I Hope This Helps

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this collection of comics!

Siegel draws funny pictures and offers up anecdotes and commentary on being in a touring band, writing comics, and quarantining. There's a lot of funny comics and lots of drawing of butts. I also appreciated the insight into social media and how facebook's algorithm works when you're an artist trying to get your content seen by people.

The book has comics, a few pages of history and explanation, and more information on Siegel. It's a short and funny read!

This book reminds me of the old Far Side comics... repetitive art style means the message is more important than the picture, issues that are more important come up more often, and butts are always funny.
This book is a series of comics (usually single pane) that investigate a variety of pop culture issues, from online dating to phone addiction to hand turkeys.

I saw a review that said something like "a lot of comics about people looking at their phones"... yes, yes there are. But with a problems so universal (for parts of the world with enough money for phones) and so noticeable, it makes sense to see the issue come up that often. As a parent, if I wrote comics a lot of them would involve kids, that's just a side effect of having something so prevalent in your world. Another repetitive theme was "older Millennial makes fun of younger Millennial with hypocrisy", some are funnier or more thoughtful than others.

The book was published right at the beginning of the quarantine, so the last few comics introduce COVID-19 but its sorta nice to think about issues from "the before time".

Even the comics discussing politics were well done. I have a feeling Seigel and I don't agree on some things (the effects of the mainstream media on politics?) but the issues are real whether you like them or not. Facebook and YouTube sharing conspiracy theories are a real problem, even if you don't agree with the author about what is a conspiracy (Clinton's emails vs. Trump's "Fine People"). We all have to deal with these issues, and I like the clarity and humor Seigel brings.

Like any "best of" collection, some will hit different. "You Too" made me laugh so loud I had to show it to my spouse to explain why, a comic about hand turkeys was so good it hurt my feelings, and "Whiskey Tasting Guide" was a personal assault.

I read the ebook in a couple of sittings, comics will always read fast. The art doesn't *need* color to work, so reading on a Kindle should be fine... I read on a computer screen, so can't promise anything.
Either way, I recommend its as something different from what you're usually reading.

**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://sites.google.com/view/booksandstuffreviews/book-reviews/i-hope-this-helps?authuser=0

I Hope This Helps was exactly what I needed to read in these "unprecedented times." I laughed, I scoffed, I slapped my knee. There was a little something of everything and it was so fun!
My personal favorite: "Haha! Look at this funny thing on the small computer I never wash but use all the time while I'm pooping!" GROSS, but so true! For the record, I do sanitize my phone but from now on, I'm never touching another person's phone again!

I had no idea what to expect going in as I had never heard of Tommy Siegel before. But I like comics so I figured, why not.

The full title is I Hope This Helps: 500 Days of Comics and Extremely Helpful Guides. The comics were hit and miss. Some made me laugh so hard I was shaking. Others just missed the mark.

An ongoing theme is the difference between younger and older millennials as well as social media and phone addiction. The goal felt like it was aiming for sarcasm but it comes across as super cynical.

This was going to be a 3 star book but a handful of comics really made me laugh. A great honest belly laugh that just makes you smile and that alone upped the rating by one.

If you're a fan of comics like The Oatmeal or anything with a vague resemblance to old Far Side, than this is for youm

I Hope This Helps is the result of a challenge, long drawing hours and an incredible sense of humor. I had already seen some of these in different social media, so I was really happy to hear about a book collecting them. The idea of mixing the comics with a little bit of narration was a very good one as well, because the author knows he's got a good story to tell and sometimes these kind of sketches are not enough for that. It also helps with the pace.

The first questions everyone asks when in front of a sketch collection is the type of humor they'll find. In I Hope This Helps, the humor changes from plain absurd to highly political (even if sometimes that is not what the author wanted, as he himself explains), to really well thought language-related sketches, to... well, birbs and butts. And, even if I'm not really keen on butt-humor (and never thought this would be a phrase I'd write on a book review), I must confess that some of the b-sketches are... inspired. Kudos to you, sir.
The rest, they are a mixture of painfully real situations, scenarios where you find yourself very represented and they sometimes hit extremely close, something I think is a huge success and somehow balances the book as a whole.

(Millenials realize that they are laughing about stuff they may be shouldn't but that's our way of not having time to realize the world around us is on fire)
And yes, hands are weird.

I highly recommend 'I hope this helps' to anyone who needs to leave the phone unattended for a while and does not mind getting face to face with an unapologetic gallery of, among others, jokes about millenials, classifications and... rear ends.
I think I'm going to follow the very wise advice from 'power of positive self-image', by the way.

***ARC by Netgalley. I really appreciate it.

In response to the title of Tommy Siegel's first published comic collection, I want to say - yes, yes this helps. This helps very much. His combination of absurdist humor combined with witty observations of the absurdity of present-day living make this book both a great laugh-packed distraction and also a source of great relief thanks to the clever relatability that can be found on nearly every wonderfully ridiculous page.

This was really funny! I laughed, snorted, chuckled, and nodded in solidarity all the way through it. Of course some of the comics were funnier than others—that’s par for the course with humor.

I didn’t mind the brief essay sections. They slowed the reading a bit, but were interesting and relatable, if a little repetitive. I, too, have wrestled with the question of how social media is adding to my life or hurting it, and how it’s affecting our society as a whole.

Overall, I rate this book 4 Gary Larsons out of 5.




https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3516514387

3.5-4

slight t/w: mention of depression
i've been super burnt out & busy, but this collection of doodles/comics was incredibly refreshing in a way.
i thought tommy siegel's work was very original. i liked how it was composed of doodles/comics that reflect millenial culture, everyday anxieties, & intense social media consumption. i liked how siegel also took the time to explain some of the doodles & his process with drawing 500 doodles/comics while being a musician. it allows the reader to understand the creator & their work better which i appreciated. i do wish it was a bit longer & there were more doodles/comics incorporated because i felt like the text to doodle/comic ratio was a bit off, but that could just be me. overall, 'i hope this helps' really did help.

I really enjoyed this book!

I had not heard of Tommy Siegel before picking this book up but the blurb intrigued me and I wanted to give it a go – and I read it over a few days reading a few chapters here and there and I thought that it was great!

The images were brilliant and I loved the commentary and reasoning behind how the book came to being. It was a book I was happy to dip in and out of too and I found it to be really enjoyable, and most of all entertaining.

It is 4 stars from me for this one – highly recommended!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free via Netgalley.com.

I was scrolling through the library of available humour books on Netgalley.com looking for something funny to read, and thus review.

The premise of the book: a personal challenge to create 500 cartoons in 500 days. The completed book displays many of these cartoons and discusses the challenges of modern media (AKA our addiction to social media), being in a band and other humourous and timely topics.

I really enjoyed the stories and the cartoons that were displayed. Many of them were funny and some were thought provoking. This is a little over 200 pages packed with 2020 relevant topics and cartoons. While it was a humour book, it was nice to know that other people have the same anxieties as I do.

My favourite page was titled "What your coffee preparation method says about you". #IHopeThisHelps

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

This was a very relatable book. Filled with humor and wit.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this comic. My only complaint is that I wanted more of the comics and less of the text, but I really liked it. The comics are definitely geared towards older teens and up, so don't recommend this book to younger readers.

This is a very cute, clever book for a quick pick-me-up throughout the day.
You could flip to any page and find something to smile about. Very relatable to someone with anxiety.
I did find that some of the ideas got a bit repetitive and although the author explains why that is, I think a few of the sketches could have been cut.
Enjoyable coffee table book or good for a gift.

"I Hope This Helps" by Tommy Siegel is a book full of hilarious, absurd graphic commentary on the lives of millennials today. The graphics are witty and had me laughing out loud as I read them. There's a lot of dry, self deprecating humor and sarcasm so be prepared when reading. Overall I loved reading it and immediately went to follow Siegel on social media platforms because I couldn't get enough!

Mr. Siegel, this did help.
A delightful book of poignant cartoons and insights. Laughed out loud a bunch of times. Really liked it!
Akin to the Awkward Yeti and Sarah Scribbles.
If you want to giggle get this book now!
The only downside was my Kobo does not like PDFs so much, so I had a bit of an issue with loading the pages, but well worth the wait!

The drawings are so ugly they are cute, and a lot of these goofy jokes made me giggle and guffaw. A solid little collection for people with a weird sense of humor.

Artist Tommy Siegel (of band Jukebox the Ghost) started doodling on the tour bus, and it morphed into a 500 day project of daily comics. He shares a lot of the emotions and experiences of taking on such an adventure, and includes over 200 highlights from his journey.

These comics are 100% relevant to my life and outlook. Millennials struggling with 2020 (and, to be honest, the last several years) will definitely identify with the comics in these pages. It spoke to my soul on such a deep level.

For the last two weeks, I’ve been back at work, and 90% of my days seem totally pointless. I’m struggling to find any meaning in the hours before 5pm, so I’ve been taking time in the mornings before work to have my tea at home, cat in my life, and reading some comics. It’s really helped me start the day, even if it makes it more difficult to leave for work.

Siegel’s collection provided super jaded humor (my favorite kind) but with a ray of hope that we’re all in this together. It’s out in October, and if you think something will change for the better, and these comics won’t be relevant by then, you’re wrong. I love them now, and you’ll love them in October, so keep your eyes peeled for this collection.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
This is a really nice collection of comic strips, and I really enjoyed following the "journey" of the author/artist and get the occasional insight into the thought process, ups and downs, as well as the context. I liked how most of it is just a collection of comics, with just the right amount of longer texts to make it not feel dreadful to read them and keep me interested! I must confess that the humor of a few of the comics are a bit different than my own, but overall very nice!

I’m the person that loves a good pun, cheesy joke or visual gag and this book has all of that and more. I’m always impressed when someone with one well honed talent shows up with another talent and Tommy Siegel has established himself not just as a musician but as an artist and comic. I also really liked the font used in this book, it felt clean and calming, so hey, I guess this book did help! Great read when you just need something light and laugh out loud funny.