Joe Ollmann Livres

A dysfunctional family lives in the shadow of a world famous comic strip and its tyrannical creator Caleb is a middle-aged painter with a non-starter career. He also happens to be the only child of one of the world’s most famous cartoonists, Jimmi Wyatt. Known for the internationally beloved father and son comic Sonny Side Up, Jimmi made millions drawing saccharine family stories while neglecting his own son. Now sober, Caleb is haunted by his wasted past and struggling to take responsibility for his present before it’s too late. His always patient boyfriend, James, is reaching the end of his rope. When Caleb gets the chance to step out from his father’s shadow and shape the most public aspect of the family business, he makes every bad decision and watches his life fall apart. Is it too late to repair the harm? Are we forever doomed to make the same mistakes our parents did? Joe Ollmann is a master at portraying inner torment. His characters vacillate and sob and rage. His furrow-browed and deeply-lined cartooning has never been more expressive than in Fictional Father. Caleb storms around and slumps in equal measure as he tries to figure out who he is beyond the neglected son of a famous man. In addition to being a devastating portrait of the Wyatt family, Fictional Father is a hilariously sardonic interrogation of art-making and cartooning in particular.

The story explores the psychological unraveling of Mark, a high school science teacher, after he experiences a breakdown triggered by a sci-fi movie, leading him to recall a childhood alien abduction. His obsession with this newfound belief drives a wedge between him and his girlfriend, Sue, as he retreats into isolation and seeks validation for his experiences. Joe Ollmann's graphic novel delves into themes of trust, belief, and the fine line between reality and fiction, challenging readers to consider what they would accept as truth.

Ollmann's collection showcases his acclaimed short stories in comics, highlighting a growing need for a term to define graphic short stories. With a lengthy introduction, the omnibus features award-winning works, including pieces from "This Will All End in Tears" and selections from "Chewing on Tinfoil," alongside two new stories crafted exclusively for this volume. This compilation emphasizes the resurgence of the short story format within graphic literature, celebrating its artistic merit and narrative depth.

An exhaustively researched portrait of travel writer William Buehler Seabrook. Ollmann spent years reseraching Seabrook's life and his work as a travel writer to produce a captivating narrative that gives an unparalleld insight into this contraversial figure