Synopses & Reviews
From the travails of the North American white-collar bald spot, to blade-wielding ghost stalkers, to the flippant urine of aristocracy, Vol. 1 wrangles the disparate inhabitants of one skull: that of acclaimed cartoonist Paul Hornschemeier. Our principal concern of this volume, "Obvious Amenities," is Act One in the story of Edward Molson, salesman. After the osprey-induced death of a coworker, Molson is thrust into a cross-country speaking engagement, a chance to revisit youthful diversions, and a potential extra-marital love affair. But for now, he must walk his wife's dog. Again. The prose offering for this inaugural issue, "The Maintenance," joins school custodian Morris Abbey on his rounds through the halls and lives of Grantswood Jr. /Sr. High School. Morris repairs and cleans the damages and detritus the student body inflicts on his building, but one student, Beatrice Dobbs, causes him concern when she takes notice of his secret habit. When the world's gravity is being consumed by a massive beast, there is only one sweater-clad über man willing to cast aside his ice cream and tackle the problem: Captain All. In a bizarre fusion of science fiction and the subconscious that recalls the psychosis and sexual undercurrents of Fletcher Hanks and early pioneers of comic book heroes, Captain All is pulled by strange forces to manifest his uncomfortable, if effective, set of powers. Science fiction to surrealism, psychedelic parables to the modern quotidian. These stories, in concert with shorter experiments and gags, all squeeze themselves between the covers of this first volume of , an ongoing collection of books that promises to be equal parts unpredictable and enthralling.
Review
"An ascending star... [Hornschemeier] leaps into an elite group of current cartoonists -- including Kyle Baker and Chris Ware -- whose versatility and verve push the art form into exciting new territory... Hornschemeier doesn't simply push the panel edges of the comics medium; he designs entirely off the page, encouraging other creators to join him over the horizon." Chicago Tribune
Review
"Paul avoids the hammering sentimentality and labored connect-all-the-dots obviousness of too much contemporary work, in any media." Jonathan Lethem
Synopsis
Forlorn Funnies Volume 1 wrangles the new and disparate inhabitants of one skull: that of acclaimed cartoonist Paul Hornschemeier, author of the graphic novels Mother, Come Home and The Three Paradoxes.
The centerpiece of the issue is Act One of “Obvious Amenities,” the story of Edward Molson, salesman. After the untimely osprey-induced death of a coworker, Molson is thrust into a cross-country speaking engagement, a chance to revisit youthful diversions, and a potential extra-marital love affair. But for now, he has to walk his wife’s dog. Again.
Volume 1 also includes: “Huge Suit and The Sea,” featuring the deity/fate/deus ex machina Huge Suit prodding and poking at the destiny of a relentlessly smiley boatman; a short prose story, “Whither Mountain Man,” following a nameless protagonist on his search for a mythological beast sighted in the hills of an early 1900’s Montana; Chapter 1 of “The Epistemics,” which follows a team of military specialists and scientists in their role in the colonization of the planet Themis IV.
Science fiction to surrealism, period pieces to the modern quotidian. These stories, in concert with shorter experiments and gags, all squeeze themselves between the covers of this first volume of Forlorn Funnies, an ongoing collection of stories by one of our most skillful and prolific cartoonists that promises to be unpredictable and enthralling.
Synopsis
An anthology of all-new work from the acclaimed creator of The Three Paradoxes.
Synopsis
An anthology of all-new work from the acclaimedcreator of The Three Paradoxes.
Synopsis
This is the first volume of Paul Hornschemeier's ongoing one-man anthology of short stories told in both comics and prose.
About the Author
Paul Hornschemeier lives in Chicago, IL, with his fiancée, Emily. He is the author of several graphic novels, including Mother, Come Home, Let Us Be Perfectly Clear, The Three Paradoxes, All and Sundry and Forlorn Funnies.