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A review by rosseroo
Stuffed! by Glenn Eichler, Nick Bertozzi
3.0
The editors at First Second are pretty consistent at putting out interesting graphic stories, so I try and pick up whatever they publish, regardless of the content. Here, the story is a rather strange take on the theme of sons trying to come to terms with their difficult father. Tim is a middle-aged professional with a wife and kid, leading a regular middle-class life. When his estranged abusive father dies, Tim and his hippy-dippy nomadic brother inherit their father's museum of odd artifacts. One of these is an eerie life-size statue of an African man clad in some kind of pseudo-traditional costume. It used to terrify Tim as a child, but as an adult he wonders if it has historical value, and decides to donate it to a museum.
From here, wacky complications ensue as (A) the true nature of the statue is revealed, and (B) Tim's estranged free-spirit brother shows up to throw a spanner in the works. The story that follows attempts to handle issues of race with a light comic touch, and for the most part is successful. The thread of Tim and his brother trying to reestablish their relationship and come to terms with their dead father tends to veer into more cliched turf. In fact, the whole thing has the feel of a formulaic comedy -- think Paul Rudd or Ben Stiller in the Tim role, with someone like Jack Black playing the brother with a self-trepannation wound. It's all perfectly entertaining as you go, but unlikely to leave much of a last impression.
The artwork is perfectly pitched -- realistic enough to work with the material, but not overly so, with some good sequences into anxiety-induced nightmares. As with all First Second books, the color work is very nice and the production values are top-notch. Overall, worth checking out if it's sitting around, but probably not something to go out of your way to get a hold of.
From here, wacky complications ensue as (A) the true nature of the statue is revealed, and (B) Tim's estranged free-spirit brother shows up to throw a spanner in the works. The story that follows attempts to handle issues of race with a light comic touch, and for the most part is successful. The thread of Tim and his brother trying to reestablish their relationship and come to terms with their dead father tends to veer into more cliched turf. In fact, the whole thing has the feel of a formulaic comedy -- think Paul Rudd or Ben Stiller in the Tim role, with someone like Jack Black playing the brother with a self-trepannation wound. It's all perfectly entertaining as you go, but unlikely to leave much of a last impression.
The artwork is perfectly pitched -- realistic enough to work with the material, but not overly so, with some good sequences into anxiety-induced nightmares. As with all First Second books, the color work is very nice and the production values are top-notch. Overall, worth checking out if it's sitting around, but probably not something to go out of your way to get a hold of.