Kick back and enjoy these books from contributors to Alta Journal. Part of a special guide of 83 titles, this category features works by Bob Eckstein, Jonny Hawkins, and Rich Sparks.
I AM “WHY DO I NEED VENMO?” YEARS OLD: ADVENTURES IN AGING, BY JANINE ANNETT AND ALI SOLOMON
Running Press
Cartoonist Ali Solomon illustrates the unexpected moments of getting older, from the surprisingly fun to the very inconvenient in I Am “Why Do I Need Venmo?” Years Old: Adventures in Aging. With writer Janine Annett, Solomon catalogs milestones such as “I am ‘super into dogs and clogs’ years old” and “I am ‘can’t digest cheese’ years old.” Other topics include technology, body image, culture, and fashion—each chapter bearing a similar one-sentence title. Running Press, July 2021, 144 pages, $16 hardcover
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR: THE ULTIMATE CARTOON BOOK, BY BOB ECKSTEIN
Princeton Architectural Press
Illustrator, cartoonist, and writer Bob Eckstein curated work from more than 40 acclaimed cartoonists to present this collection that muses on the joys and trials of love in all its forms and manifestations. All’s Fair in Love and War features many cartoons—including drawings by Liana Finck, Sam Gross, Bob Mankoff, and Edward Steed—that have never been in print before. Princeton Architectural Press, October 2020, 144 pages, $21.95 hardcover
Rich Sparks brings his witty style to Love and Other Weird Things, this new book of cartoons, introducing an odd cast of characters that includes Paul Bunyan, Smokey the Bear, and an assortment of foulmouthed animals. He keeps his captions short, usually only a word or two, and his images border on cringey. The result is a sometimes dark, sometimes risqué, and always interesting brand of humor that allows Sparks’s illustrations to speak for themselves. Yoe Books, December 2019, 152 pages, $14.99 paperback
LAUGHTER THERAPY: GOOD MEDICINE TO MAKE YOUR HEART GLAD, BY JONNY HAWKINS AND BOB PHILLIPS
Harvest House Publishers
Patient: “I always feel that I’m covered in gold paint, doctor.” Psychiatrist: “Oh, that’s just your gilt complex.”
Cartoonist Jonny Hawkins and writer Bob Phillips offer jokes, cartoons, anecdotes, and other humorous material in Laughter Therapy to help pick you up on tough days, enliven dull moments, and just make you laugh for the sake of laughing. Harvest House Publishers, June 2021, 176 pages, $9.99 paperback
