Early Reader Review: Hope It All Works Out!: A Poorly Drawn Lines Collection by Reza Farazmand

Source: From Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Hope It All Works Out!: A Poorly Drawn Lines Collection by Reza Farazmand

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date:  September 24, 2024

 

Format: Ebook

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis:

The absurd antics, good-natured sarcasm, and misguided optimism of Mouse, Bird, Turtle, and Snail are inspiring and infectious, and a reminder that sometimes the best plan is to have no plans at all. The perfect book for comic lovers of all kinds, Hope It All Works Out offers a deep dive into the Poorly Drawn Lines comics of New York Times bestselling author Reza Farazmand.

On the surface, the animals in Poorly Drawn Lines are sophisticated, decadent creatures — Turtle sports a beret, Snail wears shades, Bird smokes cigarettes, and Mouse assumes a fighting stance when anyone challenges his emotional fragility. But lurking beneath their surface images is a surprising warmth and charming naivete that provides the perfect setup for Reza Farazmand’s unparalleled sense of humor. This author-curated collection of new comics and greatest hits showcases the unique and charming world of these small animals and the amusing gap between their tough guy images and animal innocence. Familiar to millions of readers of the Poorly Drawn Lines webcomic and FX animated series on Hulu, this book collection includes dozens of never-before-seen comics. 

Review: 

This is a graphic novel collection of strips - mostly sarcastic, adult humor about life. Mouse, Bird, Turtle, and Snail are the characters and best described, they would be Mouse - Main character, Bird is the angry one, turtle is the stoner friend, and snail is that friend that is rude and annoying and you are friends but not sure why.

The overall feel and coloration felt just meh to me. It was clever and funny at times for sure but it felt a little draggy even for short strips. Maybe it was hitting too close to real life/ real world for my liking.  Not sure. 

The strips that I liked: 

• Notebooks bring too good to use/ write in. "Too good for my thoughts"  Painful realization yea, but also so truuuuue sometimes.
• A break from messing things up - just want to "work in my garden , do some reading" THIS... ALL THE TIME PLS.
• Devil's advocate - "an a-hole but for intellectual purposes" made me giggle. 

Overall, Just ok, I liked the pastel colors but was a little bored and jaded by the time I got to the end. Mouse really wasn't a character I wanted to 'win' or suceed, he was just there. It was illustrated well enough but nothing mindblowing. That said, if you are looking for overly sarcastic and kinda dark... this is it.