My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down - Hardcover

Heatley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0224085387 ISBN 13: 9780224085380

Publisher: Jonathan Cape, 2008

Synopsis

What if you wrote and drew a comic strip that honestly depicted every sexual experience you ever had, from junior school (don't ask) to last week (ditto)? It would force you to re-examine your life in ways that would make your shrink blush. In 2004, that's exactly what David Heatley did, and called it (what else) 'My Sexual History'. It originally appeared in an obscure comics anthology called Kramer's Ergot, which was nevertheless given a starred review by "Publisher's Weekly", which singled out the strip and remarked that it was 'page after page of tiny, crudely rendered but wincingly remembered incidents'. And what else to follow that up with than 'Black History', which chronicles every African-American he ever encountered, whether it was Lennie from daycare who taught him the N-word, or the artist's impressions of Michael Jackson's Thriller. All of it rendered in, um, black and white.So make no mistake - David Heatley is anything but withholding. Quite the opposite. But the great surprise is that he's not simply playing for shock effect either.He's just trying to tell you what happened as succinctly and colourfully as he can, whether it was in a dream or at a game of group Strip Pig in his friend's basement. Which ended in a sort of awkward, slow-motion orgy. These things happen. "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down" (which gleans its title from the refrain of a song by the Ramones, FYI) marks the start of a brilliant cartooning career.

About this title

Review

Product Description

One of the most promising young talents in cartooning makes his debut with a dazzling collection–part freakish dreamlife, part quirk-o-rama autobiography, all genius.

Long a fixture in comics anthologies, David Heatley's deceptively crude, wickedly observant drawings have begun showing up on the New York Times op-ed pages and the cover of the New Yorker, introducing him to a vast new audience, Now, in My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (title courtesy of the Ramones song), we are treated to the full range of Heatley's remarkable, wildly unique voice and vision.

My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down is Heatley's life story told in six different but connected narrative threads. "Sex History" describes every sexual encounter dating back to kindergarten, with details that would make a therapist blush. "Black History" is an unflinchingly honest meditation on his own racism. "Portrait of My Mom" and "Portrait of My Dad" are beautifully paced vignettes, skewering and celebrating his lovably dysfunctional parents. "Family History" tells the story of his family from his great-great-grandparents' lives and closes with the birth of his own children. Woven in and around the larger pieces are "dream comics" that expand on the same themes with a baffling unconscious logic. Every inch of My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down is filled with visceral art and emotionally resonant storytelling at once stunning, truthful, and uncomfortably hilarious.

Amazon Exclusive: David Heatley's My Upside Down Brain

David Heatley's book is on Amazon...but what does David Heatley think about that? See Heatley at ages 8, 15, and 33 in this comic, My Upside Down Brain, drawn exclusively for Amazon.

About the Author

David Heatley played the Baby Jesus at a Christmas pageant in 1974, months after he was born. A few years later, his family moved to Teaneck, NJ, where they became disenchanted with Catholicism
and joined an Episcopal church which might have had the worse liturgical music in the country. Heatley was confirmed at the age of 13 and stopped going to church the following year. After a decade-and-a-half of self-destructive behavior, he had a spiritual awakening while visiting California in 2001—about which, more later. Heatley now lives in Jackson Heights, NY, with his wife Rebecca Gopoian (an agnostic, Jewish-Armenian poet), and their two awesome children. This is his first book. Go easy on him.

About this edition

• Publisher: Jonathan Cape
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0224085387
• ISBN 13: 9780224085380
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128