The Second Herman Treasury

by
Jim Unger

Andrews and McMeel, 1980, 207 pp.
ISBN: 0-8362-1155-3

Genre: Comics
Subgenre: Comic Strip / Humor
Reviewed: 2/13/2003

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Comic Strip

Herman comic strip

 

Synopsis

The Herman comic strip first appeared in the 1970's in newspapers. The Second Herman Treasury is a one-panel comic strip that focuses on one-panel zingers about the stupid things humans do or questions asked that just make you scratch your head and think. Most of the people in this strip are overweight and unattractive and Jim never claimed that he was an artist. Most of the comic strips revolve around things that just make you go . . . huh?

The book is divided up into 8 chapters. Jim Unger gives a brief (couple of pages) description of the part of his life growing up at the beginning of each chapter.

Jim Unger was born in London, U.K. in 1940. He came to Canada as a young man and started his cartooning career at the Mississauga Times. He eventually moved to Ottawa where he began his internationally syndicated cartoon panel Herman. Herman became very popular in the late-1970s, and continued into the early 1990s, until Jim Unger retired from drawing the famous comic strip. It was seen daily in hundred of newspapers and enjoyed by millions.

 

Review

Herman is not for everybody, but can be enjoyed by most. Almost all of the comic strips deal with relationships. If you understands the relationships that a husband a wife have, then you will enjoy the dark humor of Jim Unger. The other strips generally revolve around human beings just trying to get along with each other; whether it be son and father or consumer and seller.

Although I generally do not laugh out loud when I am reading Herman, Unger's dry sense of humor can make me smile. Isn't that all that really matters?

This site was created and is maintained by Conan Tigard
2003