One Dirty Tree

by Noah Van Sciver

Overview

WINNER Association for Mormon Letters Awards | Best Graphic Novel

EISNER AWARD NOMINEE Best Reality-Based Comic

INDIES Awards | Finalist

Noah Van Sciver is haunted by the house at 133 ____ Street, or as his brothers rechristened it “One Dirty Tree.” This sprawling dilapidated New Jersey house was his first home and the site of formative experiences. Growing up in a big, poor, Mormon family—surrounded by comic books, eight siblings, bathtubs full of dirty dishes—Noah’s childhood exerts a powerful force on his present-day relationship.

Drawn in his inimitable style, written with wry wit and humor, One Dirty Tree is another reason why Noah Van Sciver is one of the best cartoonists of his generation.

Noah Van Sciver first came to national attention with his critically acclaimed comic book series Blammo, which has earned him three Ignatz award nominations. His work has appeared in Mad magazine, Best American Comics 2011, and The Stranger, as well as countless graphic anthologies. Van Sciver is the author of four graphic novels: The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln, Youth Is Wasted, Saint Cole, and Fante Bukowski: Struggling Writer. Van Sciver currently resides in Columbus, OH.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941250273
Publisher:	Uncivilized Books
Publication date:	10/16/2018
Pages:	116
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	16 Years

About the Author

Noah Van Sciver first came to comic readers' attention with his critically acclaimed comic book series Blammo, which has earned him 3 Ignatz award nominations. His work has appeared in Mad magazine, Best American Comics 2011, and The Stranger, as well as countless graphic anthologies. He currently is the writer/artist on a comic strip titled "Rufus Baxter" for the alternative weekly newspaper Westword. Van Sciver has four graphic novels: The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln, Youth Is Wasted, Saint Cole and Fante Bukowski: Struggling Writer.

Editorial Reviews

08/06/2018
The title of this moving graphic memoir from the Ignatz-nominated Van Sciver (Fante Bukowski Three) comes from the nickname his siblings gave their overcrowded ramble of a childhood home, which still haunts him. Using the same wavy and sketchy but emotionally direct style throughout, Van Sciver alternates between revealing himself as an insecure and financially strapped 29-year-old and as a frightened kid navigating the random nature of life at One Dirty Tree. In the former story line, he works food-service, agonizes over getting anywhere as a cartoonist, and feels judged as a loser by his girlfriend. This is overshadowed by the latter, Alison Bechdel-esque narrative, in which his large Mormon family “was in decline” from a golden age he never experienced, except through photos of “smiling children in new clothes, with new toys.” Van Sciver’s childhood was loomed over by his sometimes violent bipolar father and frustrated writer mother, neither of whom did much parenting. The simple figure drawings are situated in text-heavy frames and, befitting the repressed emotions roiling under the surface, the colors are muted, bordering on drab. While affectionate in many memories, Van Sciver also powerfully illustrates the scars raked across an adult life by a chaotic upbringing. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"...Van Sciver’s tireless work ethic and ever-refining comedic chops made him the cartoonist to beat [in 2015]. In a year of highlights, however, Fante Bukowski is the volume to recommend to anyone still in the dark. ...Van Sciver knows how to give the reader just enough to enjoy the sensation of holding poor Fante in pleasant contempt."—Onion AV Club

"The take-no-prisoners satire ends up being surprisingly sweet, and Van Sciver’s depictions of Cleveland offer a romanticism that might even align with how Bukowski sees his surroundings."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW.

"With the graphic novella Fante Bukowski, Noah Van Sciver’s penned the funniest thing I’ve read all year. ... At its deepest, Fante Bukowski stands as a commentary on hordes of recognition-hungry artists with nothing to say, but as a straight parody, Fante Bukowski is hilarious enough to summon tears."—The Quietus

"Rising star Van Sciver once again skewers the self-important male figure, in this case, a terrible writer who fancies himself a great novelist and pushes himself onto everyone."—Publishers Weekly

"Fante Bukowski Two is Noah Van Sciver's funniest work by far, littered with deadpan humor. ... Van Sciver just continues to get better and better ― you need this book."— The Quietus

From the Publisher