Hair High

    (NBM, 2003)
™ and © NBM

You may remember the prolific creator from MTV episodes of The Plymptoons or showings of his shorts at ubiquitous animation festivals. So it may be an unusual idea to read the storyboards for his future feature as a stand-alone graphic novel. But in this case, Plympton’s done it before and proves he can do it again.

Parodying memories of his high school in Oregon and SF flicks of the 1950s, Plympton wastes no time in showcasing his bizarre sense of humor and perverse perspective. Suffice to say that Spud is the lowly nerd at the bottom of the student totem pole, when he crosses paths with the social royalty of the lovely Cheri and the jock Rod. Foolish teachers, fancy autos, and football fanatics all proceed to tickle the funny bone, as the tale of Spud and Cherri’s star-crossed love is retold.

Through these pencils, the reader gets an inside look at the formation of the artist’s wacky, gross-out humor. Unabashedly sophomoric, Plympton keeps the punchlines coming non-stop and displays such an infectious enthusiasm for digging for jokes that the viewer can’t help but laugh at the results.

— Oliver Chin / Comics Buyer‘s Guide’s Reading Room
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