Saturday, December 01, 2018

Review: SHARKY MALARKEY by Megan Nicole Dong


I enjoy reading comics of all different types. I love "Peanuts" but also enjoy many of the strips done online at "The Oatmeal." I have a pretty good sense of humor and, for the most part, enjoy it in many of its forms. I had never heard of the webcomic "Sketchshark" before, but was looking forward to reading the book SHARKY MALARKEY (which is a collection of mostly "Sketchshark" comics) based upon reviews and comments I had read. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed.  The author is talented and does a great job with facial expressions. However, outside of a few comics here and there, SHARKY MALARKEY isn't very funny. It's not even very entertaining.

 

The book is divided into four chapters. The first chapter isn't titled, but is mostly about the author, Megan, and her life. The second chapter is entitled "There's a Shark in Los Angeles" and deals with the major character of Sketchshark, Bruce. The third chapter is entitled "Just Ladythings" and is another chapter dealing with Megan and issues she faces as a female. The last chapter is entitled "The Animal and Plants Channel" and has comics revolving around animals and plants. The strongest chapter in the book is the first unnamed one. However, even that has more misses than hits. "Just Ladythings" is the next best chapter, although some of the humor there is more absurd than anything else (you know things are messed-up when you have high-heeled shoes that talk). As for the other two chapters, I honestly thought they were garbage.

 

I guess there's an audience out there for SHARKY MALARKEY, but I just didn't get it. It's the first book of any kind I've read in a long time that I just kept reading so I could get to the end because it was so bad (once I start reading a book, I have to finish it, no matter how bad). I guess there are places in the world where stuff like this is considered comedy gold, but for the rest of the world, it's almost all drivel.

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