“The Year of Loving Dangerously is just the second book I’ve read of Ted Rall’s, the first being his account of his travels along the Silk Road in Silk Road to Ruin. I quite enjoyed the latter, how he combined his memories of the trip with accurate descriptions of the people and political climes of the countries he visited along the Silk Road. This book didn’t disappoint, either. A graphic memoir that presents this one particular year, a year of many hardships to Ted Rall, realistically and often humorously, it shows what a person can do if he or she doesn’t give up when faced with a seemingly insurmountable roadblock. Though Rall considered suicide at one point in the book, he fortunately toughed it out and carried on. This story gives hope to us all.”

So says Curled Up with a Good Book

The next one, from Andrew Wheeler, is more nuanced:

“Rall’s story of the summer of 1984 is worthy of a graphic novel.” He starts to say but: “It does have a tendency to come across as bragging. But Rall’s dialogue and narration keep the story flowing, and Callejo (artist of Bluesman) draws a lot of very attractive women in and out of bed with the young Ted Rall. I still have the feeling that Rall is telling this story in a very slanted way — that he’s very carefully chosen how to present this time in his life to make himself look as glamorous and positive as possible — but it’s a very readable graphic memoir that will make all men close to Rall’s age either remember their own youth fondly or wish fervently that they’d been more “active” back in the day.”
The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

And there have been some much more scathing reviews of late on that note of Rall just showing off, including Rob Clough on The Comics Journal’s site where the art was also criticized which surprises us:

“A book that was all over the place: frequently entertaining, often baffling and contradicting itself at any number of turns.  If only it had been Rall’s own hand depicting these events, then this messiness might have held a greater appeal.”

 Most love the art but some just can’t get into the more realistic style Callejo chose, apparently. Also, interesting that all women who reviewed this, and there were many, didn’t see Rall as bragging, in fact they admired his survival skills!

“The story is true, apparently, and unfolded in the 1980s after a freak medical condition resulted in Rall’s school expulsion for failure to take his final exams. Rall scripted but wisely left the illustrations to Callejo, who did a great job.”

So says Richard Pachter today at the Miami Herald about Ted Rall’s The Year of Loving Dangerously.

Come and meet Ted Rall, author of our new The Year of Loving Dangerously at Barnes & Noble on 82nd and Broadway in nyc Tuesday the 16th at 7PM.

Rall is also the author of the best-selling To Afghanistan & Back and Silk Road to Ruin, all available from NBM.

He’ll be signing and chatting about his collaboration with Pablo Callejo on this critically acclaimed new book. He’ll also be ready to talk about his next mission to Afghanistan he’s raising funds for through Kickstarter.

Graphic Novel Reporter’s John Hogan has posted an interview of Ted Rall over his latest book from us The Year of Loving Dangerously.

“Ted Rall is a terrific journalist (“Silk Road to Ruin”), a take-no-prisoners political cartoonist (“America Gone Wild,” to name just one collection, and his work runs in many media outlets) and … gigolo?

There’s sex, sure, but it’s a hard and humiliating way to go, and Rall is brutal as he savages himself and the choices he made.”

So says The San Diego Union Tribune on The Year of Loving Dangerously at comics stores and Barnes & Nobles everywhere.

First, let’s point you to a fun interview on Smith Magazine’s site with Ted Rall on his recent Year of Loving Dangerously.

Greg McElhatton of Read About Comics sees Rall’s book as a bit of an exercise in self-justification but still grants that “This is the kind of glimpse into someone’s life that readers rarely get,” and especially raves about artist Pablo Callejo’s work on this:

“a treat from start to finish; he draws his characters with an innocent look, thanks to rounded faces and clean lines. Callejo draws the young Rall in a way that makes him both recognizably the cartoonist (for those who have seen or met him), but without feeling stiff, posed, or light boxed off of existing photographs. I think it’s Callejo’s art style that actually makes the book slightly more likable; Rall’s narration may not ever come across as warm, but his alter-ego on the page does in places.”

And Sequential Tart picks up on this about Callejo:

“a marvel to behold. Callejo is surely an artist to watch and this book specifically demonstrates how versatile an artist he is. How easy it would have been for Callejo, like so many other comic book artists, to make all of the women Ted sleeps with pictorial copies of each other. The fact that there were so many characters, and I never confused any of them and I always recognized the recurring ones, is a great artistic accomplishment.

Rall is obviously an excellent writer. And the book is very funny at times, so don’t let the serious premise scare you away. I enjoyed this graphic novel immensely and have been encouraged to check out more of Rall’s books. Read this book with an open mind and eye for detail and I think you will enjoy it just as much. 9 out of 10.”

Ted Rall and Pablo Callejo’s The Year of Loving Dangerously just keeps getting the accolades, the latest from Booklist:

“He was more interested in well-stocked refrigerators than impending sexual adventures. Realistically illustrated in soft colors by Callejo, of Bluesman (2004–06) fame, and maximally unbuttoned in some places, Rall’s sympathetic account of his life on the edge encourages identifying with a situation so desperate that his outrageous choices seem necessary.”

And Publishers Weekly thought Jesse Lonergan’s Joe & Azat equally charming:

“Lonergan follows his graphic novel, Flower & Fade, with this charming and engrossing study of a friendship that transcends cultural borders. A simply illustrated charmer that grips readers from its opening pages and remains on the mind well after it has been read and absorbed.”

A very important interview just up on Chicago’s Redeye site Chicago Now. It zeroes in on the fact that Ted Rall called it early back in 2001 as can be seen in his ‘instant graphic novel’ we published in 2002 To Afghanistan & Back. Basically he already said it then: ‘we lost this war.’

You’ll remember we all thought we had just won it.

This book is ever more relevant today, check it out. He risked his life going there to see the war with his own eyes, not trusting the news.

And for you Californians, note Ted Rall will be appearing at the D.G. Wills Bookstore, 7461 Girard Avenue, La Jolla, Ca. 92037 (858)456-1800
Friday December 11 at 7PM

Sasha Watson, a well known author in her own right, calls Ted Rall and Pablo Callejo’s The Year of Loving Dangerously ‘a gorgeous whirlwind of a memoir’ and does a great interview of Rall in Publishers Weekly’s Comics Week.

And don’t forget, Ted appears at MoCCA Thursday evening at 7PM to talk about and then sign this book!

First off, for The Big Khan, a rave from Tony Isabella of Comics Buyers Guide:

“Riveting. The emotions that drive this graphic novel make it a genuine page-turner with a satisfying conclusion. With admiration for Kleid’s riveting story and Cinquegrani’s deft realization of the characters and locations with which he has brought that story to life, The Big Kahn earns the full five out of five Tonys. It’s a masterpiece.”

Comic Mix on Rall’s Year of Loving Dangerously:

“Much of the strength in this remarkable account comes from Pablo G Callejo’s artwork. The Spanish artist keenly captures the look and feel of New York City during the go-go Reagan years. His people are wonderfully varied and his attention to detail is excellent, from clothing to color. His artwork is ideally suited for this cautionary tale and made reading it a lot easier.
This is an important work in that it lays bare a man’s life and shows how easily things can go awry and why society needs safety nets.”

Susan Boslough of Playbackstl, provides an interesting insight on Rick Geary’s Famous Players:

“Geary provides a nice overview of the case as well as sketching in some background about early Hollywood, and he has the dramatist’s instinct for maintaining the reader’s interest by carefully timing the release of crucial information.
Each chapter of Famous Players is introduced by a “Stars of the Photoplay” image of a famous actor of the day, one of which has a notable connection with Taylor. Gloria Swanson’s greatest creation, Norma Desmond, was named after William Desmond Taylor and Mabel Normand. The name was aptly chosen, as Desmond’s fictional life in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard encompasses the glory days of the silents while coming to a conclusion even more lurid than anything in either Taylor’s or Normand’s careers.”

And by the way, Famous Players just shipped its paperback edition at $9.95, in time for Xmas!

Seattle’s The Stranger on Vatican Hustle by Greg Houston:

“What’s the art look like? It’s kind of Ralph Steadman-y. Nice and messy and whorl-y. I like it a lot.
Do you recommend it? Yes. Blaxploitation parodies are definitely played out, but Houston has an alternative enough edge to his work that this book is visually and structurally interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing more work by him.”

They also reviewed Things Undone by Shane White and while they liked the art, thought it came up short, alas.