#IReadsYou Book Review: STRANGE PLANET

STRANGE PLANET
HARPERCOLLINS/Morrow Gift – @WmMorrowBks and @HarperCollins

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR-CARTOONIST: Nathan W. Pyle – @nathanwpyle
ISBN: 978-0-06-297070-1; hardcover; 6.00 in (w) x 6.00 in (h) (November 19, 2019)
E-ISBN: 978-0-06-297069-5 (eBook)
144pp, Color, $14.99 U.S., $18.50 CAN

Strange Planet is a new book of cartoons from author and cartoonist, Nathan W. Pyle.  Pyle is known for his bestselling books of cartoons, NYC Basic Tips and 99 Stories I Could Tell.  Strange Planet is a new hardcover book (6 in x 6 in) that collects cartoons Pyle posted on an Instagram page entitled, “Strange Planet,” beginning in February 2019.

Strange Planet chronicles the lives of the alien inhabitants of a world that is similar to ours.  They resemble the infamous “gray aliens,” except they are blue.  They share a few characteristics with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or “Roger” from the American animated television series, “American Dad!,” but Strange Planet's aliens are soft, cuddly, and fluid.  They look like leaner versions of beloved cartoon character, Casper the Friendly Ghost.

In a world of bright pinks, blues, greens, and purples, the inhabitants of Strange Planet narrate their emotions and act out scenarios that are extremely familiar to humans.  They throw parties.  They believe in the tooth fairy, but call teeth “mouth stones” and the tooth fairy “magical mouth stone being.”  They call their sun a “star,” so they call sunburn “star damage.”  And sweet dreams are referred to as “Imagine Pleasant Nonsense.”  So relax, perhaps in your “rest chamber” (bedroom), and enjoy a cup of “hot leaf liquid” (tea) or jittery liquid (coffee) and enter the the peculiar, but familiar world of Strange Planet.

Nathan W. Pyle has a knack for presenting the ordinary as something worth reexamining.  Strange Planet is a webcomic that exists in “The Twilight Zone” that is situated between beloved newspaper comics like Gary Larson's The Far Side and Scott Adams' Dilbert.  In Strange Planet, everything is familiar, but filtered through a florescent-colored dream-shake made of Nehi grape-infused milk, pink ice cream, orange “Kool-Aid,” and blue food coloring.

Ultimately, however, Strange Planet is sweet, endearing, and funny.  Through these delightful alien inhabitants, we the readers learn to love the mundane and the ordinary, the things that dominate our everyday lives.  Pyle makes us appreciate that we don't have to have amazing, star-studded, lives to enjoy the small, seemingly insignificant moments in our lives.  Even the amazing and the super-stars (as Jameis Winston said) have small, seemingly insignificant moments in which they can find delight – don't they?

With its compact size, Strange Planet is the perfect (and handy) gift book for the holidays.  That's when we'll need these Strange Planet inhabitants to make us laugh at ourselves.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Strange Planet Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/nathanwpylestrangeplanet/?hl=en
https://www.nathanwpyle.art/strangeplanet
http://www.nathanwpyle.com/
Twitter page: https://twitter.com/nathanwpyle


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.


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Book Review: NYC BASIC TIPS AND ETIQUETTE

NYC BASIC TIPS AND ETIQUETTE
WILLIAM MORROW/HarperCollins – @WmMorrowBks and @HarperCollins

AUTHOR: Nathan W. Pyle – @nathanwpyle
ISBN: 978-0-06-230311-0; paperback (April 15, 2014)
144pp, B&W, $10.00 U.S.

One of the recent books that I have found myself thoroughly enjoying and even rereading is NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette.  What is the book about?

If you find yourself needing a guide to the hidden secrets and unwritten rules of New York City (NYC), you have one.  It is a small paperback book entitled NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette and is written and drawn by Nathan W. Pyle.  It is an illustrated guide for residents and visitors alike about navigating New York City.

Nathan Pyle lives and works in Manhattan and is a producer of nonfiction television shows for MSNBC and The Weather Channel (among others).  Although he lives in New York City (NYC), he is originally from Ohio.  He apparently loves living in the big city, but apparently had to learn by trial and error how to navigate life in NYC.

An illustrator, Pyle created 12 simple panel drawings/cartoons about living in NYC.  Last year, Pyle posted on his blog the following, “‘NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette’ is a new series I'm starting, as a guide for newcomers.  I've lived in the city for 4 1/2 years now, and I've decided to start writing down some of the things I've learned in my time here.”

Last year, Pyle posted “NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette” as a series of animated GIF, single-panel comics.  They became a viral Internet phenomenon.  Within the first week of their debut, these 12 comics were featured on sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and Reddit, among others.

Pyle created more of these comics and now 136 of them are presented in the new paperback book, NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette (published by William Morrow, a HarperCollins imprint).  For those who like the comics in their original animated GIF form, NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette is also available in an animated e-book version.

I have never been to New York City, but, of course, I know people who live and have visited or have lived there.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it reminds me of things I have been told about the city and even things that I have read about or seen on television and film about the Big Apple.  I like that some of the comics in NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette applies to other cities, even smaller ones.

Simply put, I think that anyone who picks up this book, even if they don’t care for NYC, will like it.  It’s just plain funny and, at times, it seems like a book of pop wisdom.  And yeah, when I finally visit NYC, I will use NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette as a guide to navigating and visiting that city.  People looking for a unique and useful book about New York City must have NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette – simple as that.

A

http://www.nathanwpyle.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NYCBASICTIPSANDETIQUETTE
https://twitter.com/nathanwpyle

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.