Ben Katchor's work is unique. He notices all the things that otherwise go (undeservedly after you see his work) unnoticed. His humor is on a par with the best of all media: Keaton, Chaplin, Fields in films, for example. His artwork brings to mind Herriman & Holman. His text is as inventive as Kafka. No question about it, the guy's a genius, yet always enjoyable & entrancing.

The third bound installment of Ben Katchor's "Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer" series finds his lonely observer at quite a distance from the simplicity and candor of "Cheap Novelties". Complex, arcane, and beautifully detailed, "The Beauty Supply District" represents, at last, a finely tuned rendition of Katchor's altogether fantastic and fully fictional Gotham. Arguably less accessible than "Cheap Novelties" or "Real Estate Photographer Stories", (I would suggest that the uninitiated read one of the aforementioned books first) it's a satisfying read for this Katchor fan, and it certainly will be for those who appreciate the moves he's made in "Cardboard Valise" and "Hotel and Farm". Katchor has sacrificed some degree of empathy in grounding Knipl increasingly less in "the actual world" but the allegories he creates in its stead are delights to be picked apart, and like a stranger's obscure promotional cap, ruminated over. The narrative that closes "Beauty Supply District" may be a sly metaphor for the real-life loss of New York City's individuality amid the burgeoning stampede of chain stores and attendant homogeneity; whatever the perspective, those 26 pages read like a warts-and-all requiem for an imperfect yet more people-oriented time. Alas, when the narrative's pretentious art fiend character makes a fateful purchase with no thought to aesthetics, the past, with its valued individuals and labored attention to detail, seems to be dealt a near-fatal blow. I can't wait to read it again and, like Knipl himself, discover what I've overlooked. Maybe I'm all wrong. That's what I love about it.

As a gentile, I bought copies for friends to show them insights Katchor gives of "ourselves" through Knipl's words/actions/self-doubts. Nostalgia, combined with 'layers' of deep, Jewish wisdom, humour and pathos makes this something all generations should read.

This book is where it all begins. Strange, beautiful stories that make you take notice of the aspects of the world that you might miss. Required reading if you have ever lived in New York. -yakov

Mozart was born to make music whereas Ben Katchor has the gift of capturing the essence of free enterprise and the soul of Everyman in 20th century America. My God, if Katchor had been alive in the 1800's, what conclusions could we have drawn from that age? Don't stop, Katchor! You're onto something that will endure. Your insight is amazing. Your humor is matchless.

Ben Katchor's eerie cityscapes evoke the ruins of the kind of world that appeared to be happening in the background of 1950's films noir, and his fanciful industries, charities, and fraternal organizations hearken back to the same imagined time. Reading his work, one becomes nostalgic for a time that never existed. This form of humor is subtle. In fact, it is not the humor for which I buy Katchor's work as much as it is for that strange feeling of fictional nostalgia. You can get humor anywhere, but Katchor's world view is unique to the man himself. If you ever get jaded, remember this review: immersing yourself in a book of Katchor's is unlike anything you've ever felt before.

Julius Knipl: Real Estate Photographer Stories is a collection of Ben Katchor's comics about about middle-class guys in New York City. At first glance each comic (usually 4 or 8 panels) seems to have no point, and the tone tends to remind me of the Jim books (I Made Some Brownies, And They Were Pretty Good, etc.), but Katchor seems to have staked out some pretty bizarre literary territory with these little stories.

One of my favorites concerns a man who is nearly poked in the eye with an umbrella on a rainy day. He's telling a companion his story, when a bystander overhears and tells him that many city residents are actually suffering from eye injuries on a day like this. This eye-injury enthusiast takes our man to the hospital, to see him "offer condolences to the families of the injured."

Another story concerns a group of volunteers who man phone lines all night, just to take calls from concerned citizens who have heard fire engine or ambulance sirens. Lots of the stories are about businessmen with bizarre, pathetic, or just loopy invention ideas: a suitcase that turns into a wastebasket, a storefront which sells rock candy, but only wholesale...

The text is punctuated by hilarious proper names, such as:

Blood & Sawdust Brand Cirkus Straws

The Ascending Colon, with Horace Bismuth and Vivian Scybala

Citric Acid Council

Viosh Shirue's Natural Rainwater Cistern

Katchor doesn't look down at his characters or approach them with anything similar to condescension. If I am motivated to feel anything at all after reading this, it's a bit more humility and compassion for my fellow man. At times these little stories are laugh-aloud funny, but mostly they just bring a smile and a little chuckle.

I am glad I ran across this book.

ken32

And yes, these pieces were not created to be consumed en masse. If you find a few amusing or worthwhile, but they get tiresome after a bit, just put the book down, and read a few of them each day, as you would if your daily newspaper carried them.

these haunting stories are a notch above the first julius knipl book. one can only wonder where katchor is taking us with this series. his comic stories bounce around between the panels and the reader is forced to create other stories that are only hinted at on the page. it's totally beautiful. great book for anyone into old new york, american yiddishkeit, or gorgeous comics.