Things Not to Do Today

Cohesive themes carried through a cartoon book usually leave me tired and reaching for a Far Side collection. Think of how the joke wears out so quickly in "101 uses for a dead cat". Themes often turn into gimmicks and dissipate the cartoons, rather than unify them. Mick Stevens' book really is a list of things that would not improve one's day, with each item accompanied by a cartoon (eg, a picture of toothpaste flying out the window with a caption, "Don't kick the wrong habit"). Despite this repetition of the 'punchline', the book works because of Stevens'ability to place wide-eyed innocents in the path of horrible, though humorous calamity with simple lines that read fast. Funny and surreal and blunt -like the anvils of Road Runner cartoons falling on the Coyote. Highly recommended.