Silly Daddy: The Long Goodbye

Surrealism, before it was associated with melting clocks and absurdist imagery, was an attempt to explore the subconscious in art. In Silly The Long Goodbye Joe Chiappetta combines this exploration of the subconscious with the primitive sensibilities of an outsider artist. At times the black-and-white artwork looks like the drawings of a child. Throughout the book the art develops, though, and is slightly refined; by the end it appears more comfortable, especially when juxtaposed with the drawings of Chiappetta's 3-year-old daughter. The Long Goodbye is an autobiographical collection of important (if sometimes banal) accounts of young, inexperienced parenthood, the disintegration of Chiappetta's marriage, and his ever-deepening love and appreciation for his daughter. This comic book is spiritual in the most unpretentious truisms are never preached or presented as such, but through his stories, through the thoughts he shares with the reader, Chiappetta creates a sense of pathos, hope, and bittersweet love.

Award winning author Joe Chiappetta has been self publishing Silly Daddy for as long as his daughter's been alive (six years) and continues to do so from a "Mr. Mom vs. Corporate America" point of view. He also exhibits his paintings around the world and dreams of an economy based on the barter system.
Age: 29
Residence: North Riverside, Illinois, USA
Favorite books: Snoopy by Charles M. Schultz, Family Circus by Bill Keane, Diet for a New America by John Robbins. Prevoius Jobs: writing and drawing teacher, graphic designer, janitor Last vacation: Climbed mountains in Colorado, 1993, and almost died. Childhood home: A dead end street in Berwyn, Illinois, perfect for baseball and firecrackers in the middle of the road. Hobbies: Building a fort in the woods, reading to his daughter, and gardening. Do - Before- Dying: Live in the mountains, improve the world for children, and levitate objects.