HEART AND BRAIN: BODY LANGUAGE by Nick Seluk

The continuing adventures of Heart and Brain continue in the Awkward Yeti’s HEART AND BRAIN: BODY LANGUAGE. There’s really nothing all that different in this book compared to the previous two volumes. Heart and brain are best friends, but sometimes at complete odds with each other. The second volume featured an expanded cast of characters (stomach, eyes, tongue, etc.) that sometimes joined up with either heart or brain or sometimes were in complete opposition to them. In BODY LANGUAGE, the comics have gone back to their roots and focus mostly on Heart and Brain. I really enjoyed this book and hope there is more in the series in the future.

HEART AND BRAIN: GUT INSTINCTS by: Nick Seluk

Heart and Brain, two characters within the Awkward Yeti are back in HEART AND BRAIN: GUT INSTINCTS. This time Heart and Brain aren’t alone and are joined by many other organs: Tongue, Stomach, Bowels, etc. Heart is carefree and lives for the moment while Brain is pragmatic and tries to plan for the future. Nick Seluk has once again humorously captured the ongoing struggle between our hearts and our brains.

Review: BIG NATE SILENT BUT DEADLY by Lincoln Peirce

Nate Wright is back again in another collection of “Big Nate” comics. In BIG NATE SILENT BUT DEADLY, Nate gets into lots of different shenanigans and comes up with several different schemes. Nate has an uncanny sense of smell and hires himself out as the Great Nose-ini to make a few extra dollars, he becomes the movie reviewer for the school newspaper, he once again wins Monopoly on New Year’s Eve against his friends, and he plays on his school’s basketball team. Personally, I think my favorite comics in the book are the ones at the very end when Nate visits the local comic book shop and runs into a guy in a Yoda mask and an old man sitting on a bench that talks to a puppet. BIG NATE SILENT BUD DEADLY includes a pull-out poster of the book’s cover.

SNOOPY: BOOGIE DOWN! by Charles Schulz

I grew up reading “Peanuts” and I’m happy to see that the love of the series is being passed down with the publication of SNOOPY: BOOGIE DOWN! This is the 11^th collection of “Peanuts” books published by Andrew McMeel that is aimed at younger readers. Unlike some of the other books in the series, this book doesn’t feature Snoopy more than any of the other regular “Peanuts” characters. Instead, it takes its title from a storyline where Linus accidently gives his blanket to a new girl who moves in and gets Snoopy to help him get it back. Snoopy attempts to do so by pulling out is dance movies, specifically his disco dance moves. Snoopy has some battles with the cat next door, Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin during Halloween, and Sally talks to the wall at school. Spike makes a short visit in this collection; I always liked it when Snoopy’s brothers would visit him (I liked Olaf slightly better). SNOOPY: BOOGIE DOWN! is aimed at young readers at it’s a good collection to do so. There are a few references that the kids might have to have explained to them (I don’t think anyone younger than 35 knows what disco is), but that’s about the only unusual thing about the collection. Highly recommended for “Peanuts” fans both young and old as well as a way to introduce someone to “Peanuts.” New copies of the book include a poster of the book cover.

OZY AND MILLIE by Dana Simpson

Dana Simpson has become most known for her comic, “Phoebe and Her Unicorn.” However, years before Phoebe was around, Simpson had another comic she created called “Ozy and Millie.”  OZY AND MILLIE is a collection of what Simpson considers some of her favorite “Ozy and Millie” comics.

Ozy is a boy and Millie is a girl. They are in fifth grade, are best friends, they belong to single parents, and they are both foxes. Ozy is the adopted son of a literary-spurting dragon named Llewellyn while Millie’s mother has a bit of a bohemian vibe to her. Usually Millie is the one that finds herself in some kind of shenanigans, but sometimes Ozy does, too.  The book begins with a letter from the author and at the end there is a tutorial on drawing the characters in the strip.

I have read several of the “Phoebe and Her Unicorn” books and I have enjoyed them. But I have to say, I enjoy “Ozy and Millie” more. “Ozy and Millie” was supposedly aimed at middle school students. However, the book is far too intelligent for it being labeled like that. In tone and in some of the discussions that pop up through-out the strip, “Ozy and Millie” reminded me a great deal of one of my favorite comic strips of all time, “Calvin and Hobbes.” I like that while the strip can be approached by younger readers, it’s much deeper. It doesn’t pander.

Personally, there’s only one complaint I have about OZY AND MILLIE and that is since this is a collection of comics, it’s more of a hodge-podge. Reading the book, I felt like I was reading what is equivalent to watching a clip show of a favorite tv series: there’s some good stuff, but it’s not a real episode.

Overall, I really enjoyed OZY AND MILLIE. I highly recommend it, especially for anyone who likes great comic strips.

Book Review: THE BOOK OF ONIONS by Jake Thompson

THE BOOK OF ONIONS is not a book about onions nor is it a cook book about different uses for onions. Instead, it is a dark and macabre collection of black and white comics. A lot of reviewers compare the strip to “Far Side” comics. While there are some very basic similarities, THE BOOK OF ONIONS is a far darker comic than any “Far Side." Unlike many current comics, the strip is contained within four panels on one page with a title at the bottom.  Personally, my favorite is the Star Wars one that gives the ending of RETURN OF THE JEDI a slight, comical twist. I really enjoyed this book and found it hilarious. However, the humor definitely isn’t for everyone.