Product Description: From the critically-acclaimed cartoonist behind Box Office Poison and Tricked comes the delightful Too Cool to Be Forgotten, a story of second chances. Andy Wicks is a forty-something father of two who's tried everything to quit smoking -- from going cold turkey, to the latest patches and nicotine chewing gums -- so he figures he'll give this hypnosis thing a try. What's the worst that could happen? Unfortunately, Andy gets dealt a fate worse than death: high school! Transported back to 1985, Andy returns to his formative years as a gangly, awkward teenager. Is he doomed to relive the mistakes of his past, or has he been given a second chance to get things right? One thing's for sure -- this time he's going to ask out that girl from math class...
A fantasy vicariously fulfilled. This book was a joy to read. The storytelling was rich and the artwork was fun, it definitely gave me a taste of fantasies I've had about going back and addressing all the "what if" 's that come up with hind sight and regret. The story did take me back to that time in my life and in the world (though I'm a little younger) and I felt like it was rewarding to do so. Beyond a walk down memory lane the story itself stood out on it's own and was very compelling, I was crying by the end.
Forgettable... I'm going to agree halfway with the previous reviewers. This is not Robinson's best book at all BECAUSE it's so short, even for your typical graphic novel. We have been spoiled by BOP and Tricked not only by the size of the works but by the complexities and the thought that went into it. This one feels like a throwaway.
Having said all that I can hardly imagine the amount of time and energy that goes into one of these things and for a large one like Tricked much more so. I can't blame Robinson for wanting to turn in something smaller this time. But if you want the best of Robinson, one of the best American graphic novelists working right now, go with Tricked or Box Office Poison.
Robinson's best? Yeah, this one is a shorty, but it packs power to the punch. Anyone that remembers high school... and struggled, can relate to this story.
Robinson's best to date, but baffling title and presentation "Too Cool to be Forgotten" is probably Alex Robinson's finest work to date, though at a scant 128 pages it's far too short. Maybe I'm just a spoiled reader after the chunky "Box Office Poison" and the similarly thick "Tricked," but there's easily enough conceptual meat here (guy goes in for hypnosis, wakes up back in high school) to match the scope of those books. While the book flies by, Robinson still manages to hit all of the right and expected notes, and some of the funniest and most touching moments are derived from the natural conflict of a man with 50 years' experience trying to do things the "right" way instead of the way that his teenage self would have done them.
One spoiler-free note about the book's title and presentation in general; the final act takes such a heartbreaking left turn that I sat and cried for almost ten minutes after I finished it, having recently dealt with a similar experience in my own life. It's sort of baffling that the book has such a wackity-schmackity title and joke ciggy-pack presentation when the emotional center of the story ends up being a sledgehammer to the center of the reader's chest, though maybe that's the idea.
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