Writer and Artist: Shannon Wheeler
Trade Paperback
Published by Dark Horse Maverick 1999
$12.95

Reviewed by Ben Peek

This collection of TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN is divided nearly into three parts, the first being the satirical superhero stories of Too Much Coffee Man (TMCM), and two surreal slice of life stories, the first one dealing with the Artist of TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN himself, and the second concerning Joel, the chronic loser. I'll be looking at the trade paperback in that same order.

TMCM

The satirical superhero. The man in the red suit with a giant coffee cup on his head. The title character. And, oddly enough, a mixed bag of stories, containing some of the weakest, plus my very favourite of the whole collection. Each story is self contained and attacks a certain superhero cliché.

The stories have titles like 'Too Much Coffee Man vs. Trade Mark Copy Man', or 'Enter Cliché' - both the weakest stories in the collection due to their fairly basic themes, lacking the subtle and more affective humour of later pieces. Then there's 'The Origin Issue', 'Love', 'Death', and my personal favourite of the whole collection, 'Too Much Coffee Man Versus Everything'. Just the opening page to this had me chuckling for days.

It is here that you will find the best and worst stories, but it is also here that we see Wheeler's growth as a writer and an artist. While the main appeal of the title will never really be the art - though Wheeler's art is never flat or lifeless - the second half of the book reveals a dramatic improvement in all areas: depth, pacing, backgrounds, facial expressions and subtly. It may also explain why the final story, 'Too Much Coffee Man Versus Everything', is my favourite; because it is here that all of Wheeler's talent comes together.

"Then there's 'Too Much Coffee Man Versus Everything'. Just the opening page to this had me chuckling for days"

The Artist

This is Shannon Wheeler's alter ego, the stunted man with bad teeth and hair. Of the whole collection, it is the story about the Artist that I enjoyed the most overall. From his humble beginnings of stapling photocopied comics together, to his slow rise in fame and radio interviews, it is here that everything within the comic blends well. This is especially true of the use of the TMCM comic itself, of which the Artist is the creator, writer, illustrator and distributor. In many cases, the story of the Artist complements that of TMCM himself: if TMCM muses about love, then so does the Artist.

This creates a surreal personal element to the comic, which leaves you with the impression that Wheeler is telling his own opinions and experiences on the things that are important to him, if slightly filtered through humour and the elements of a story. On the back of the collection there is a quote from the Chicago Tribune, which likens the comic to SEINFELD, and I found myself seeing certain elements of the TV show within the work. Nowhere is this better shown than in 'The Origin Issue', where the Artist sits with his friends and explains why he makes up origins of TMCM for people.

Joel

The Loser. The slice of life story of the collection, chronicling the slow fall of a guy who reads TMCM. Perhaps, when all the other stories are looked at, this is the weakest part of the collection. But again, by no means does this suggest that it is unreadable. Of note is an excellent scene where Joel talks about being nine years old at a friends birthday party, and how it was here that he missed making a home run in a baseball game, failing on life when everything on TV had told him he would hit the ball and be a hero - especially after two strikes. Nevertheless, this is still the weakest part of the collection.

This is perhaps because so much of Joel's story is spent with moaning after his ex-girlfriend - which has a few delightful moments, I admit - and that, when placed next to the satirical superhero TMCM and the surreal life of the Artist, the slice of life story of Joel just doesn't contain the originality of the others. Unlike with the Artist, the parts where Joel is linked to the TMCM comic seem forced upon occasion. The only time that I truly enjoyed this was when Joel was in no way linked to TMCM, and his story was finally his own.

Of course, I could point out that Joel is always linked to the Artist, in that his slow descent into becoming a Loser is meant to mirror the Artist's rise. (And even if I couldn't, Shannon Wheeler says so in the collection. I bet you thought I was just being insightful, right?)

Me, I like TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN. But it isn't for everyone. It's in a nice looking trade paperback, with a cover that has a sculptured TMCM smoking and a stylish coffee ring on it, and it also comes with a thoroughly entertaining and amusing introduction by Henry Rollins. So amusing, in fact, that he almost upstages Wheeler in his own comic. But again, it isn't for everyone. The humour is occasionally too dry, too subtle, and anyone looking to spend each page in cramp-induced laughter will be disappointed. Nevertheless...

Recommended

Ben Peek is Online Comics Editor of PopImage.

Back

Attitude | ProFile | Industrial
Interviews | Reviews | Pi Comics
Talkback | Archives | Gallery