Julia Wertz's new graphic novel, Drinking at the Movies, is fucking fantastic. If you are unfamiliar with her "not a webcomic", The Fart Party, then you have been missing out. The Fart Party has been collected in 2 volumes that have both been big sellers. The first one has been out of print for a few years and the publisher is raising funds via Kickstarter to do a reprint. Her comics are autobiographical with a bit of poetic license taken here and there whenever she feels like it. It's knee slapping hilarity!
Drinking at the Movies is her very first graphic novel. I'll give the official blurb before I go into my thoughts:
"In her first full-length graphic memoir, Julia Wertz (creator of the cult-hit comic The Fart Party) documents the year she left San Francisco for the unfamiliar streets of New York. Don’t worry—this isn’t the typical redemptive coming-of-age tale of a young woman and her glorious triumph over tragedy or any such nonsense. It’s simply a hilarious—occasionally poignant—book filled with interesting art, absurd humor and plenty of amusing self-deprecation. Box by box, Wertz chronicles four sketchy apartments, seven terrible jobs, family drama, traveling fiascos, and too many whiskey bottles to count."
Even in those aforementioned moments of poignancy, she always manages to get a laugh out of it. And not a cheap one. Though she's not beneath that. She's much smarter than she leads us to believe through her misadventures. Her self-deprecation does not induce empathy for her as she doesn't allow it. She has bad luck and knows it. So instead of wallowing in her life that has obviously been cursed by an evil fairy godmother, she punches it in the face with hilarious effect.
I was familiar with some of Julia's exploits as I interviewed her a couple of years ago at Heroes Con for my podcast, Comic News Insider. (It's Episode 146 if you want to indulge.). Also, I see her at various conventions, follow her exploits on her website and various other social network sites. But, as she has said and I fully agree, just because you read what she writes online doesn't mean you know everything about her. There is so much I was unaware of in this book. I wont spoil it for you but it's some fucking fascinating shit. She may come across as a slacker in a mundane life when you start reading. But you learn there is so much more going on. Okay, one quick spoiler that really surprised me. She talked to an actress of some note about doing a The Fart Party TV show. Hells yeah! The actress is super hot and I've always liked her work. And before you balk at the Hollywood type idea of a pretty person playing a normal everyday type...Julia is absolutely beautiful. So there!
Her art can be described as a bit simplistic. That's no insult. She's found her own style and it completely works. We all know I suck at describing art and using arty type words like perspective, shading, etc. But she certainly has all of it down! When she has a crowded panel, take a minute to explore the detail she puts into many of the background items. All of her comics, including this big graphic novel, is in black and white. I don't know if I want to see her world in color though I am curious to see how she would do that.
My only disappointment is that I didn't make it into the book. She draws her friends and family and various folks she runs across into the comic. I was brilliant in our interview and totally convinced that she loved me! I imagined it a little something like this:
Julia: Here comes that douche-bag Jimmy Aquino from Comic News Insider to interview me. I better start drinking more.
Jimmy: Hey Julia! Blah, blah, blah.
Julia: (Me still blabbing over her.). Please kill me.
Of course, Julia would make it funnier but it's a start! There's always the sequel. (Just joshing if you're reading this Julia!)
Personally, I think the girl is a fucking genius. If the late Harvey Pekar went on a drunken bender and crapped out a kid onto a pizza box, it would be Julia Wertz. If her life was a Dave Eggers book, it would be called A Gut-busting Work of Staggeringly Drunk Genius. If the late Charles Schultz made a special Peanuts strip for her, he'd have Lucy and Charlie Brown as 20 somethings fucking on Linus's security blanket surrounded by empty cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon. And yes, Snoopy would be watching.
Okay, maybe I still don't know Julia that well. But, pick this book up and you'll get to know a bit more. You'll laugh a lot, possibly tear up and have a sudden craving for pizza and beer.
Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz is due out from Three Rivers Press on August 31st. A measly $15, ya cheapos. Go get it!
