Dread & Superficiality: Woody Allen as Comic Strip

The golden age of comics has ended; the art form is now sadly dying out. But all is not lost--DREAD & SUPERFICIALITY is here, and is a delightful sampling of an era when the Sunday funnies took up pages and pages of the paper, and when people actually came up with brilliant ideas like using Woody Allen as the subject for a comic. The strip is rife with Allen's trademark neuroticism and self-deprecation, and while it is perhaps not as charmingly profane as it should have been (blame the syndicates), it still has its wonderful quips and one liners ("every time she had an orgasm, her nose grew longer"). And seriously, who would have thought that comic-Woody Allen would look more like Woody Allen then real-Woody Allen? But he does. For those buffs who are looking for more insight into the creation and publication of comic strips, there is an extremely enlightening introduction that covers the inception of the strip. Also, as another reviewer mentioned, I found the use of the original comic art to be very appealing--it really created an intimacy between the viewer and the art that wouldn't have been as accessible had they used the printed scans. All in all, DREAD & SUPERFICIALITY was a welcome throwback that shed a little more light on the comic strip epoch and culture. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone whose interest is already piqued by the subject matter.

If you're an admirer of Woody Allen's work you will love Stuart Hample's, "Dread and Superficiality." From 1976 to 1984 Hample's internationally syndicated cartoon, "Inside Woody Allen," captured the very essence of Woody - and continues to do so in this beautifully-produced publication. Not only are the comic strips hilariously funny, but they are reproduced from Hample's original cartoon boards; some with marginalia, Scotch tape impressions and "chicken scratches," giving the reader a sense of glimpsing at the actual source masters and being privy to the process involved in such creative work. Further enriching our experience, Hample provides an evocative account of how all this came about in his extensive and wonderfully illustrated preface - the preface alone is worth the price of the book. As if this weren't enough, the book includes an introduction by the legendary visionary, Buckminster Fuller. This is no ordinary introduction; it is probably the most idiosyncratic and marvelously original introduction ever written - appropriately in the style of a cartoon. This is a must for any Woody Allen fan!

I accidentally came across "Inside Woody Allen" around 1979. While I was not a comics reader, I found it delightful. I read it on and off till its retirement. I came across "Dread and Superficiality" and it brought back a lot of good memories. The humor in the strips is classic and still entertaining. A few people who have looked at it in my home and who are not true fans of Woody enjoyed it. One said that given today's culture it was refreshing. I was particularly pleased with the use of original, cut out of the paper strips. It added a wonderful,authentic and nostalgic flavor to the book. I really liked it and I bet Woody does too.

Finally, a coffee table book that's more interesting than art books no one reads and which you only have out for show. And you no longer have to worry about spilling coffee or drinks on it. In fact there's a wonderful feel to these reproductions of the artist's actual work, with their occasional printer notes and glosses; your coffee spills can only enhance that sense of authenticity. Even if you're not a Woody Allen fan, the book makes for great pick-up and pick-me-up reading fun -- especially on that coffee table (or in your loo). It's sometimes even more distressingly pathetic than Allen Konigsberg himself. But that's also when it's at its funniest. Great gift! Especially for yourself. So stop trying to impress your friends with fancy art books and buy something artful instead!

I'm not saying that producing a daily comic strip about Woody Allen is the best idea in the world, but this concept sparked my interest when I first heard of this book a couple of months ago. Being 37 years old, a Woody Allen fan, and an obsessive comic collector/cartoonist, I wanted to get my hands on this and check it out. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. One thing that the other reviewer mentioned was how the editors chose scans of the original comics, complete with notes, attachments, white-out, etc. instead of "clean" scans. This, I love. Not only does it give it a different sort of charm, it gives a purist like me something to really appreciate: a look into the mind of the cartoonist and the creative process. Also, Woody may not have drawn this strip, but he was active behind the scenes, giving Mr. Hample, not only his blessing, but jokes, concepts and approval of all the comics. If this looks interesting to you, I definitely suggest picking it up.