"Weird Al" Yankovic

Dozens of artists -- many from the alternative or indie scene -- have adapted about 20 of "Weird Al" Yankovic's songs into comic book stories, leaving all of his words intact in the process, so it's basically a series of very odd comic strip poems. And since they're all parody and satire, each has something sure to shock or offend some reader or another, what with all the stalkers, suicide, murder, guns, serial killers, and a dated reference to intersex people. The cartoonists also sneak in a bunch of celebrity cameos, so there's a game to be made in identifying all of them.

I'm a fan of Yankovic, but I have to admit I was not familiar with most of the songs that are presented here. The introduction notes that the ones chosen for this collection were those that did not already have a music video. And while "Like a Surgeon" and "Amish Paradise" are listed in the table of contents, those big hits and their like are only represented with a single pin-up page without lyrics. But even among the deep cuts left, I found that four of them seem to have official videos available on YouTube, so I guess that rule was malleable.

I tried reading the first half of the book while taking a walk, but it felt like something was missing, so I read the back half of the book while listening to the actual songs. It was slower, but more rewarding, and I recommend it for anyone who tries this book. If it helps, I made a Spotify playlist here.

I also recommend everyone check out the recent satirical biopic, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. It's as funny as any of his best songs and actually features his biggest hits on the soundtrack.

FOR REFERENCE:

Tabe-Al of Contents:

All lyrics and stories by "Weird Al" Yankovic

• [Frontispiece] / Jesse Philips, artist
• Foreword / Emo Philips, writer; Sam Viviano, artist
• Dare to Be Stupid / Hilary Barta, artist; Jim Wiz, art assistant; Wes Wong, colorist; Rick Parker, letterer
• Amish Paradise [Pin-up] / Mark Fredrickson, artist
• Hardware Store / Bob Fingerman, artist
• Why Does This Always Happen to Me? / Peter Bagge, artist
• Fat [Pin-up] / Jay Jay Jackson, artist
• One More Minute / Bill Plympton, artist
• The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota / Wes Hargis, artist
• Melanie / Craig Rousseau, artist
• Your Horoscope for Today / Aaron Augenblick, artist
• Mr. Popeil / Brent Engstrom, artist
• You Make Me / Steve Chanks, artist; Claudia Chanks, assistant
• Like a Surgeon [Pin-up] / Tim Leong, artist
• Trigger Happy / Chris Visions, artist; Nathan Kempf, letterer
• Yoda [Pin-up] / PJ McQuade, artist
• You Don't Love Me Anymore / Ruben Bolling, artist
• Everything You Know Is Wrong / Gideon Kendall, artist
• Albuquerque / Ryan Dunlavey, artist; Adam Guzowski, colorist
• Frank's 2000" TV / Brian McFadden, artist
• Nature Trail to Hell / Johnny Sampson, artist
• Smells Like Nirvana [Pin-up] / "Ghoulish" Gary Pullin, artist
• Since You've Been Gone / Kelly Phillips, artist
• The Night Santa Claus Went Crazy / Fred Harpe, artistt; Nathan Kempf, letterer
• Good Old Days / Jeff McClelland, artist; Jeff McComsey, artist; Mark Welser, colorist
• White & Nerdy [Pin-up] / Jan Meininghaus, artist
• Dog Eat Dog / Sean Pryor, artist
• Midnight Star / R. Sikoryak, artist
• My Own Eyes / Mike Kupperman, artist
• Jackson Park Express / Felipe Sobreiro, artist; Nathan Kempf, letterer

Bonus Section
• Cover Art / Drew Friedman, artist; Mike Allred, artist, Laura Allred, colorist
• Art Prints / Jesse Philips, artist
• Collector Card Art / Danny Hellman, artist… (més)

I'm a big fan of Weird Al, going all the way back to his first radio plays on Dr. Demento, Sunday nights on KMET in Los Angeles in the 70s. I'm always blown away by his wordplay and musicianship. Doubly so after seeing him and his band live. I could not wait to get my hands on this book when I read about it.
OTOH, I should have read the fine print. The songs in the book are all Weird Al originals, not (true) parodies. The idea being these tunes also deserved visuals, and producing music videos is too expensive. I bogged down about halfway through because I was only familiar with about half of the songs and the 'Mad Magazine'-ish cartoons weren't resonating with me. And, truth-be-told, some of the lyrics and matching illustrations are downright morbid (again, 'Mad Magazine').
The easy solution was to fire up Spotify and listen to one of the read-along playlists while I flipped pages. Joy restored! Now some of the art demonstrates inspiration that cuts beneath the surface of the lyrics and elevates them. Only a couple of selections stilled failed to click with me. On the whole, this is a hit for a Weird Al fan that can listen along.… (més)

I am always leery of celebrity types who decide they now want to write children's books. In a market that is hard enough for unknown yet good authors to get noticed, can't these people just have a ghost writer produce their memoir? But this is Weird Al. You never quite know what you're going to get from him, so I had to give this a try. What I discovered is a fun to read story about a boy who is asked the big question: What do you want to be when you grow up? He answers with a list of career options that vary from award winning chef to giraffe milker to hedge fund investor. Most kids will have no idea what most of these careers are -- but this school librarian sees this as a great opportunity to practice research skills and explore! Illustrations are as colorful and fun as the text.… (més)

This fun little volume takes a selection of songs from across Weird Al's career that have never gotten music videos and corrects that oversight by doing them in graphic novel form. (It also features some great full-page images for other songs that did get videos.) And it's completely delightful. The illustrations fit the wonderful wackiiness that is Al's lyrics perfectly, while adding some creative touches of their own. My only complaint is that I had to read it slower than I wanted to, because I couldn't read most of the lyrics without hearing the song in my head, and I had to alter my pace to match. Wait, no, what am I saying? Hearing Weird Al in your head is never actually a bad thing. And definitely not a sign of insanity at all.

Anyway. This is great. If you're an Al fan and you haven't picked up a copy yet, you're missing out.

Rating: 4.5/5, would drive down the street with a rabid Wolverine in my underwear again.… (més)