Wow no reviews!! Ok, well Meet James Kochalka. At the time this diary starts it's 1998 and he's a fledging comics artist. He lives in Vermont in a flat with his girlfriend Amy. He works part time as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant and Amy works in a school. Each day he draws and writes a 1-4 panel strip about his day. The panels are done in black and white and are about a single moment in that day that stands out for him. The book is quite large, not quite A4 size but near that, and the pages r...

Absolutely loved this compendium of Kochalka’s early diary comic work. Was especially inspired by the chronicles of his failures—jobs canceled, promises broken. It was really encouraging to hold American Elf in my hands—a collection widely considered to be a paradigm of the diary comic form—and see that Kochalka was plagued with a lot of the same doubts I have as a writer and artist. I’m a sucker for journal comics, and I love falling into the rhythm of someone’s mundane daily life. American Elf...

JUly 16, 2007Terri, my wife, and i actually read this book every night in bed together while she was pregnant with amelia. The book is a pictorial diary that actually catalogs five years of his life. James portrays himself and family as elves. Each daily entry is drawn in a four box summary of any event that took place that day. Kind of Seinfield-esque in the daily entries in that most are really about nothing, but as they build and grow together and you get deeper into the story, you really beg...

If you want to have the pants charmed off you American Elf has that on offer. It may be the case that nothing really happens day in day out in these sketchbook diaries but celebrating the mundane is all that seems to matter. Look more closely and you'll get a delightful love affair beautifully recorded with yearning and sharing. A tad too 'indi' perhaps -- as seem a whole personal comic genre -- but then, even though having read one of these seeming autobio comics you may have read them all ---

I was curious to see what a comic-a-day would look like, from the process perspective. And that's what I got; I saw how a comic-a-day can get ... ordinary. It wasn't really my thing, and I think I wasn't in the mood to "make a new friend," that is, get all personal with a stranger in a one-way situation. That said, I appreciate the commitment that James made to do this thing! For a long time! Through all kinds of changes!

Adore this.

I'd read other fiction works by Kochalka and enjoyed them so i though i'd give his autobiographical collection a go. I'm a fan of this idea of writing a comic-journal and I believe Kochalka's intent to 'capture day to day life, to see if there is any pattern' is a good one. However- I am graphically two years into this guys life and utterly bored. I can sum it up for you in three recurring themes: 1) Massive co-dependance on his wife 2) Drinking booze or its (after) affects 3) and I can't decide...

This bbok is definitely awesone.

BEST.BOOK.EVER.I'm not shitting you, I love this so much. One of those books that is so good you don't wanna rush through it. The problem with this one is that after reading a few stips, you are hooked like a meth addict and can't stop reading it. Personal, funny, a delight to look at and full of those 'oh shit!' moments where you see the people in the book doing the same stuff you do in your life that were presumed to be unique to yourself.

I was introduced to American Elf by a friend and have kept reading the daily strips for more than a year now. I really wanted to go back and read the comic from the start, though, and this book is the best way to do it (unless you have many, many hours to spend at your computer). I read this first volume on my lunch breaks, on and off, and it was always such a pick-me-up. I also would find myself thinking about strips later in the day, reflecting on them. I don't know if this is "deep" material,...

These slice-of-life comics are so balanced between punk-rock grunginess and cute homey whimsy, they're really like nothing else out there.

Several things, among them Kochalka being named poet laureate in his native Vermont earlier this year, led me to revisit this great volume of serial quotidian serendipity. Another thing was parenthood. Kochalka's kid's-eye-view on the world may not have an inherent plot, but it does have themes (nature, music, creativity, love, food, and cats among them, often overlapping) and even a climax, when the eternal kid has a kid of his own.

Diary comics take a lot of patience, for both the creator and the reader. Inherently brief and whimsical, these bits and pieces of someone's day echo the daily need for a story arc and humor found in syndicated strips, yet their factual basis changes the breadth of the story. Kochalka, following five years of his life, gives this volume a distinct sense of growth. His marriage evolves, his relationships do, his living situation, his family. If you aren't predisposed to enjoy diary comics, this m...

i'm in an all-caps, screaming-inside kind of mood, because of WORK. if i hadn't broken my ipod during the move, i'd set it to the pixies' "debaser." but this book is making me feel better. you know why? because this guy draws a comic EVERY DAY. that's right. we can too, working people. we can, too. for once upon a time, james kochalka earned a living not (as now) by pen and inkpot, but as a humble waiter, which is when he started drawing these daily panels. take that, food service. take that, th...

Delightful. Sweet, quotidian moments through the lens of a quirky, flawed dude living in Vermont.

I was pleasantly surprised by this collection, as I haven't been very interested in Kochalka's work in the past. He takes an idea that could easily become a little too precious - drawing a four-panel autobiographical comic strip every day - and manages to create something that is both funny and thoughtful.I still don't like his artwork, though.

god, save me, i haven't ever failed in english, my teacher did it so bad

I pick this book from my shelf more than any other. Is anyone else afraid that comics might be making us illiterate? Just a phobia. I think that there is much more going on in Kochalka than in Chris Ware. I find myself reading my own life in small segments like his strip, hear comments and notice cute things about others and about the world. He is probably the happiest man in comics.

This book is the epitome of deceptively simple. By diligently making a comic a day James Kochalka is able to create a work of art that captures the essence of everyday life while still managing to keep you entertained. Kochalka is a master of making the ordinary into something magical. He is also equal parts cutesy and vulgar. A strange but effective combination. Something for everybody. You'll put your guard down because he'll "play dumb" for awhile and because of the cartoony drawing style but...

An honest look at the "small" parts of humanity. If human beings are grand, then there's granduer here, and if humans are petty, then there's pettiness here. Really, though, for the most part, this book is everythig in between. And just the sheer committment of James' daily comic blog is enough to impress me two star's worth, and the other three stars are for his talent.