∎ [PDF] GOODNIGHT IRENE First Last 9780867196597 Books

GOODNIGHT IRENE First Last 9780867196597 Books

Download As PDF : GOODNIGHT IRENE First Last 9780867196597 Books

GOODNIGHT IRENE First Last 9780867196597 Books

After being raised and "modified" by an African tribe our heroine is discovered by white traders and returned to modern civilization. She is found to be none other than Irene Vandercamp, lone inheritor of the Wynendyne fortune. Irene is then re-educated to fit in with high society and is subsequently courted by suitors whose motives are not always honorable. Pratfalls, japes, pathos and laughs aplenty, this excellent work by the exuberantly talented Carol Lay is a must have for any serious lover of great literature.


Tags : GOODNIGHT, IRENE [First Last] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. 'Goodnight, Irene' features a collection of Carol Lay's 'Irene' strips from 'Good Girls' comics - which originally appeared in 1980 - including 23 pages that have never been published before.,First Last,GOODNIGHT, IRENE,Last Gasp,0867196599,Form - Comic Strips & Cartoons,ART General,COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS General,Cartoons & comic strips,Comic book & cartoon art,FICTION General,GRAPHIC NOVELS,GRAPHIC SATIRE AND HUMOR,General,General Adult,HUMOR Form Comic Strips & Cartoons,Humor,Non-Fiction,ReadingsAnthologiesCollected Works,United States

GOODNIGHT IRENE First Last 9780867196597 Books Reviews

You might recognize Carol Lay from her strip WayLay in alternative weeklies, but this longer story is even better. The first Irene stories appeared in her comic Good Girls in the 1980s, but she wrote the last installment for this volume. You can see her art and storytelling style change a lot over the course of the book, but somehow that makes it even more charming. The premise, that of a white woman with an African-style lip disk looking for love among men who consider her a freak, is intentionally silly, but as a modern fable, it's sweet and funny.
As a parody of 1950s romance comics and an incisive criticism of superficial ideals of beauty, the Irene stories far exceed anything else in the indie comics scene recently. There aren't enough comics out there that appeal to an adult female audience, I only wish there were more like this.
Carol Lay's Good Girl Comics of the 1980s followed a plate-lipped, scarified, white heiress on her quest for love and acceptance in a world that values only outward beauty. This volume contains all six volumes of the Good Girls series, plus a new story that brings us up to date.

In Irene's universe, oddities such as a two headed man, a three-breasted woman, or a neck-ring sporting woman from Burma, are commonplace. But you haven't lived until you've seen the dream sequence.

Carol Lay is a consummate draftsman, able to draw beautifully in a number of styles. Here, she artfully apes the Romance comic style of the 50s and 60s. The plot, too, harkens back to those comics, at least in terms of its hyper-emotional style. But Lay is also a brilliant, insanely imaginative storyteller, and she is in fine form throughout. The book makes for a wild ride, by turns hilarious, goofy, and occasionally even touching. There is an underlying core of humanity in Irene that makes her more than just a freak. We can all identify with her, as strange as that seems.

It may be worth buying this book just for the painting on the front cover, a wonderfully rendered takeoff on John Singer Sargent's "Madame X". There is also a funny introduction by Mark Mothersbaugh (of Devo), who has apparently had a crush on Irene ever since he first saw her.

Most of all, Goodnight, Irene is just plain fun.
After being raised and "modified" by an African tribe our heroine is discovered by white traders and returned to modern civilization. She is found to be none other than Irene Vandercamp, lone inheritor of the Wynendyne fortune. Irene is then re-educated to fit in with high society and is subsequently courted by suitors whose motives are not always honorable. Pratfalls, japes, pathos and laughs aplenty, this excellent work by the exuberantly talented Carol Lay is a must have for any serious lover of great literature.