I sometimes wonder just what led me to this book; whatever it was I am thankful. While I can't speak for everyone, I can say that this book reswonated with me in a way I've never found before. Mason is the voice of the overlooked, the unnoticed. I often feel that way myself.

I've bought several copies of this book; the first lost when it was loaned to a friend, one to replace it, and two to give away -- one as a gift, one to be loaned. I won't lose another copy again.

What a fantastic little book this was! I never read ANYTHING that agreed with my views on music as much as this book did. I can't say that I went through everything that the main character went through, but music was his life. Music is my life as well.

I just put down this book and had to drop a few lines. Jamie is one of those rare writers able to bring truly original definition to characters and their relationships. You don't observe his world, you enter it, walk its streets, TASTE its dimensions (and boy are there a lot of 'em). It felt as though I was stealing conversations from the characters, rather than reading them.

By all means, pick up 'Cut My Hair'. You won't be disappointed. Jamie is a rare talent. Bravo.

There isn't much more that I can say about Frumpy the Clown: Volume 2, that I didn't say in my review about Frumpy the Clown: Volume 1. It's more of the same, wonderful, caring, sarcastic, understanding, slovenly, compassionate, bitter clown. The major difference between Volume 1 (Freaking Out the Neighbors) and Volume 2 (The Fat Lady Sings) is that, sadly, Volume 2 is the final Frumpy the Clown volume. So get your fill.

Who would've thought that all of this creativity would come from the black hole of TV called "The Real World"? Don't be fooled, dear reader. This collection of Judd Winick's discontinued syndicated newspaper dailies is surprisingly funny with an underlying subversive flavor. The art may look like an amalgam of various other strips that are in the Funnies today but contains an original flair that gives it familiar warmth. I think that Judd's humor and deft hand is on par with the other great daily strip creator of his generation, Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows). Hopefully with this collection as well as others (Barry Ween, Road Trip, Pedro & Me), Judd will be known as a comic book writer/artist and not that lovesick dweeb from a reality TV show in San Francisco.

I picked up this collection for two reasons. One, I really enjoyed Barry Ween, Boy Genius, which is also by Judd Winick. Two, I was working off of a friend's recommendation. Since he's the one who steered me to the aforementioned Barry Ween, I figured it was a safe bet.

And indeed it was.

As described in the back cover blurb, Frumpy is not your typical clown. He isn't jolly. He isn't ... clownish. Instead, he is a cynical, chain-smoking, vegetarian (though, this seems to waver), animal-loving, motorcycle-riding clown. And, don't forget, a favorite of every child he encounters. "Sure, of course they like him. He's a clown," you might say. But that isn't it. Kids love Frumpy because Frumpy remembers that they are people, perhaps a bit on the short side, but people nonetheless.

There are plenty of antics in this comic, both on the part of Frumpy and on the part of the children, but there are also great human moments to remind you that not only is Frumpy not your typical clown, this isn't your standard rambunctious kids comic.

(Not to say there isn't plenty of rambunctious kid action. I promise you, there is.)

A great read, though you might want to be careful about giving this to a precocious child, as there are entirely too many pranks in the comic, which might plant seeds of ideas. =)

Judd Winick is perhaps the funniest man in comics. Of course, he's not creating strips anymore, but during the two year run of Frumpy the Clown, he made me laugh harder and more frequently than most every other cartoonist has in my twenty-odd years. Frumpy can be poignant, and pointed, but most of all, Frumpy can be hilarious. Don't read it while drinking milk.

Judd Winick is a rising star in the comic book/graphic novel arena. His book, The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius is one of the funniest graphic novels that I have read in years. Biting sarcasm, dead-on movie spoofs, great writing & nice (but rather primitive) artwork combine to make this a five-star collection. As the cover blurb from Garth Ennis says, think Calvin & Hobbes on drugs. My only caution is that there is some rather vulgar language in the book, so it is not appropriate for young children.

This is perhaps the funniest comic book I've read in a long time. Not since Bisley's Lobo have I laughed so hard and loud at comic characters. Barry Ween has a dry wit, and he lives in such an absurd world with oblivious adults and ignorant children. Barry possesses an unparalleled genius mind, and he gets wrapped up in bizarre adventures to the merriment of his friend Jeremy. Judd Winick has just the right off kilter sense of humor to make me laugh for hours. There were a number of times I had to put the book down to laugh. Recommended.

I picked up an issue of Barry Ween 2.0 a while back on a lark, and discovered one of the funniest, most profane works of illustrated literature I've ever experienced. I started hunting for back issues, and happened upon this trade paperback that contains the entire first mini-series.

Although it's in black-and-white, and the renderings are relatively simple and cartoonish, 'Barry Ween' still ranks as one of my all-time fave reads. In this instance, the quality or detail of the artwork is not necessarily the most important part of the comic book. Writer-artist Judd Winick seems to have had the time of his life crafting the strange adventures and hilarious predicaments of a conceited, foul-mouthed ten-year-old with an IQ of 350. From closing an interdimensional rift in the basement, to rescuing classmates from terrorists in an art museum, to changing his best friend into a dinosaur & back to a human, ol' Bar' never seems to catch a break...

If you're into 'South Park' at all, you'll likely be entertained by 'Barry Ween: Boy Genius' as well. Both have the crude, obscenity-laden humor that takes no prisoners. I found myself laughing aloud at several of the more wretched moments contained within the confines of this tome. Which might have explained why that comic shop guy yelled at me to buy the book or get the hell out of the store...

'Late

Barry Ween's at it again. Rather, the world around Barry is at it again, and the time has once again come for him to save the day, in one form or another. (It's tough being the world's smartest entity. It's even worse when you're a ten-year-old boy.)

First, Barry finds that the unusually large ape in the local zoo is not entirely what he seems. In the process of finding out exactly what's going on, Jeremy once again commits Barry to a course of action he otherwise would not have followed. But then, that's what Jeremy's there for, right? Once that crisis is averted, Barry must save his family from the terrors of the woods. (Haven't you always wanted to know the truth behind bigfoot?) And if that isn't enough, there's a school dance in Barry's future, and something about an ebola-infected monkey.

As with the rest of the Barry Ween series, this volume has all the craziness surrounding a foul- mouthed, world-dominating, charmingly insecure, arrogant, 10 year old genius and continues to hold on to those solid bits of humanity and sympathy that make Barry such a loveable character.

Oh man... just when I thought the Barry Ween saga couldn't get any funnier, writer/artist Judd Winick somehow manages the impossible and gets me rollin' on the floor with even bigger fits of laughter than ever before. And I haven't even gotten beyond page four yet! Who knew a hyperactive ten-year-old's intricate & disturbingly gleeful descriptions of a rhino's restroom habits and monkey mating methods could be such an aneurysm-blowing yuk-fest?

Barry's third TPB outing features our titular ten-year-old genius and his slightly-thick sidekick Jeremy getting into all sorts of simian shenanigans. From helping a giant extradimensional gorilla get back home, to saving the 'rents from a famished sasquatch, to racing against the clock to capture an ebola-infected lab monkey that crashes the school dance, Bar' and Jer' produce plenty of laughs with their profane banter and the bizarre predicaments they get into. Also included to help lighten the tone are scads of movie references, sex-ed jokes, the funniest take on the 'tastes like chicken' cliché I've ever experienced, and other things you shouldn't laugh at, but do anyway!

Fair warning, though- be sure read this in the privacy of your own home. There's nothing worse than getting your hysterical laugh-on at the local comic-book shop and having the other geeks stare at you like you're some kinda weirdo (Now THERE'S a case of the pot callin' the kettle black if I ever saw one)! Trust me on this, I'm speaking from experience! (=)

'Late

EXILES brings together six X-Men from different realities and sets them loose on missions to correct time-lines in still other realities. Mission: Impossible with mutants with a twist of "Marvel What-If". A mysterious being known only as the Time-Broker gathers Blink (born in the Age of Apocalypse), Nocturne (daughter of Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch), Thunderbird (another incarnation of John Proudstar), Magnus (son of Magneto and Rogue), Mimic (another incarnation of Calvin Rankin), and Morph (who comes with pratfall humor and is an incarnation of a character inspired by the X-Men cartoon series) and reveals their assignments. If they have any hope of returning to their different time-lines and altering the terrible events that took place there, they must straighten out various other time-lines first. Two different time-lines are presented in this graphic novel. In the first, the Exiles take on the most powerful evil mutant in the world: Charles Xavier. And in the second mission, they have to destroy Dark Phoenix instead of helping rescue Jean Grey.

Judd Winick was on MTV's "The Real World" and a good friend of Pedro Zamora, who later died of AIDS complications. Winick took up the lecture circuit regarding AIDS as he'd agreed to do for Zamora, and later did a book about the friendship called PEDRO AND ME. While on the show, Winick also launched a weekly comic strip, NUTS & BOLTS, and a later spin-off, FRUMPY THE CLOWN. He did ROAD TRIP, an Eisner nomination, and THE ADVENTURES OF BARRY WEEN, BOY GENIUS. Working with DC Comics, he has been writing the GREEN LANTERN monthly title, a ten-issue backup in Detective Comics, JOSIE MAC, and has upcoming projects for Vertigo and a Green Lantern/Green Arrow crossover. Mike McKone has worked on several X-Men titles, VEXT with Keith Giffen, SUPERMAN, MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER, HULK, PUNISHER, THOR, SPIDER-MAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE, and many others.

EXILES gathers the first four issues of the monthly comic series into a graphic novel that stands well on its own. The story is familiar to many fans of comics and science fiction, and it's interesting to see the different way worlds and characters could have gone. Winick's handling of Morph, the team funnyman and pratfall king, stays just this side of going over the top. The two worlds revealed in the graphic novel are interesting. Featuring Charles Xavier, the founder of the X-Men, was a given, and the rewriting of the Dark Phoenix saga wasn't too surprising. Where the book really succeeds, though, is in Mike McKone's art, especially with long-time pal and partner Mark McKenna laying in the inks with Cannon and Jimmy Palmiotti. The panels explode off the page in color, vibrancy, and immediacy. Another nice touch is that no one in this series appears to be safe. One of the main characters is killed halfway through the graphic novel, only to be replaced almost instantly with another twisted version of someone near and dear to the X-universe. The potential of the series is great and can bring about the same sense of wonder that powered the WHAT IF series.

Given the overall framework of the comic series, these first two stories lack a little. They're not overly original and despite the premise, there isn't enough real tension or development of character. Of course, Winick is trying to introduce his characters and the concept at the same time, and even kills off one of the major players. There is also a tad bit of long-windedness from time to time that covers over the beautiful artwork.

Regular readers of Marvel's X-books will definitely want to take a look at this spin on their characters and their worlds, and Mike McKone's artwork is absolutely worth collecting for any comics fan.

As a long time X-Men fan, I was excited about the recent relaunches of the X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, and X-Force. While two of those books proved to be really good reads, none matched the total package that Winnick and McCone brought to the table. And if you are like me and missed the first four issues, this handy, cheap package is a brilliant introduction.

For long-time fans of the X-Men this book is a no-brainer. The plot is a mix of Avengers Forever and Quantum Leap. X-Men are plucked from different realities and times and brought together to "fix" different realities that used to only happen in What If? comics. None of the heroes know who has chosen them. They are only guided by a mysterious entity called the Tallus.

The cast list is a fun diverse group of X-Men. Blink, from the Ages of Apocalypse storyline a few years back leads the team. Mimic is very different from the one in the normal Marvel U. Morph is definitely the comic relief probably in his best written appearance since the old cartoon. The daughter of Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch, Nocturne, is probably my favorite character. There are many more characters, but telling you all about them will ruin half the fun of discovering them on your own.

If you are a newcomer, don't worry. There is not a lot of back continuity to be concerned about since all of the worlds and characters do not follow normal Marvel continuity. It's kind of fun to see even the characters having a hard time dealing with that.

Overall, I would say buy this book. You will be happy you did.

In Legacy: The Last Will and Testament of Hal Jordan, writer Joe Kelly and Artists Brent Anderson and Bill Sienkiewicz try to add a fitting coda to the career of Hal Jordan, the disgraced (and deceased) former Green Lantern. Prior to his death, Jordan went berserk with grief (The City he called home was destroyed by an insane alien baddie), slaughtered the entire Green Lantern Corps., and usurped their power in an attempt to undo the destruction of Coast City. He was eventually given a chance to redeem himself; He died saving the Earth, and has since been reborn as the newest incarnation of the wrath of God known as The Spectre. Whew!

The book centers around former Jordan sidekick/Green Lantern wannabe/offensive racial stereotype Tom "Pieface" Kalmaku. (Can you believe there was actually a time when it was OK to call an Eskimo "Pieface"? Jeez!) He is wallowing in self-pity over the loss of his friend Hal; He's a destitute alcoholic, he's just lost his job, his Wife, his Kids......and now, out of nowhere, he's handed a child that is allegedly Jordan's, and a note from Hal reading "Tom- Fix it. Hal" Who is this kid? What does the note mean? What can one man do in a world of super-powered God-like beings? Tom is about to find out....

The art is nice, the book is attractively designed, and the reappearance of my favorite ever Green Lantern (I won't spoil the surprise, poozer!) is much appreciated and very unexpected. Writer Joe Kelly even manages to end the book on a note of triumph, with a hint of a bright future for The Corps. My only problem is that if I weren't aware of the twisty Green Lantern continuity, I'd have been lost. The book just doesn't seem new-reader friendly. Who is The Spectre, and what does he have to do with Hal Jordan? Who is the big yellow guy that blew up Coast City? What did Hal hope to accomplish by killing off The Corps. and The Guardians? I knew the answers to these quetions, but a new reader wouldn't.

Longtime fans should be satisfied, though.

Really. From what I've seen, most Hal fans will praise this book bar none as the best Gl story while Kyle Rayner fans will berate it as a poor story. And yes, I can see from both sides of the camp, but I think Kyle fans tended to look at the story superficially. Plus, it had elements that they did not like such as the Silver Age Green Lantern mythos. So, if you're a fan of Kyle as the one and only Green Lantern, you probably won't like this book. But if you're a fan of the Corps and Hal, you'll definitely love this book. It's got great art and a deep story which I found most Kyle fans never understood as they were too occupied with simple detail errors. Funny, when you consider, Kyle Rayner stories were full of such inconsistencies and yet his stories were praised. It's priced a bit so you could wait for the tpb if you want. But it's really a good story for the classic silverage Green Lantern fan that I wouldn't wait. The story is centered around Tom Kalmaku, Hal's old time friend and mechanic, so you're not getting a 100% Hal Jordan book. You're getting more of Tom's life being affected by Hal's actions during and after Emerald Twilight.

As a fan of MTV's The Real World, I grabbed up Pedro and Me as soon as I saw it, and read it cover to cover. It is a very sweet tribute to a friend. For those of you who don't know, Pedro Zamora was one of the cast of MTV's The Real World 3 in San Francisco. Pedro was an AIDS educator and very open about the fact that he was living with AIDS. He died shortly after the show aired. Judd Winick, the author, was also a cast member.

Judd Winick is a cartoonist, so the story is told in a comic book format. Though a bit too sentimental at times, and certainly a tear-jerker, Pedro and Me seems to be a sincere and realistic depiction of Judd Winick and Pedro Zamora's lives, their experiences with instant celebrity, and the ways in which HIV and AIDS affect peoples lives. In addition to some behind the scenes information about the filming of The Real World, you also get background information about Pedro and Judd's childhoods as well as an update of what has happened since. If you were a fan of Real World 3, San Fancisco, I wholeheartedly recommend Pedro and Me.

Anyone who watched MTV's Real World- San Francisco remembers Pedro Zamora, the young Cuban housemate who had AIDS. Over the course of the season we learned about the Disease from Pedro, and watched him form friendships with the others in the house. One of those new friends was Judd Winick, an aspiring Cartoonist. Since the show ended, Judd has realized his goal: He's become a successful Comic Writer/Artist, working on books like Barry Ween, Frumpy the Clown, Green Lantern, and Exiles. He has also become an AIDS educator, carrying on the work of his friend Pedro, who has since passed away.

Pedro and Me is the story of their extraordinary friendship, told in Comic-Book form. Winick starts by giving us a brief background on himself, and then we learn about the amazing childhood of Pedro....I won't spoil anything; I'll just say that some of the facts we learn are incredibly interesting. Winick covers the Real World pretty well, thankfully not giving the loathsome "Puck" any attention at all, and moves forward to Pedro's death and beyond, letting us see how this courageous young man changed so many lives.

This is truly an amazing book, and hopefully it will reach an audience that generally doesn't read comics. Pedro seemed like a truly good person, and the world is a poorer place for his passing.

Simply put, in writing and drawing "Pedro and Me", Judd Winick has produced one of the best books I've read in the year 2000. Part auto-biography, part comic book, part social issues, Winick manages to blend it all together in this stunning literary tribute to a "hero" of the AIDS generation.

The book recounts the days before, during, and after the tulmultous months spent living in the crazy house "Real World" house in San Franscisco. We learn a little bit about Judd growing up, and how he came to be a "bleeding heart liberal". But here is the first suprise! Coming to learn that he might be living with a gay man with AIDS, Judd is forced to confront not only his own fears about the disease, but his own prejudices about everything. That I believe is the complete brilliance of his story. He shows us his own growth, not in a preachy, "you-need-to-do-this" way, but in an honest "this-is-what-happened-to-me" way. It is through his honest struggles that we as readers are carried through with him.

But lets not forget Pedro in this as the engine that powers the story. We see a deeper Pedro not shown in the show, a sicker Pedro, a frail Pedro that is truly struggling on a daily basis with his health. We see a human Pedro, instead of his role on the show, "gay man with AIDS". The respect and love Judd has for Pedro comes across beautifully in the book, and we love both of them all the more.

Don't worry, you need not have seen the Real World San Francisco shows to be impacted by this book. Judd draws us a portrait of his own Real World, with the hopes and the joys and the pain for all of us to share and see. And we leave his book "Pedro and Me" truly transformed about how we see and act in our own Real Worlds.

Thanks, Judd. And thank you Pedro.

Fair warning: Although Amazon lists this book as being suitable for ages 9 through 12, its subject matter is intended for mature audiences. Now, on with the show...

After reading and laughing like a mental patient at all of the other Barry Ween™ offerings that writer/artist Judd Winick & Oni™ Press has thrown out to the public, I was pretty stoked to get my hands on the latest TPB of the boy genius' further adventures. This time 'round, Winick does things a bit differently with this titular anti-hero. The art is still relatively crude and reminiscent of comic-strip cartoon illustrations, but the dialogue is just as mean-spirited & profane as ever! This time 'round the reader is treated a single story arc, rather than three stand-alone issues. From Barry's kindergarten memories of his first hook-up with his best bud Jeremy to a somewhat-accidental trip through space and time to a Conan™esque realm to rescue an 'old' friend and back again, there's plenty of laughs to go 'round, although not quite as many as in the previous 'Monkey Tales' tome.

I found the first act to be the funniest as Barry flashes back to his toddler days and introduces his new-found playmate Jeremy to the joys of mags, virtual-reality circuses, cursing Tickle-Me-Elmo™ dolls, and turning the babysitter into a giant mutant ape. Then the story segues back to the present, where things get a bit more serious and dire-well, more so than the usual Barry Ween™ story-arc, anyway. Although the funny moments thin out significantly after the kindergarten adventure, there're several moments filled with enough good, clean (ahem) fun to keep you from taking things too seriously. Throw in a surprisingly touching epilogue, and-- well, you're just gonna hafta experience it for yourself...

Although I don't consider 'Gorilla Warfare' to be the best entry in the Barry Ween™ series, it's still a pretty good read if you're lookin' for a little dollop o' obscenity-laden humor to help you get your yuks!

First Volume of GL stories by this cheap writer finds cheap story telling with cheap artwork, all coming from AOL books. The Jade/Kyle romance is a joke and what happens to one of the main characters in this book looks like something they would have on the Jerry Springer show.

first off,...kyle rayner as green lantern ROCKS. ...i mean, hal jordan and all the other green lanterns were always cheap and just used the ring as a laser or a force field/shield. kyle has got all the creativity and fun and makes the coolest constructs from the ring. this book is packed with action (better than a movie). although its all one main story, there are three separate adventures. the first is about kyle getting abducted by the manhunters of qward. the second is about kyle dealing with fatality again (but this time she has a yellow lantern ring). and the third is about a schizofrenic artist called nero who inherits the yellow lantern ring and causes serious trouble. its a great buy and one of the best comics i've read.

Kyle Rayner is by far the best Green Lantern ever. He was just a regular guy that became one of the greatest super heroes ever. He is by far the most powerful because of his limitless imagionation.