Zits Supersized: A Zits Treasury

Rating:
Summary: The return of Jeremy Duncan
Review: He is your son, your brother, your neighbor's kid, and your kid's best friend. He is Jeremy Duncan, the sullen star of the hit comic strip "Zits." In the third treasury, "Zits Supersized," Jeremy continues with the typical troubles of a teen -- clueless parents, a longing for freedom, hijinks with pal Hector, and a commitment-phobic girlfriend.

Living in the suburbs with his orthodontist dad Walt and child-shrink mom Connie, Jeremy longs for the wild, dangerous life of a rock star. Unfortunately, he's mired in a relatively quiet life. But even if he's not a rocker, Jeremy has plenty of excitement in his life -- he makes the mistake of sleeping nude on the roof, starts calling his dad "Walt," and gets a summer job digging koi ponds. If only he knew what a koi was.

A new guy arrives at school -- Pierce, who lives up to his name by having several pounds of metal sticking through various body parts. Jeremy makes the mistake of having an all-night horror-movie marathon... while his parents are out of the house. And Jeremy has a bad breakup, then encounters a beautiful orthodontist's daughter at a convention, but he still can't forget Sara.

Remember "Calvin and Hobbes," which so aptly showed the inner thoughts of a six-year-old? Fast forward about nine years, and Calvin has transformed into Jeremy Duncan. (Hobbes has turned into a stocky Hispanic teenager) With the same sort of whimsical realism, "Zits" appeals to all age groups by spoofing both teens and parents at once.

Jim Borgman and Jerry Scott (of "Baby Blues" fame) also add in the unedited "Good Night Dude" spoof of the classic kids' book. It's a few stanzas longer, with some wink-nudge naughty material ("And a picture of.../a girl with some big bazooms"). "Good night clutter/good night dust/good night week-old pizza crust!" Jeremy says joyously.

Jeremy himself is the contradiction of a teenager -- he wants to be a bad boy, but is locked in the personality of a good boy. His long-suffering parents try desperately to understand him, which only drives him crazier. His high school is inhabited by an amusing array of freaks: the airhead patrol, the militant vegetarian, the gooey couple who never stop hugging, and the barb-tongued gossip.

"Zits" has lost its initial freshness, but the fifth and sixth books in this treasury show that it's still solidly in its groove. Funny and goofy for anyone who has either been a bewildered parent or a disgruntled teen.

Rating:
Summary: The Humorous Trials of Jeremy Continue
Review: Zits is fast becoming a modern classic comic strip, and with good reason. It is consistently funny. The authors, Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, use every humor tool available to them to get their point across. And, no matter whether it's exaggeration, sarcasm, understatement, or a hilarious sight gag, this book is sure to entertain.

The collection starts with the "director's cut" of "Good Night Dude." The original strip appears later in the collection, but here we get a full spoof of the classic picture book.

From there, we launch into the daily strip. This book contains strips from sketchbooks #5 and 6, "Unzipped" and "Busted." As an added bonus, the Sunday comics are in color. We get about a year and a half of strips all in one place. Not only do we get the latest on Jeremy and Sara's rocky relationship, but we get to see Jeremy and Hector start their own summer business for no fun and little profit. Pierce also joins the band this time around, with the most amazing intro to the most amazing drum solo you've ever heard. Along the way, gentle fun is poked at teens, parents, peers, and school equally.

Actually, the peers seem to have come into their own this go around. I don't remember enjoying Jeremy's friends from school so much. And Hector's put downs remind me of Hobbes from "Calvin and Hobbes." I especially loved his stuff from the week about the internet intelligence quiz.

Any teen or anyone living with a teen will love this strip. If you aren't careful, you might even starting laughing at yourself a little more.

Rating:
Summary: The Humorous Trials of Jeremy Continue
Review: Zits is fast becoming a modern classic comic strip, and with good reason. It is consistently funny. The authors, Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, use every humor tool available to them to get their point across. And, no matter whether it's exaggeration, sarcasm, understatement, or a hilarious sight gag, this book is sure to entertain.

The collection starts with the "director's cut" of "Good Night Dude." The original strip appears later in the collection, but here we get a full spoof of the classic picture book.

From there, we launch into the daily strip. This book contains strips from sketchbooks #5 and 6, "Unzipped" and "Busted." As an added bonus, the Sunday comics are in color. We get about a year and a half of strips all in one place. Not only do we get the latest on Jeremy and Sara's rocky relationship, but we get to see Jeremy and Hector start their own summer business for no fun and little profit. Pierce also joins the band this time around, with the most amazing intro to the most amazing drum solo you've ever heard. Along the way, gentle fun is poked at teens, parents, peers, and school equally.

Actually, the peers seem to have come into their own this go around. I don't remember enjoying Jeremy's friends from school so much. And Hector's put downs remind me of Hobbes from "Calvin and Hobbes." I especially loved his stuff from the week about the internet intelligence quiz.

Any teen or anyone living with a teen will love this strip. If you aren't careful, you might even starting laughing at yourself a little more.