Barry Ween is some of the funniest shit printed ever. Barry Ween is a genius; so far so good. Barry Ween is 10 years old and swears like a sailor. Ah now you see where this can get interesting. Judd draws Barry with his eyes half open, giving you the impression that he’s effectively bored of life. The world around him bores him and so he goes about creating and inventing and experimenting.
Along for the ride is Jeremy, his best friend and also my favourite character in the series. His dialogue is absolutely hysterical. Even though a lot of what he says is base it’s incredibly amusing. The interaction between the two characters is effectively the greatest asset to this seriously fun book.
This first volume (there are 4 in total, so far hopefully there will be more in the future) in the series collects three issues worth of stories. Each issue is self contained but the relationships build from issue to issue which is a great layering the Judd accomplishes seamlessly.
Judd Winick’s artwork is perfect for this series. He captures the character’s expressions perfectly and it’s one of those very few books that’s geniunly funny, in a laugh out loud sort of way. The feeling I got rereading this series was the same feeling I get when I used to read an Asterix story, except this is ruder and appeals to the other side of my humour.
The first issue concentrates on introducing Barry Ween and his world to you. The second concentrates on an adventure based around Jeremy’s fuck up. While the final installment introduces my second favourite character, Sarah. Sarah is the one person that makes Barry loose his words, for even though he’s a genius, he’s still prone to falling for someone and loosing all his mental powers. All in all a great introduction to the world of Barry Ween. One I recommend you hunt down the next time you’re in a store.
Writer/Artist/Letterer: Judd Winick
Publisher: Oni Press