Baddies

A hilariously absurd graphic collection

Cult cartoonist David Stromberg has been dubbed "Thurber on speed" at the legendary Gotham Book Mart. It's easy to see why in the weird world of Baddies, an absurdist graphic collection of gags, ideas, and late night thoughts that harkens back to the days of witty New Yorker cartoonists . . . even as it seems so edgy as to be completely new.

Baddies looks aslant at everyday life, unearthing its most hilarious and ridiculous aspects amidst even our darkest fears and phobias. Inhabited by an antic and eclectic assortment of odd-ball characters, who star in chapters such as "Action and Its Doubt," "The Day and Its Battle," "Mystery and Its Carnality," these captioned cartoons capture a world forever veering off from the normal, the rational, and the "well adjusted."

And they introduce us to a startlingly original artist, where the art and the writerly wit combine in a way that's both disarmingly funny and strangely familiar, not to mention refreshingly, bitingly smart.