Welcome to the Dahl House: Alienation, Incarceration, and Inebriation in the new American Rome

(Paperback, Revised edition)

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Description

"Alienation, Incarceration, and Inebriation in the new American Rome." The collected 1997-2007 comics of Ken Dahl in this graphic novel anthology! Includes such stories as airport security, the demeaning experience of being arrested, having to sell off his earthly possessions at a yard sale to pay the slumlord, the creative process of trying to write comics about "important" subjects, and much more. Additionally, we are treated to helpful guides to putting bananas in your cereal, peeing in the shower, and swinging at night.

Reviews

"In a world gone mad, the flow of every day life is left to rot and decay. Corrupt police officers roam the streets enforcing the tyranical decrees of 'The Man.' Watch where you step, because you'll be thrown in jail for free thought! No, this isn't a dystopian sci-fi novel, this is every day American life as illustrated, and commentated by Ken Dahl, in his comic collection "Welcome To The Dahl House." --"Ashcan"
" ...As to the art in this volume, "Dahl House" displays impressive range and talent. Alternating between detailed, gritty illustrations and simplistic Sunday paper style art, Dahl manages to extend his commentary on 'alienation, incarceration, and inebriation in the new American Rome' to many foray. The fine line work is able to capture the subtility and extent of Dahl's condemnation of disaffected American culture, while the broad strokes of his other pieces decry a loss of innocence. To see Beetle Baily's Sarge transformed into a vicious figurehead of the American army is a profoundly unsettling transformation of a classic cartoon." --"Pop Matters"
"Somehow there isn't a bad comic in this collection, and considering the range of time covered in here (at least a decade), that's astounding. ... I don't understand why some people get famous and others as obviously talented as Ken aren't universally known. I'm guessing that with this and Monsters both widely available now that is going to change quickly, if it hasn't already. And it's a measly $6 for 122 pages I've seen minis that are more expensive. Buy it already!" --"Optical Sloth"
"Sometimes I dont understand why some things get insanely popular and other things remain only popular with a half dozen dedicated followers. To me, Dahls comics have it all---skillfull drawing, sharp writing and PASSION. Somehow, 3 page comics by dahl seem as good as anything else---closer to the emotional pull of a great PROSE novel then an overly ambitious GRAPHIC novel. I believe comics can do great things by emulating the scope and ambition of prose epics...but we shouldnt forget that the casual feel of a inky three page comic in a weird zine is its own hallowed art form and Dahl's comics in that form and pretty hard to beat." --"Sparkplug Comic Books"
"Spanning his various characters and ideas, Ken Dahl paints edgy and strange modern day tales about the ass-backwardsness of American life. Old Punks, Super Hero Dogs, and the strange wierdo Gordon, narrate their way through tales of arrest, sex, and death. From an art standpoint I really love the cooky cartoon feel, mixed with a nice smooth artistic style. In terms of story there are some laughs and some shocks, but I became a bit tired with the repetive 'our-country-is-ruined-and-here-is-all-the-corruption' rant. It only became uncomfortable as I constantly felt like Mr. Dahl was sitting the fence between groovin' Hippie Sign Holding Protester, and Ranting Anarchist Bomber Militant. Over all though, I give it my three thumbs up (The third thumb is from all the radiation the Government dumped in my yard as a child, those bastards)."
"Very expressive work and he shows a range of styles throughout this book." --"Optical Sloth"

Author Bio

Ken Dahl is a cartoonist and the author of the graphic novelMonsters, winner of the Ignatz Award. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.