One of the many joys of working at the library is having unlimited access to the New Yorker magazine. Not that I always read through all the articles, but I faithfully check out the cartoons, or more aptly, the one-panel comics contained therein.
Will Eisner winner Shannon Wheeler is a frequent contributor. And, lucky for those of us who don’t have subscriptions, Wheeler has taken a bunch of his rejected panels and gathered them into a pithy little collection with the only slightly cynical title of I Thought You Would Be Funnier.
Lots of clown jokes under the heading “Death and Clowns”— adore that combo (check out the cover for a giggle). And also the requisite love and relationship funnies. Here’s a favorite: couple sitting on the sofa, wine glasses in hand, the woman says, “It’s late, we’re tired, and I’m a little bit drunk. I think it’s a good time to talk about our relationship.” Hello! That’s always the time I choose to talk about such matters. Or how about this one: a father puts his young son to bed, and the kid says, “Tell me that story where you have a job and all the bills are paid.” Ouch!
Funnier is just the ticket for a little smile therapy, in between all the crazy psycho killers in my non-stop trip joy ride through the Appalachian noir fiction that I’ve immersed myself in these past few months. Meth heads. Yep. Dog fighting and knife fights in southern Indiana. Check. Death and early loss. Got it. Shannon Wheeler’s gentle humor is a fun antidote to all that chaos.
After looking on the web to try and find out a little about the talented Mr. Wheeler, I came across this funny. Seems quirky Wheeler is the illustrator of a new un-children’s book, fashioned after the Little Golden Classics of many of our childhoods. Titled Why Grandpa Won’t Wake Up, two children employ increasingly more invasive methods to awaken their (recently expired) grandfather. Aah, it makes me feel like I’m back in my Appalachian-psycho-killer country.
