THE ILLUSTRATED AL: The Songs of "Weird Al" Yankovic

by Weird Al Yankovic

Other authorsVarious (Illustrator)
Hardcover, 2023

Status

Available

Call number

ML419.Y35 Y35

Publication

Z2 Comics (2023), Edition: Illustrated, 208 pages

Description

For Weird Al's graphic novel debut Z2 has gathered some of the top living cartoonists to express Al's "Yankovisions" visually with the new THE ILLUSTRATED AL: The Songs of "Weird Al" Yankovic graphic novel.

User reviews

LibraryThing member bragan
This fun little volume takes a selection of songs from across Weird Al's career that have never gotten music videos and corrects that oversight by doing them in graphic novel form. (It also features some great full-page images for other songs that did get videos.) And it's completely delightful.
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The illustrations fit the wonderful wackiiness that is Al's lyrics perfectly, while adding some creative touches of their own. My only complaint is that I had to read it slower than I wanted to, because I couldn't read most of the lyrics without hearing the song in my head, and I had to alter my pace to match. Wait, no, what am I saying? Hearing Weird Al in your head is never actually a bad thing. And definitely not a sign of insanity at all.

Anyway. This is great. If you're an Al fan and you haven't picked up a copy yet, you're missing out.

Rating: 4.5/5, would drive down the street with a rabid Wolverine in my underwear again.
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LibraryThing member zot79
I'm a big fan of Weird Al, going all the way back to his first radio plays on Dr. Demento, Sunday nights on KMET in Los Angeles in the 70s. I'm always blown away by his wordplay and musicianship. Doubly so after seeing him and his band live. I could not wait to get my hands on this book when I read
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about it.
OTOH, I should have read the fine print. The songs in the book are all Weird Al originals, not (true) parodies. The idea being these tunes also deserved visuals, and producing music videos is too expensive. I bogged down about halfway through because I was only familiar with about half of the songs and the 'Mad Magazine'-ish cartoons weren't resonating with me. And, truth-be-told, some of the lyrics and matching illustrations are downright morbid (again, 'Mad Magazine').
The easy solution was to fire up Spotify and listen to one of the read-along playlists while I flipped pages. Joy restored! Now some of the art demonstrates inspiration that cuts beneath the surface of the lyrics and elevates them. Only a couple of selections stilled failed to click with me. On the whole, this is a hit for a Weird Al fan that can listen along.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2022-11

Physical description

208 p.; 10.19 inches

ISBN

1954928645 / 9781954928640

Local notes

Signed limited
Page: 0.2853 seconds