Comic Book Review: The Alcoholic

It has been ten years since the contemporary classic The Alcoholic (written by Jonathan Ames; illustrated by Dean Haspiel) was released to critical acclaim in the world of the graphic novela. Fortunately, reading this story today makes the experience no less pleasing as was a decade ago. The honest and insightful illustrated diary of a New Yorker’s struggles with life, love, and alcohol remains something of a time capsule of life around the time of Sept. 11 and a cold existential analysis of the character’s personal world leading up to the event.

The Alcoholic begins with our protagonist (and diary author) James in a bit of a freaky deaky. James is in a taxi with an elderly woman who is seemingly having her way with James. James seems completely out of sorts–yet was still allowing this defilement to take place–all the while narrating the past history of his erotic escapades to the reader. The details send the context of James’ sexual life into overdrive, but that ends in a trail of dust as James’s sex life really doesn’t end up being as intense as indicated early on. These antics and more are a confusing tornado of facts and scenes at the outset of the piece that eventually unravel as it’s layers peel off to reveal James’ history and emotional status quo in an effective and delightful type of manner. Later, as we turn the page on James’ life from his early years to the current day, we see him fall in and out of love, deal with loss in different ways, and go through a major national crisis.

The prose in this tale isn’t the most magical or elegant, but it is indeed clinically effective in driving the story and introspective innuendo for James. I connected with James’ struggle even though I felt the book read a bit simplistically and clunky; however, that could in actuality be the nature of writing diaries or journals in its purest essence. Besides, it’s a goddamn comic book. Are we really expecting the most sublime prose in a graphic novel or am I being somewhat of a literature bigot? The other characters going in and out of James life are also written very effectively, even as the clinical narration had it’s aforementioned abrasiveness. Similarly, the art is technically solid, if not spectacular. It is effective in it’s storytelling without being distracting. Kudos to Dean Haspiel for capturing the emotions and city in a manner that compliments Jonathan Ames’s writing.

The Alcoholic will warm your heart and help you analyze an everyman’s life of emotional beats and sexual anarchy while bringing you into the heart of New York City during Sept. 11 in a way that should appeal to anyone’s sensibilities. Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel’s prolific illustrated diary details a moment in history that most any human can relate to–and if you can’t relate, I’d personally question your ability to empathize.

★ ★ ★ ★ out of 4

About the Pop Culturalist Contributor, Charles

Charles is an independent filmmaker based in New York City. His favorite films include 2001: A Space Odyssey, Husbands and Wives, Taxi Driver, El Topo, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.