Andrew TsyastonRecensioni

Emotions Explained with Buff Dudes is an Owlturd Comix collection. I've seen a good portion of the comics in this collection online already, but this volume still made me laugh a lot. It's a combination, I think, of the relatability of the topics, the fantastic facial expressions, and the subversion of various cliched inspirational messages.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

I absolutely love this author's comics. This book was as awesome as expected. These comics are mostly relatable, often hilarious and randomly heartwarming and cute.

Note: I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review in any way.

I had quite a few good chuckles from these often dark cartoons about, well, emotions and buff dudes. In the protagonist's internal life, he is constantly beset by a large, muscular figure labeled "Life" who repeatedly threatens or abuses him . . . but humorously.

My only issue with the book is everything is so internalized, we really have no information about the protagonist or the context of his struggles. For instance, Shen, the name of the author's avatar, is only given in the book's description, not in the book itself. I know so little about Shen, that even as I laugh at the universality of his thoughts and travails, I am detached from him as an individual, putting a slight damper on the fun.

Still good for some laughs though.

Fairly funny, but rather repetitive. And the title, as the blurp (#a vast array of emotions') is rqther misleqding, it's mainly about anxiety, and life kicking you in the behind...

I received a copy through netgalley

Emotions Explained with Buff Dudes: Owlturd Comix

I Picked Up This Book Because: Judged a book by it’s cover.

The Story:

Funny and relatable. Sometimes life just kicks your butt.

The Random Thoughts:

One of the best representations of me I’ve seen in comic form.

https://i.imgur.com/dclWwpP.jpg

4 Stars

Emotions Explained with Buff Dudes by Andrew Tsyaston is hilarious, and also deep. The art went well with the concept and tone of the book. The only disappointing part was that the book ended.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tsyaston's Emotions Explained with Buff Dudes is a collection of one shot comics focusing on important issues for people today. Mental health, scial anxiety, and scual awkwardness feature in many. Now, I admit, this wasn't what I was expecting at first. Emotions are not literally explained. Instead, they, and other aspects of existence (Life, Student Loans) are anthropomorphized as big buff nude dudes (no inappropriate dangly bits though! Perfectly PG). I really grokked many of these cartoons, especially the night owl ones. Haha, me to a T. I'm one of the weird ones geared to be awake at night. While I enjoyed the content, the artwork just wasn't my cuppa.

***Many thanks to the Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Loved his comics on the internet and they're even better in book form. Laughed out loud in a restaurant reading it.

It's no secret how much I love Shen Comix. They're my daily dose of giggles but, more than that, I love how poignant a lot of them are. If you're a human being with thoughts and emotions, perhaps with a pinch of anxiety, you'll see yourself in a lot of what Shen does. That's why I was so excited to support this collection!

It's true that there's nothing necessarily new in here, but it does collect some of my favorite Shen pieces all in one place. If you're new to these, you'll get to meet characters like Type A and Type B personality and our lovely friend LIFE. Ha! I actually envy you if you're new to these comics. I guarantee you'll quickly find yourself in love with Shen's totally honest, yet somehow adorable, takes on our day to day lives.

There's not much else to say, other than that you should buy this! It's an excellent way to support an artist who gives us so much joy and brutal self-reflection.

If you loved Sarah's Scribbles...

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley.)

I hate to compare this to Sarah's Scribbles, mostly because I compare everything to Sarah's Scribbles. (What can I say? It's my benchmark for socially awkward, relatable AF irreverent humor!) But Andrew Tsyaston feels like Sarah Andersen's equally weird and self-conscious west coast guy cousin. Same unfortunate wavelength (thanks God's broken salt shaker!), different genders. But in color!

So as you can probably gather, Tsyaston tackles a number of mental health issues through his cartoons (most prominently social anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem) as well as topics especially though not exclusively relevant to millennials (technology, student debt, the death of facts). The titular BUFF DUDES are a) totes nude but b) actually the antagonists of Tsyaston's stories; see, e.g. Life. The result is both hilarious and crushing, and will leave you feeling marginally better about this effed up plane of existence we call the human experience. Shen might be a white dude (I mean, I think?), but you'll see bits of yourself reflected back in the funhouse mirror that is his soul.

In summary, Owlturd Comix is great, and I look forward to devouring many more of them. And now I shall leave you with just a few of my favorites.

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/emotions-explained-01.jpg

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/emotions-explained-02.jpg

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/emotions-explained-03.jpg

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/emotions-explained-04.jpg

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/emotions-explained-05.jpg

http://www.easyvegan.info/2018/10/30/emotions-explained-with-buff-dudes-by-andre...