Zippy Pindemonium Book

Zippy is blissfully unaware of the rank consumerism, the shallow pop-cultural trends, and the pure absurdity of post WWII America. Yet he surrounds himself with cranks, neurotics, and assorted other oddballs who constantly skewer the mindlessness of the general public at large.

So, please pass the taco sauce. Share a Hostess Ding-dong if ya got 'em. And, always, always remember that, if you can't say something nice, then say something surrealistic. Is Pablo Picasso on Mars yet?

This is an ambitious effort to deal with a very complex part of Canadian history. The artwork is excellent, but unfortunately the resulting story is over-simplistic. Brown compensates for this somewhat in the extensive notes at the end of the comic book, where he goes so far as to admit that he made John A. MacDonald appear more villainous to improve the story. Not sure it's a good idea to take such liberties with important historical figures (i.e. Canada's first prime minister) for something that doesn't explicitly present itself as fiction. Moreover, the reader doesn't come away with an adequate view of the real complexity of Riel as a historical figure. Perhaps this would be best described as historical fiction or fictionalized history? There's little doubt that the Métis and First Nations peoples were treated unfairly but I still can't really recommend reading this as a (primary) way to learn about Louis Riel or Canadian history, though it may inspire the reader to dig deeper. Either way, if you do read this comic book without any prior knowledge of Riel, you'd better also read the notes at the end. The author/artist's 'Paying for It' is a much stronger and more interesting work, because of the extremely frank autobiographical tone.