What do you mean, “It isn’t about beards?”
Wondermark Vol. 1: Beards of Our Forefathers HC
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: David Malki !
Summary: Dark Horse Comics is proud to present this handsome hardbound collection of David Malki’s Ignatz-nominated comic strip Wondermark. One of the Internet’s new generation of self-syndicated comic creators, Malki repurposes illustrations and engravings from 19th-century books into hilarious, collage-style comic strips.
* New installments of Wondermark appear twice-weekly at http://wondermark.com/ along with a hilarious blog from David Malki! The Wondermark site enjoys over 172,000 unique visitors per month.
* Beards of Our Forefathers includes 20+ pages of brand-new material created especially for this volume and never published online!
* “Wondermark is a gloriously demented webcomic that finally puts to rest the age-old question, ‘What if the illustrations from a victorian-era Sears & Roebuck catalogue starred in a Sid and Marty Kroft Saturday morning television series?’” -Francesco Marciuliano (of Sally Forth)
Review: As a girl who dated someone with a penchant for making collages out of all things old and decaying, I can appreciate a book whose main source material is taken directly from 19th century woodcuts and engravings. I can also appreciate the absurdity that was facial hair in the 1800s, in fact, I know some guys who still walk around with those styles today. Imagine my disappointment when I opened Beards of Our Forefathers and found out in fact, it is NOT about beards. So then, what is it about? The answer to that would be, hilarity.
Beards of Our Forefathers is a collection of the bi-weekly web comic strip, Wondermark, by David Malki !. Yes, he does have an exclamation mark after his name. Why didn’t I ever think of that? Anyway, Beards isn’t your run-of-the-mill collection, it actually takes on a life of it’s own. So much so I was wondering if I hadn’t made a new friend by the end. Thrown in the mix are advertisements for fictional, albeit, curious products, author commentary and other quirky supplemental material. And yes, there are actually a few beards to be had, enough to prevent me from claiming false advertisement anyway.
Malki compiles the art for the strips via antique books in his collection or from his local library. “Most of the books are bound volumes of general-interest magazines such as Harper’s, Frank Leslie’s and Punch, but my collection also includes special-interest magazines such as Scientific American, Sears-Roebuck catalogs, storybooks, and primers,” Malki explains on his website. Vulgar at times, the text touches upon a range of topics including racism, sexism, immature crotch humor and, my favorite, cat comedy. I’ve posted a few of my favorites below.
While the strips provide delightful amusement, you’d be remiss to ignore the supplementals. In the rear you’ll find “Ironic Facial Hair Citation” slips, suitable for cutting out and handing to a nearby offender. Such misdemeanors include, “You’re not Tom Selleck” and “Child-molester moustache.” Ornate emblems throughout the book offer further insight into certain situations or events but it’s the secret message emblems that excited me the most, making me nostalgic for the days of invisible ink. Sadly they aren’t used to their full potential. After the first, another doesn’t show up until page 73. Malki also includes a sample of a prose narrative, of which, two collected volumes have been published. It’s extremely engaging from the get-go, employing the sharp wit and vicious behavior Malki seems fond of.
As with most comedic works, not 100% of Beards of Our Forefathers pleased my palate. Some strips made me laugh out loud incessantly for an extended period of time, probably more so than publically acceptable now that I think of it, while others went right over my head. I tried rereading those but that didn’t help and such a practice is not suggested by this reviewer, just move along. I find it refreshing though that Malki is courageous enough to include his self-described “Abandoned Efforts” to the book as well. He knew some were crap but he wasn’t afraid to show them to you anyway. And hey, it just makes you appreciate the gems all that much more. One thing not everyone can claim from reading Beards is the enlightenment to a new fact about their birthday. When I turn 27 this December 14, I am now armed with the knowledge that I share my special day with a holiday called “Monkey Day.” At least we know they have beards, right?
Rating: 4/5
Click to enlarge:
August 13th, 2009 at 3:18 am
Looks like excellent eye candy and if the read is good too then it’s got all the elements one needs. I am a fan of that artistic style. I love how today’s modern steampunk fans are brave enough to don the beards as you said. Go for it, gents!
August 13th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Excellent review, but you seem to misspell “Malki!” as “Malik” several times throughout. Mad Malik, though a Discordian saint par excellence, is not Malki!, renowned beardist and webcomicker.
August 13th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Hello! Noticed that you misspelled Malki’s name as “Malik” a few times in the last couple of paragraphs. Otherwise, a good review of one of my favorite comics (though I read online; I don’t own any of the books yet).
August 13th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Argh! Beaten to the pedantic punch. Oh well.
August 13th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Thanks guys! Just fast typing mistakes on my part that were too easy to miss on the re-read. All fixed now!