Too Cool To Be Forgotten
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Andy Wicks is a forty-something father of two who’s tried everything to quit smoking -- from going cold turkey, to the latest patches and nicotine chewing gums -- so he figures he'll give this hypnosis thing a try. What's the worst that could happen? Unfortunately, Andy gets dealt a fate worse than death -- high school! Transported back to 1985, Andy returns to his formative years as a gangly, awkward teenager. Is he doomed to relive the mistakes of his past, or has he been given a second chance to get things right? One thing's for sure: this time he’s going to ask out that girl from math class... Presented as a gorgeously formatted hardcover graphic novel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Robinson (Box Office Poison, Tricked) returns with his latest, a high-concept graphic novella. In 2010, mild-mannered software engineer Andrew Wicks goes to a hypnotist to quit smoking, but wakes up from his trance to find himself in high school in 1985. While the "Peggy Sue Quits Smoking" premise could have been disastrous, with this slim volume, Robinson cements his reputation as a master cartoonist. The art is exceptional. His characters are all visually distinct, with subtle facial expressions and body language. He uses layout and even lettering to establish mood and keep the reader firmly fixed through complicated shifts in time, place and perception. Two sequences the initial hypnosis scene and a later confrontation between two characters are bravura performances, using innovative but still clear ways of depicting complicated inner monologues. Unfortunately, while Robinson has mastered the "graphic," his skill with the "novel" lags behind, with some wordy dialogue and occasional narrative clunkers: one piece of foreshadowing is so clumsy it reads better as a typographical error. When Robinson the writer catches up with Robinson the artist, watch out. Even with its flaws, this is still a master class in graphic storytelling.
