Livin' La Vida Dorka: The Complete Dork Tower Comic Strip Collection

They are the few, the proud... the geeky. John Kovalic continues to tap into geekiness of all stripes in the fourth Dork Tower collection, "Livin' La Vida Dorka." This collection isn't really a cohesive one; instead, it's a bunch of odds and ends that Kovalic put together, but the end result is still a hilarious book. It starts off with a long stream of gaming-related jokes: Cons, playing Dungeons and Dragons ("Send the thief"), Igor's trauma when he is unableto get the latest Playstation, game cons, playing "Tax Returns," and betting the rent money on a sports game... which is something that gamer geeks should never do, apparently. Then it's onto corporate and pop culture geekiness. Think "Dilbert," but without an evil boss. Kovalic focuses on Microsoft, hacking, music downloads, Internet idiocy in the wake of 9/11, and designing attractive video game characters. And most horrific of all: Carson is forced to use an antiquated 56K modem, which goes at the same rate as a dead hamster. Finally, there's a funny guide to i-managers in the final pages, which explores communications managers throughout history ("A bear ate your intern"). Kovalic's mocking sense of humour can inject geekiness into any situation, from baseball games to door-to-door evangelists ("Well, I'd like to tell YOU about the Disciples of Zorbug, Despoiler of Worlds and Conquerer of Chaos!"). He's even making fun of himself by the end of Section 2. His artwork tends to be very simple and straightforward, with likably balloon-headed characters, ranging fromtall and balding to short and square. They live in a world of D & D gaming, and seem to center their lives around defeating the dragon and sacrificing the thief. But don't worry, geeks. Kovalic laughs with you, not at you. Even as he pokes fun at geekiness, he also observes that the rest of the world has its own obsessions, oddities and jokes that don't make sense. The one problem is that some of the jokes have dated in the past five years (Napster and "Whazzup?" among them), but most of the jokes are still funny (Microsoft). "Livin' La Vida Dorka" is another hilarious collection of Dork Tower strips, showing again just how hilarious John Kovalic can be.

Kovalic compiled comics he wrote for the Internet, specifically his own webpage (www.dorktower.com), Interactive Weekly, among other sites, into one fantastic book. Those who have read these comics online will laugh again and again. Those who have yet to enjoy the offerings of Kovalic and his dorky world will enjoy a good laugh about computer problems, game problems, and just trying to live in a world that is frequently stranger than you are.