Things Are Meaning Less

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Description

Opening with a telling quote from punk band Black Flag ("Drink black coffee/drink black coffee/drink black coffee/and stare at the wall"),Things Are Meaning Lessis a tough, funny, heartbreaking look at young, disillusioned American life. You might know Al from his zinesBurn CollectorandNatural Disastersor from the band Milemarker or his so-true-it-kicks-your-face-off column inPunk Planet. This, however, is Al's collection of comics published in the late '90s by designer and fellow zinester Ian Lyman. From Portland to Providence, Al patrols his world with a dark, stoic humor. He's a Saul Bellow-ian everyman, up against the wall, suffering the blows, looking for love and loving the metal. Like Al's latest issue ofBurn Collector, the comic-heavy #14, the drawing here is simple but it's the kind of simple that doesn't come with beginner's luck. The stuff here is the result of years of fighting and trouble-making, of mistakes made and a life scratched out among the sticks and stones. As says Al, "These are things drawn on napkins in airports, xeroxed illicitly during work." So goes the work and world of Al Burian.

Reviews

"This work stands as a shining example of what can be accomplished by harnessing the considerable powers of coffee, alcohol, and existential ennui into creative projects." --"Profane Existence," #47
""Things Are Meaning Less" showed up unexpectedly in my mailbox one day. It's rather apt; appearing without warning, making an impression, and then slipping back off into the night could be describing the contents of the book itself as well as the actual collection. Every time I fear for the future of zines and mini-comics, this compendium of material from that scene reminds me that there's still a lot of good work being created. You've just got to find it... or have it find you." --"Read About Comics"
"An interesting little book. First comes the struggle to define exactly what it is; certainly it's a memoir, as Burian guides the reader through his travels and angst. But as to whether or not it is a graphic novel or an illustrated prose book, that's an entirely different question. The book combines both in heavy doses; many sections are carried strictly by Burian's cartooning, yet perhaps even more of the book is handwritten prose accompanying the pictures or even pushing them away completely. The confessional nature of the stories Burian tells here reminded me very much of the work of Jeffrey Brown, though I actually liked Burian's work better. Brown's work tends to be annoying and whiny, but Burian does a very good job of putting his problems on the page and not waving his dick at them. You see him, you see what's wrong with him, and he doesn't need to tell you just how big of a fuck up he might be at that moment. I really respected the way he handled those moments. I've become fairly inured to confessionals over the last few years, so it takes a lot for something in the genre to light me on fire. But if you like cartoonists like Brown, then I have no hesitations about recommending Burian for a reading experience you'd enjoy." --Marc Mason, "Comics Waiting Room"
"As a storyteller, Burian makes the trivial engaging. It must be really cool just to sit with this guy and listen to him talk." --"Comic Book Bin"
"Is Al Burian a postmodern superhero Probably not, but one thing is for certain: he's thoroughly straight with you. This collection of comics/stories retains all of the virtues and flaws of its source material: life as a dude in his early twenties. I can certainly relate to this one right now, as I think most of our listeners/readers might, but even I can admit (as Al does in a brief postscript) that this might seem naive to a reader some years older. It's not exactly the most comics-friendly text in history, but he pulls it off. Still, whatever the reader thinks of Al Burian's musings, it's hard not to be impressed by the passion bleeding through his sketches... even if they were just scrawled on napkins in the day-to-day." --"Indie Street"

Author Bio

Al Burian is the author of two collections of his zines: Burn Collector andNatural Disaster.