So as someone who can relate, I quite enjoyed this. There are strips about days when you don’t want to interact with anyone and be in your own world, being better at expressing yourself writing than speaking, procrastinating when you’ve work to do, hating social media in general and looking forward to the end of the day when you can change into your PJs.
There’s also stuff about being insecure with her looks, what it’s like being on her period, bumping into old high school friends whom she never really liked, being told by her mother about her friends who’ve gotten married and had kids, and I had no idea finding the right dress that doesn’t show off your bra strap was such a hot button topic! All very charming comics.
It’s a minor complaint but I did feel like I’d read this book before. Julia Wertz has done the grumpy girl cartoonist thing for a while now along with Allie Brosh, Kim Seo, Liz Prince and Philippa Rice, and, if you enjoyed the cat stuff here, check out Natasha Allegri and Claire Belton’s comics. Kate Beaton’s unpublished stuff (check her Twitter feed) is similar too.
Andersen’s strips are light and quick to read but that also makes them pretty forgettable and disposable as a result. And they relate a quasi-adulthood - Andersen’s strips are about being a grad student with a part time barista job rather than the material of someone who does the rat race and/or has a family with all its attendant stresses.
That said, Adulthood is a Myth is a fun, breezy book that’ll raise a smile and a laugh or two which is more than can be said about most comics. Andersen’s a natural storyteller with a strong grasp of the comics medium and an enthralling, direct voice to her work. Here's to many more grouchy books in the future!
Adulthood Is a Myth: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection
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