Beardo Volume 3, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis | @MDWorld

May 7, 2012 Marc Fishman 0 Comments

Written and drawn by Dan Dougherty

I wanted so much to hate this book. Seriously. When I formed my independent publishing comic book company, Unshaven Comics, I thought I’d picked a truly unique concept. South-suburban Chicago kids making comic books, inspired by awe-inspiring facial hair. We arrived at our first convention, ready to dominate. And there, amongst the rows of indie creators stood Dan Dougherty. Adjacent to him, a sign declaring the title of his book, Beardo. A quick glance showed he hailed no further than 8 miles from our very doorstep. Thus, the hatred began. He had a cock-sure swagger about him. His beard, close to the chin, but dark and potent. Worst of all? His work was good, and people were flocking to his table. Damn him. Damn him I say! Over the course of a year, we ran into Dan again and again. To make matters worse? He was pleasant to talk to! Curse the heavens! Finally, after much personal turmoil, I decided I should take a plunge and buy a volume of his book… to sample the fruits of my arch nemesis. Like I said… I wanted so much to hate this book. But, credit must be paid… Beardo is beardariffic.

Volume 3 continues the collection of the Beardo comic strip, appearing daily in the Daily Southtown and University of Illinois’ Daily Illini newspapers. The book covers the continuing slice-of-life tales of Dan, as he takes the ultimate plunge—marriage. A cursory read of the book introduction (and the first chapter of the book) brings us up-to-speed; Beardo has quit his day job (coffee slinger) to be a full time freelance artist, plays with 2 bands, and proposes to his girlfriend (the manager from said Coffee Bar). As is most collections of daily strips… we get real short snippets of Beardo’s life, always ending on a punchline. Cohesively, the book cements itself on the impending nuptials, while taking plenty of side trips around Dan’s life as an artist.

Simply put? The book is light, airy, funny, and as good as any other daily strip being churned out these days. ‘Beardo’ runs the gamut of humor from the quick and punchy to the fantastical. When the book is cooking, it’s cooking with gas. One quick jaunt early in the book deals with ousted Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich… and how the media storm surrounding his trial and conviction interfered with a radio interview Beardo was to have. The visual punchline literally had me laugh out loud. Trust me when I say that’s a feat in and of itself. Beardo also features a few strips taken from his beard’s point of view, and when they appear, it’s indeed everything it should be (glorious). The wit is quick, and the jokes when they hit, have a considerable lack of “wocka wocka” so many dailies suffer from. This is to Dougherty’s credit mind you. Beardo is delivered with a hearty side of humble humor. It’s obvious so much of the strip is attributed to his everyday life. But unlike a banal Cathy or Family Circus, Beardo isn’t afraid to take a joke to a more modern conclusion. Damn him.

Now, let’s be fair. Not every strip is gold per-say. As with any daily strip, there’s so much content over time, the less-than-steller strips tend to fall away from memory. Not every joke ends with the right amount of punch. A few times throughout the book we’re treated to pretty predictable content. The happy couple deals with bills… Beardo deals with general lazy-man-gets-pestered-by-wife… and more than a few “Hey, I know I’ve heard that joke somewhere else” moments when the book delves into the planning of the wedding. When the jokes fall a little short, it’s generally not for long—suffice to say that there’s bound to be lulls in any collection, and Beardo Volume 3 is no exception. Bwa ha ha ha!

Artistically speaking, Dougherty’s style is a fine blend of expressive simplicity. When dealing with larger drawings, such as the chapter breaks, Dan delivers the right amount of extra visual oomph to anchor things down. Dougherty excels at figure work, and Beardo provides him ample canvases to display his abilities. As with many dailies, some expressions tend to be used over and over, but it’s to be expected, and never made me feel as if Dan was phoning things in. The color work (in which Dan himself works on with a trio of special helpers) only help to simplify complex panels, and keep a modern visual style throughout. And for fans of the latter seasons of the Flintstones, where Barney’s eyes were replaced with white circles… Beardo’s ocular styling will be right up your alley. If I were to make one large gripe about the book though, it falls on the lettering. I’ll stem a guess that Dan is hand-lettering the book. While I appreciate the commitment to craft here, a cursory glance across a the strips as a whole make Beardo appear to be far more dense than it actually is. A brief look at earlier strips showed a bit smaller lettering… making me believe that over time, Dougherty has found a groove in filling up basically half of every panel with the verbiage. It creates cramped panels that do a disservice to his stellar art. Ultimately it’s a minor quibble that sobers with extended reading.

As it stands today, I must regrettably tip my hat, and tweak my whiskers towards Dan Dougherty and his Beardo book. 150 pages of content delivered for a paltry 20 bucks makes for a pleasantly plump read for the money. The book is funny, well drawn, and ends on a moment so well-deserved I couldn’t help but slam the book down on my table and curse Odin himself. For those looking for a light and funny read, I can’t recommend this book (and series) enough. Find Dan at your next convention, and pick one up. Just make sure to spit in his face for me when you do it.