The Fun Family

by Benjamin Frisch

Overview

Beloved cartoonist Robert Fun has earned a devoted following for his circular daily comic strip, celebrating the wholesome American family by drawing inspiration from his real home life... but the Fun Family bears some dark secrets. As their idyllic world collapses and the kids are forced to pick up the pieces, will their family circle become a broken mirror, or a portal to a nightmare world? In his debut graphic novel, Benjamin Frisch presents a surreal deconstruction of childhood, adulthood, and good old American obsession.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603093446
Publisher:	IDW Publishing
Publication date:	07/12/2016
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.60(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	16 Years

About the Author

Benjamin Frisch is a cartoonist and storyteller from Williamsburg, Virginia. He has an MFA in Sequential Art from Savannah College of Art and Design, and participated in the international artist residency program La Maison Des Auteurs in Angoulême, France. He is currently based in New York, where he works as a radio producer on Slate's Culture Gabfest and as a freelance artist. His work has appeared on the political satire site Wonkette, National Public Radio, and in the Graphic Canon comics anthologies. His first book, The Fun Family, was released in 2016 by Top Shelf.

Editorial Reviews

05/16/2016
Drawing equal parts inspiration from Bill Keane’s saccharine daily Family Circus strip and Alison Bechdel’s groundbreaking autobiographical work, Frisch’s debut graphic novel is a surreal exploration of the fractured suburban family, worthy of a Sam Mendes directorial turn. Things start out idyllic enough, inside a round panel with a single caption, à la the Family Circus, but when a phone call reveals the death of a beloved grandmother, everything the Fun family believes in gets questioned. Dad Robert Fun is a cartoonist, drawing cartoons that look as plastic as the memorabilia collection he keeps in his crawl space; son Robby must navigate marital squabbles, family counseling, and a self-help guru as the family fractures. Frisch’s cutesy art is purposely played against the angsty goings-on, a conceit that wears a bit thin. However, the story spins out in a satisfying fashion, revealing that nothing is ever quite as fun as it seems. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"A surreal exploration of the fractured suburban family, worthy of a Sam Mendes directorial turn... revealing that nothing is ever quite as fun as it seems." — Publishers Weekly

"Menacing… If you’ve ever dismissed newspaper comic strips as shallow and trite, The Fun Family is for you." — Paste

From the Publisher