Is This Guy For Real by Brian "Box" Brown is an engaging graphic novel that delves into the life of comedian Andy Kaufman. The graphic novel highlights Kaufman's peculiar choice to seek audience hatred despite being a sensitive and thoughtful person, offering a funny and vivid portrait of this enigmatic performer. With sympathy and depth, Brown unravels Kaufman's various personas, leaving readers captivated by the complexities that made him a comedy legend.

A graphic novel nearly as bizarre as Kaufman's comedy and his life. Art is appealing and appropriate in its clarity and uniqueness. Story of Andy's life is well told and conveys just what an unusual person Kaufman was. As someone who knew Kaufman only from his role on "Taxi" I found the book enlightening.

I found this story really interesting. Andy Kaufman has always been a mysterious creature to me. I still don't quite understand him - didn't really care for his comedy when I watched him while growing up - but I feel like I have a better sense of his timeline and some of his motivations.

I liked the book/story as well as I think I could have. I don't think any way of writing or illustrating would have made me rate higher, because the subject is still a little off for me. I think others may find Andy Kaufman more intriguing, may have thought he was a comedic genius, and so they'd rate the book higher.

This graphic biography doesn't answer the title question, but I'm not sure anyone could. I did feel, though, that if I didn't already know who Kaufman was, this book would be more confusing than enlightening or entertaining.

Given Brown's interest in pro wrestling, I shouldn't be surprised how much of it focused on Kaufman's interactions in that area, but I felt that it short-changed his other contributions. It was interesting learning more about Jerry Lawler, but I'm not sure it was really necessary for this book, when I would have rather heard more about (for example) Kaufman's time on Taxi, which is where so many people found out about him.

Brown clearly did a lot of research, including contributions from Kaufman's brother, but I was left feeling it didn't really come together into a comprehensive or comprehensible narrative.

I knew very little about Andy Kaufman - except for his SNL Mighty Mouse routine that my parents found so hilarious it was a mainstay in my childhood, and the REM song "Man on the Moon" whose lyrics make at least a little more sense to me now. I didn't know anything about his wrestling "career", having never watched even a single WWWF match. To that end, I have no interest in wrestling and as that surprisingly played so heavily in Andy's life, I got a little lost reading this but that isn't the fault of the book. Any wrestling fan, or Andy Kaufman fan would love this, I'm sure.

I have never been a fan of Kaufman-or Jim Carrey's interpretation of his life--but I was curious to see how such an over-the-top public figure (apparently his private persona was gentle) gets portrayed in a graphic novel. After reading I am not compelled to go back and watch his comedy performances, but I am curious about his contributions to wrestling.

"Is This Guy for Real?" combines professional wrestling and comedy--two of my favorite things--so I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic biography. Andy Kaufman is undoubtedly one of the most unique characters in the history of the outlandish industry: comedy. If the 1999 film interested you remotely, this graphic novel expands on the story of the fascinating individual. This is a quick read, and it informs a part of the influences on Andy's eccentricities.

Graphic novelist Box Brown returns with his latest original graphic novel Is This Guy Fore Real? which explores the life of the 'Unbelievable' Andy Kaufman. Regardless of what you may (or may not) know about the comedian beforehand, Brown offers up an honest look at his life and career that will keep readers engaged all the way through to it's all too soon conclusion.

I personally knew very litte about Andy Kaufman before reading Is This Guy for Real? and I probably knew even less about the world of wrestling. Box Brown is such a compelling writer that these two facts hardly discouraged me. I read his book, Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, years ago despite only knowing him from The Princess Bride. I never felt lost then and I never felt lost while reading about Andy Kaufman either. 

I was surprised at how much of Andy's life and career revolved around wrestling. Is This Guy For Real? starts following his life when he's a wrestling obsessed child and despite the name he ended up making for himself in comedy he always went back to wrestling. I was amazed at his passion for the sport and performance that went along with professional wrestling. But as you learn more about Andy Kaufman you can really start to realize why he loved it so much.

Honestly, the parts of the story that revolved around Andy's love for and involvement with wrestling were the best parts of the story. I don't think I've ever seen an episode of Taxi and I'm admittedly not the world's biggest fan of comedy in general. But I really appreciated Andy's dedication to wrestling and the art of performance that went along with it. Box Brown shows readers how his involvement helped change the face of wrestling forever and even someone like myself who has no real experience with wrestling can appreciate it all.

One of the things that Box Brown does a really good job of is humanizing the subjects that he follows in his books. He doesn't shy away from some of the more taboo moments in their history or the tragedies that might come. Andy's story is no different. And he's quite the character with any number of controversial characters and moments throughout his career. What's interesting it seeing past all that at the man he really was in his real life and what led him to want to seem so 'unbelievable.'

Rounding out everything is Box Brown's distinctive art style. Fans who enjoyed his biography of Andre the Giant and his history of Tetris will recognize the simple style through which he tells these stories. For Andy, Brown stuck to a black and white theme with the only color being the red on the book's color. It's fitting and the character designs did a great job of keeping with the simpler look while still capturing some of the more flamboyant elements of wrestling and Andy's character. (That said, Andy's hair style seemed a little exaggerated after looking at some real photos of him... but that's just me.)

Whether you're an Andy Kaufman fan, a wrestling fan, or neither there's something for everyone in Box Brown's Is This Guy For Real?: The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman. He's the kind of phenomenal writer that portrays non-fiction stories in a way that can hook even those least familiar with the subject matter. The fact that he does so through graphic novels is only an even greater testament of his story telling capabilities. If you're looking for an engaging non-fiction graphic novel you can't go wrong with the story Box Brown spins while pointing the spotlight at the 'Unbelievable Andy Kaufman.'

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A REVIEW COPY WAS PROVIDED FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW

I enjoyed many things about Box Brown's graphic-novel biography of the late comedian Andy Kaufman. Kaufman's stand-up, his wrestling, and his death hoax are just some of the ways that he experimented with his audience. Brown chooses to focus on Kaufman's love of professional wrestling, and his rivalries and bouts around the ring.
By focusing solely on Kaufman's wrestling, we see the brash and angry personae he adopts, but we are also allowed to see the human behind the mask. It seems every one of Kaufman's stunts were calculated and Brown's poses deepening questions about his subject's goals and motivation.
The artwork is fun and expressive. It goes far in helping the wrestling moves jump off the page.
This graphic novel follows Brown's previous book about Andre the Giant. I look forward to the author's next foray into the world of the professional wrestling. Some readers will find Brown's work exhaustive and too long, but I choose to see it as a complete portrait.
I'll always remember staying up all night at a friend's house watching all the early Wrestlemanias on VHF. Hopefully, Brown will continue to delve deeper into these great entertaining personalities.

(Review posts on blog on February 6, 2018)

Title: Is This Guy For Read?: The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman
Author/Illustrator: Box Brown
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Summary and Thoughts: Box Brown brings his signature style and research skills to tell the confusing and wild life of comedian Andy Kaufman in a respectful way.

As someone who knows almost nothing about Andy Kaufman except his "I Trusted You Song, the conspiracy that's he's not dead, and something something about SNL or Taxi from my parents, I was thrown into this biography and hoped to get a better idea of this person that so many people love.

Reading this biography started off well enough. We are introduced to Andy Kaufman's childhood, teen years, the starts of his obsessions that would propel his career (wrestling, Elvis, and performing), and the start of his career. Readers get a good handle on how Andy Kaufman was starting to get his fame, but uneven plotting throws this book off oddly.

Just as I settled into reading the biography and getting a feel for the way it was going, Brown switches gears and starts talking about Jerry Lawlor out of nowhere. Wait. Who is this? Is this one of Kaufman's personas? No. It's not. Brown switches between Lawlor and Kaufman until the two meet in wrestling and maybe become friends while putting on a show. The show I'm talking about here is the one between Lawlor and Kaufman who set up a fake rivalry where everyone hated Kaufman but loved Lawlor. They challenged each other often in the ring and often had a set-up going.

Brown's art is very much his signature art which is very animated yet blocky. In the version of the book I read, the illustrations are black and white. Brown uses shading to his advantage to tell the story and readers know where they are in the book and who is who easily.

The research Brown did for this book really shines through. As I work on this review, my husband just put on one of the comedy acts and I was like "that was explained in this biography." I also was impressed that Brown has pages of resources and even a few interviews with people close to Andy Kaufman to respectfully portray him. His research and portrayal is so well done that when I finished the book I went to my husband (he's a fan) and said "Man, Kaufman was such a dick." My husband said "yep." When I said that, I was specifically referring to a period of time where Kaufman wrestled women for money mainly because it was a huge turn on for him and a way for him to touch women.

Oddly, when I reached the end of the biography, I found how Kaufman played audiences interesting and intriguing. I also found that when and how he died to be a depressing way for him to go.

I highly recommend this for collections despite the misstep which might have been because I knew nothing about Andy Kaufman going into it. Box Brown is a stellar biographer and I find that I did have a little sympathy for Andy Kaufman at the end.

Overall, if a reader wants to be introduced to Andy Kaufman with little knowledge of him, this is not a biography to start with. Fans of Andy Kaufman (I think) will find this to be a respectful biography of their favorite comedian. Fans of Box Brown will also enjoy this work. Wrestling fans will enjoy this too (remember, Brown wrote this awesome biography of Andre The Giant as well).
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Recommended Audience: Adult, Maybe older teen like high school
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Things to be aware of: Sexual situations, swearing, mature topics
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Copyright: February 6, 2018
Publisher: First Second (:01)
Price: $19.99
ISBN: 978-1626723160
Source: Netgalley eArc

Going in to this, I really didn't know much about Andy Kaufman apart from his reputation as a stand-up comedian. I am not sure I know a *ton* more about him now, but I certainly have a better idea of his impact on the world of wrestling. Brown depicts Kaufman through the lens of his wrestling endeavors more than through focus on his comedy or his stint on Taxi, and this technique works to capture him in a unique, compelling way.

Box Brown, the award-winning creator of Andre the Giant: His Life and Legend and Tetris: The Games People Play returns to introduce readers to one of the most controversial comedians of the '70s and early '80s, Andy Kaufman. The biography covers Andy's younger years; how his persona was largely formed by television, particularly professional wrestling and cartoons, which would figure into his act years later. Much of Is This Guy for Real? details his "feud" with wrestler Jerry the King Lawler; one of the greatest "are they or aren't they?" rivalries of all time. The book also covers his death at age 35 from lung cancer, and the fact that many people - including his co-stars on the television show Taxi - swore it was a hoax.

I grew up watching Andy Kaufman as Latka Gravis on Taxi, and his stand-up performances on Saturday Night Live. I can't hear the Mighty Mouse theme song without seeing him lip sync and gesture along. I remember watching he and Jerry Lawler go at each other, and never being quite sure whether or not it was real (you'll find the answer in the book). Is This Guy for Real is an eye-opening look at an artist who was ahead of his time - warts and all - and gone too quickly. I'm hoping this profile introduces new audiences to Andy Kaufman and his stand-up; I know I'll talk it up to our teens once I get our library's copy.

What I liked most about this book was that it really did focus on the fact that Kaufman's outlandish behavior really was just an act, that at his heart he was a gentle and kind person who just liked to put on a show. Even if that meant angering those around him. His wrestling persona was indeed obnoxious, but seeing as he was a 'heel' (to use that terminology) he did exactly what he was supposed to do. Brown focuses mostly on Kaufman's wrestling career, and how he and Lawler worked together to become the perfect foils. It also seemed to be a bit more focused on saying how things went down as opposed to cultivating a story out of it. As much as I love MAN ON THE MOON, I know that it's been turned into a dramatic narrative. I do wish that it had covered more of his career instead of focusing so much on the wrestling aspect, but it still worked pretty well. The artwork was both simple and yet had a whimsy to it, much like the art in ANDRE THE GIANT, and I think that it definitely works for the story that's being told. I do kind of question the last few pages, where there's mention of Kaufman's brother Michael who says that MAN ON THE MOON got a lot wrong. I only question it because Andy's close friend Bob Zmuda was so involved with that. It kind of makes you wonder just who really knew Kaufman, if his brother and his comedic partner had such different insights. That said, overall I think Brown did a great job of telling this story.

I can't wait to see this come up at my library, as I will definitely be throwing it at so many different kinds of people (wrestling fans, comedy fans, fans of memoirs). It makes me appreciate Andy Kaufman all the more.

This was a really good graphic novel about Andy Kauffman. Even though I didn't learn anything new about him, I think this medium was an appropriate vehicle for telling his story. While reading this I kept being reminded of Harvey Pekar, the comic book king of the Midwest. Granted they both had strange encounters on the David Letterman show which was later immortalized in comic book form, but they also both conveyed a sadness and used very surprising means to express it. While this graphic novel isn't perfect, the story is at times a little jumpy, it does humanize the much maligned and misunderstood Andy Kauffman.

There are probably , many many of us today (at least in my generation), who have heard of Andy Kaufman, but know very, very little about this man beyond vague bits of information like he was apparently a famous comedian who would take his particular brand of humor to strange places.

Fortunately, we now have Brian Brown's "Is This Guy For Real?" In its graphic novel format, a new generation can be introduced to Kaufman, and through this detailed narrative of his life we can see what inspired and drove the him, receive insight into his creative process, take part in the major formative moments of his life, and get a healthy taste of many of the absurd stunts that made him such a big legendary comedic deal.

It's not just young men and woman who can gain quite a bit from this work. Those who are old enough to remember watching Andy on "Taxi", taking part in his ridiculous wrestling bouts, etc., now have the opportunity to become more deeply acquainted with the man who made so many of them laugh so hard with his very unique style.

In short, "Is This Guy for Real?" is nothing shore of an absolute treat with the way that both informs and entertains excellently on a multi-generational level.