Atlas was the first Baxter tome I managed to get hold of after seeing some postcards ( "These pants are welded steel" announced the stranger - etc. ) and it's rewards are great.

Highlights include a contraption for coating shoelaces in a thin layer of unsalted butter, and cowboy and indian existential philosophy.

I thoroughly recommend The Billiard Table Murders (with its wonderful clock-maker working uniquely in the medium of sponge) and if possible getting to see some of these cartoons in their huge original form.

"Time to lubricate the cinders" mumbled the reviewer...

I'm a new convert to Baxter's work, but brother am I converted! From cowboys discussing modern art to strange trips through Imperialism and girl's schools, never has the tenuous connection between word and image been so funny. My favorites include the bandit with the bagel trunk and the man who checks his boulder. Gary Larson wishes he could be this clever.

rarely can one find a work of such surreal disconnection...a delight of bizarreness

...but if you like absurd, cerebral humor, it's definitely for you. it will have you giggling for hours.

I'm not sure how firm a basis this book has in the actual reality of Glen Baxter's life, but it's fun and interesting to read. He does his usual combination of pictures and writing, but this time there's an actual story running through the entire book. He talks about his birth, school, neighbors, relatives, vacations, and more. A few of the pictures are in color, in the same style of coloring you can find in _The Further Blurtings of Baxter_. One of my biggest problems with this book, and the reason why I didn't give it a 5, was the way the text and images were handled. Often, the text pertaining to a particular picture would be found on one page and you'd have to turn the page to see the actual picture. This delay between reading the words and seeing the image took away some of the humor. It was also a bit confusing at first, since I kept thinking that the text on the right was referring to the image on the left. That seems logical, but that's not always how this book was set up.

Those familiar with Glen Baxter's work - _Boy's Own_-style cartoons with breathtakingly incongruous elements and captions - can probably guess what to expect here: a mock-earnest mystery, illustrated throughout in fine Baxter form, with much to offer the reader.

That said, it lacks the impact of his single-frame cartoons, and for some reason the entire thing is set in his favourite font which, while certainly atmospheric, isn't exactly readable (especially since it's ALL IN CAPS).

Baxter fans should definitely get this. Others should try _The Impending Gleam_ first.

If you've read Glen Baxter's _The Impending Gleam_, this won't really impress you. Several of the drawings and their captions that can be found in _The Impending Gleam_ have been recycled for this book. It's true that all the drawings in this book are in color, while the ones in _The Impending Gleam_ are not, but they're still the same pictures. There are a few things in this book that I didn't recognize, but I don't think this book is as funny as some of Glen Baxter's other stuff. There's a short little story at the beginning called "Erina Tries To Be Popular", but it's not very funny and it's mostly just confusing.