pages of this。 Bored me to death for 150 pages， I didn't have the stomach for another 500 pages of this。 。。。more
Astir
，
The autobiography of a life not really worth relating。
Oliver Hodson
，
It grew and grew on me， i think the snooter was the best section。 I loved how the one pagers and the shorter stuff where the focus shifted mid story but it still felt whole。 Also kind of a buzz to see a weighty tome and serious reflections on life and art coming out of Oz。
Kyle Burley
，
This massive collection of Eddie Campbell's autobiographical stories and sketches is as good as this sort of graphic novel gets。 Filled with truth， humour and in-your-face humanity。 Maybe a little overwhelming in this format（640 pages！！）。 This massive collection of Eddie Campbell's autobiographical stories and sketches is as good as this sort of graphic novel gets。 Filled with truth， humour and in-your-face humanity。 Maybe a little overwhelming in this format（640 pages！！）。 。。。more
Dave Schaafsma
，
Huge tome of just about everything autobiographical， including all the Alec stuff， from Eddie Campbell， who worked with Alan Moore on From Hell。 Has useful things like How to be an Artist and if you know From Hell you get a few things on Moore， but not much， really。。。 His quick sketch style （like ANTI-glossy） is appealing， especially for its subject: Eddie himself， in some ways like a daily journal。。 He digs up everything he could find in every closet， so much of it is like curiosities， throwawa Huge tome of just about everything autobiographical， including all the Alec stuff， from Eddie Campbell， who worked with Alan Moore on From Hell。 Has useful things like How to be an Artist and if you know From Hell you get a few things on Moore， but not much， really。。。 His quick sketch style （like ANTI-glossy） is appealing， especially for its subject: Eddie himself， in some ways like a daily journal。。 He digs up everything he could find in every closet， so much of it is like curiosities， throwaways， amusing little tidbits。。。 no huge revelations， but there is honesty， sometimes brutal self-reflection， we get a good idea of who one comic artist really is （well， told to us as Alec， so， maybe it is less "is" than "seems to be"。。。。） 。。。more
Hamish
，
Sometimes I will see an image and I will get a sudden， involuntary flash of a time I never actually experienced， but that （I think） I glimpsed in cartoon form as a child and internalized。 It's definitely British （or maybe New Zealand-ish） and it's from the late 70s and that's all I can tell you， because this flash is lightning brief and then it disappears to the nether regions of my brain， only to stop by for brief and rare visits。 It's frustrating because it's never long enough to hold on to， y Sometimes I will see an image and I will get a sudden， involuntary flash of a time I never actually experienced， but that （I think） I glimpsed in cartoon form as a child and internalized。 It's definitely British （or maybe New Zealand-ish） and it's from the late 70s and that's all I can tell you， because this flash is lightning brief and then it disappears to the nether regions of my brain， only to stop by for brief and rare visits。 It's frustrating because it's never long enough to hold on to， yet just the experience of that stab of memory is strangely pleasurable （Proust's Madeline and all that）。 In all likelihood the thing I am remembering is just a comic strip （Giles， maybe？） that I poured over for an afternoon in my grandmother's house in Lake Taupo， but everything we experience as children somehow takes on this exaggerated importance in memory and I guess that's what's happening here。Anyways， the point is that the early Alec strips （specifically the ones in The King Kanute Crowd） do this for me。 Obviously that's an incredibly subjective （even more subjective than most artistic enjoyment usually is） reason to like a book， but there's a lot of other things to love about them too。 Eddie's style is scratchy and should be vague but is in fact wonderfully vivid and evocative。 His mini-stories have a knack for honing in on the little things from larger events that are worth capturing。 Overall， they're charming and they paint the picture of a life that maybe I wish I had lead （but am dispositionally incapable of）。 So I really， really like the early stuff。Ok， so here is the problem I have with a lot of autobio comics （though obviously lots of exceptions exist！）。 It involves a conceit that really only exists in that genre， which is that any incident from your life is automatically worth relating because that's being "honest" and "shows what life is really like" （see Harvey Pekar and legions of others）。 Here's the thing: good narrative art， whether fictional or autobiographical， needs to keep the reader's attention and conform to a good structure。 That random anecdote about the one time you forgot to take out the trash？ That's fucking BORING （unless it has a really good punchline）。 And when your comic is just non-stop anecdotes like， then your comic is going to be boring。 It's certainly possible to mold the raw material of your life into a compelling narrative， but the random， one-page "oh man this funny thing happened this one time" with leaden punchline shit does not fly。Granted， Eddie only does that sometimes， but there's such an obvious dip in quality after Alec （his autobio stand-in character） gets married （plus the monotonous How to Be an Artist section; pedantic Campbell is my least favorite Campell）。 Some of those anecdotes are genuinely funny though， and he's forever coming up with novel and clever ways to portray every day life; but still， everything has a feeling of slightness。 There was a genuine narrative push in those early books and I missed it once it was gone。 It also felt like he was telling stories more about the people around him than he was about himself。 After the marriage it's all "then I did this and then I went here and then I said this to Alan Moore。。。"I'd like to emphasize that I still enjoyed the later material， but it's the early work that I loved。 Also， the recent The Fate of the Artist book （not in this collection） shows that he's still got it。 There all he needed was a different approach and he nailed it。 。。。more
Margot
，
Life-sized omnibus indeed！ This hefty tome was another great addition to my obsession with autobiographical comics。 An added bonus for this particular collection was the overarching time-lapse view of the comics industry in the western world over the past few decades。 Eddie Campbell seems to have an uncanny knack for surrounding himself with other artistic luminaries swirling around his floating head。
Steve
，
An absolutely brilliant read。 A collection of Eddie Campbell's autobiographical comic books。 I've never been a fan of autobiography in comic book form but this collection spanning his younger days， the rise of his role in the UK small press， and his 'wine' days was both funny and touching。 An absolutely brilliant read。 A collection of Eddie Campbell's autobiographical comic books。 I've never been a fan of autobiography in comic book form but this collection spanning his younger days， the rise of his role in the UK small press， and his 'wine' days was both funny and touching。 。。。more
Dan Trudeau
，
It was difficult assigning stars to this book。 I struggled with about the first third of it。 While I'm a big fan of Campbell's illustrations， the details of his （or Alec's） early adult years weren't as engrossing to me as I wanted them to be。 The good news is my interest went up considerably as I moved into the rest of the book。 I knew I'd enjoy his recollections from his years coming up as a comic book artist， but what I hadn't counted on was how much I enjoyed the little moments from his famil It was difficult assigning stars to this book。 I struggled with about the first third of it。 While I'm a big fan of Campbell's illustrations， the details of his （or Alec's） early adult years weren't as engrossing to me as I wanted them to be。 The good news is my interest went up considerably as I moved into the rest of the book。 I knew I'd enjoy his recollections from his years coming up as a comic book artist， but what I hadn't counted on was how much I enjoyed the little moments from his family life。 I would hesitate to refer new comic book/graphic novel readers to this， as I think knowledge of the subject matter goes a long way。 That said， I'm glad to finally have tackled some of his work outside of From Hell and I'm eager to get into more。 。。。more
Reid
，