The Year of Loving Dangerously

Ted Rall is a college student at Columbia University, or at least was; A freak medical accident, causing him to miss finals, in combination with a series of unfortunate events, get him kicked out of not only school, but his home at the dorms, as well. Rall takes to desperate measures now that he has suddenly found himself homeless, doing anything he can, from using his skills as a ladies man to staying on the subway, to obtain shelter at night. Often finding himself exchanging sex for a place to sleep and shower in the morning, Rall spends what is supposed to be his senior year of college homeless and after contracting a possibly deadly STI, on the brink of sanity. //The Year of Loving Dangerously// by Ted Rall and Pablo G. Callejo documents the real life experiences of Ted Rall in and around New York City in 1984. Rall's no-nonsense story-telling style leaves little room for modesty, and he confronts difficult topics casually, while still maintaining a sense of how serious the situations, and emotions surrounding those situations, actually were. Callejo's illustration matches the contradictory and simultaneous mix of light and heavy material, delivering depictions of Rall's escapades in an approachable manner, while at the same time not taking away from the drama surrounding them. Reviewed by Jordan D.

This is one of the better graphic novels I have read. The story is honest and engaging and the artwork is excellent.

Before becoming a very popular and quite controversial political artist, Ted Rall faced a big challenge: How to survive after getting kicked out of college, losing his job, and facing being penniless. What he did was submerge himself in a lifestyle of carefree promiscuity, which he details extensively in The Year of Loving Dangerously. "Carefree" might not be the best way to describe it. Rall always has concerns about it, although not so much a conscience about how he handles his trysts when it comes to treating his lady conquests gentlemanly. But he does fear for his safety, and an STD scare causes him to reexamine his life in all respects. But before he gets there, he enjoys some rather beautiful sceneries of the flesh. The book begins in 1984, with Ted a young man ready to sow his wild oats. The book begins with Ted facing one of the mostly unthought-of quirks of the one-night stand: showering in a stranger's place the next morning. Having to use their shampoo and wondering if it's right for his hair type, Ted's dilemma is a metaphor for the larger problems he'll face later on. The Year of Loving Dangerously contains some nudity and coarse language, as you would expect, but it's not vulgar or obscene. Nor is it really a lesson in morality learned. Rall doesn't have some major epiphany that causes him to change his life (although there are a few minor ones that do give him pause, including a disturbing trip to the emergency room), and the book never enters the territory of "See? This is what will happen if you do this." The artwork of Pablo G. Callejo is lifelike and gorgeous, with a wonderful 3D quality that makes 1984 seem bright and vivid. It helps bring to life all the experiences of Rall's life back then...and the book makes clear that they were experiences without turning them into bland morality lessons. -- John Hogan

I never thought that a wart could be life threatening - I've had my share and in spots too delicate to speak of (no, not "there")...and neither did Ted. Surprise. Just one of many surprises real-life tossed Ted's way in his post coming of age in a world that, had it been just 5 years earlier would have been the idyllic splendor that I knew at his age...giggle... In brief, life tossed Ted a series of fragmentation grenades which did their best to shred him but, by dint of destiny and character, managed not too. He met schoolessness, homelessness, joblessness and near lifelessness (the wart) with the same drunk monkey energy and fury that they attempted to assail him with and won. Leaving a trail of carnalage where carnage (self and other) could have ruled was his skillful answer to these troubling times and he did it with respect and humility. An amazing feat as such accomplishment makes most men strut and preen (had it not been for the tragedy surrounding it, who knows...). All this is depicted in this engaging narrative (his storytelling is to be envied) illustrated by Pablo's natural and smooth graphics which (from what I have seen of Ted) do a justice to his countenance... AND, with an intro from Xaviera Hollander (an enduring favorite of mine) it is a sure thing. Read and enjoy and be just a wee bit jealous too!