Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions

Comic/graphic novel memoirs are gaining popularity in recent years, and I am so glad someone as funny and talented as Steve Martin and Harry Bliss (respectively) join forces to create a Sunday comic-esque memoir of Mr. Martin's funniest moments in the movie making world. As cartoon Steve was regaling Harry and his dog Penny, (whom I adore and would love to have an intellectual chat with,) his most memorable moments of movie stardom, I could almost hear his voice in my head as if he was taking straight to me. As someone who grew up watching and loving his movies, if was so fun to hear about the behind the scenes stuff that no one can really know except those who were there. And the art matched the vibe of the book perfectly! It was of course cartoonish, yet realistic enough to imagine the scenes playing out right before your eyes. It also gave me nostalgia for Sunday mornings when my family would get the Sunday paper, and my dad and I would fight over who would read the comics first. I would have loved to give this book 5 stars, except I felt a little cheated that less than half the book was Steve's anecdotes, while the rest was "Other Diversions," the majority of which consisted of single panel comic strips. While the humor of course was still there, along with subtle pokes at society and at times a little thought provoking sub-context, I would have liked to learn more of Steve's life. All in all, this is a very entertaining book that I'm glad I got the chance to read, and to learn about the life of an excellent actor. Thank you to Celadon books for gifting me Number One is Walking, and all thoughts in this review are my own.