The Joke's Over: Bruised Memories: Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, and Me

I'm going to miss the good doctor. Hunter S. Thompson, with his faithful English mad man gave us the ultimate in gonzo journalism. This is Ralph's side of the love/hate partnership they shared. For the most part, he does a good job. There are some rants and he pulls off some of his own scabs from life with Hunter. The artwork is first rate and of course, that is what Ralph does best. Still, all in all, it was a good read and I recommend it for anyone who has ever been the sidekick of a huge ego or savagely bludgeoned by the wierd that has gone pro.

Few people knew Hunter S. Thompson as well as Ralph Steadman did. Over thirty-five years, they collaborated on articles for Rolling Stone (including the counterculture phenom, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), and documenting the stories that shaped America from the 70s to the 90s, including events as diverse as The Kentucky Derby, Watergate and the Foreman/Ali fight. Their collaboration gave birth to "Gonzo Journalism*." In this memoir, Steadman recounts a turbulent and wild working relationship and friendship with Thompson--both the fun and games as well as the paranoia and betrayals. It's a wild ride. Steadman's casual prose style captures the voice of the chaos that whirled around Hunter Thompson. And he doesn't hold back--his prose, like his drawing style, is raw and vivid. There is, as would be expected, lots of bad behavior in this book. Thompson was a guy who never expected to live beyond the age of 30--that he waited 67 years before killing himself with a shotgun was surprising, even to his closest friends. So he lived without a future, in a way, or at least without considering it: drugs, alcohol, guns, women--and his writing, which in many ways seemed to be as much a vice as the rest. The book is strongest when using text from the actual letters, faxes and answering machine messages that punctuated Steadman and Thompson's relationship, and Steadman's drawings help to make Gonzo real, even to someone not at all familiar with his or Thompson's work. Steadman himself admits he is a better artist than writer, but, in true Gonzo style, he makes up for that by immersing himself, and us, into the actual world. You have to be careful, though, if you are the type of person who wouldn't want to get lured into admiring Thompson and his dark lifestyle of wanton carousing. As Steadman says toward the end of the book, "Gonzo is a strange kind of magic that appeals to the beast that lurks in the dark heart of most of us." That magic comes through in Steadman's book. (* According to Wikipedia, "Gonzo Journalism" is a style of reporting that mixes fiction and factual journalism. This highly subjective style often includes the reporter via a first-person narrative.)

Not always a pretty picture but a realistic account of the love/hate relationship between the two artists. A must read.

Steadman provides readers with a frank assessment of his times with Hunter S Thompson. The gods were kind to us mortals for throwing Hunter and Ralph together. The Gonzo books and articles, pairing Thompson's words and Steadman's illustrations, resulted in wholes much greater than the sum of the individual parts. This book is a very welcome, very well written and illustrated perspective on Gonzo - bruises and all. Thanks Ralph.

Author Ralph Steadman was a young Welsh artist on assignment when he went to the Kentucky Derby in 1970 on assignment and met co-journalist Hunter S. Thompson. THE JOKE'S OVER: BRUISED MEMORIES: GONZO, HUNTER S. THOMPSON, AND ME offers a survey of one of media's most classic duos, examining the evolution of their relationship over the decades and the journeys and encounters which began with that fateful meeting in 1970. Steadman's illustrations for each story pair with his tales, reprints of letter exchanges between the two offer insights on journalistic and personal experiences and issues, and any interested in Thompson or the two must have this. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch