The Big Book of Barry Ween, Boy Genius (Oni Press – Winick)
Meet Barry Ween, the smartest living human. What does a ten-year-old boy do with a 350 I.Q.? Anything he wants. Cranky, egotistical, arrogant and foul-mouthed, Barry in general wants to conduct his experiments and be left alone, but it never seems to work out. Hurdles that Barry must outmaneuver range from time warps, to art thieves, to accidentally turning his best friend into a dinosaur.
A few years ago Greg introduced me to Barry Ween, first thing I thought when I looked at the cover was – oh it’s Calvin and Hobbes except a little bit different. Well, I was right and wrong. Right in the sense that Judd Winick produces a character and book that is the same level of outstanding wit as Bill Watterson’s creation. Wrong in the sense that you don’t share Barry Ween with your six year old daughter 🙂
Hands down, this is incredibly funny stuff – albeit rated a stif f PG-13 for language. What Judd Winick created here was a pre-cursor to the Adult-Swim cartoon. The big book is a volume that covers twelve issues (3 full series) plus art and a short story. for only $19.95 – this is a steal! Order it from Oni or from your local comic book shop. If you have a good sense of humor, you want to own this and read and re-read it!
Grade: A
click here for a 27-page preview
