The Pretty Good Jim's Journal Treasury: The Definitive Collection of Every Published Cartoon

by Scott Dikkers

Five books after the popular comic strip Jim's Journal was first bound, we now present The Pretty Good Jim's Journal Treasury-and it's okay. Actually, this collection is much more than okay.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0740700073
• ISBN13: 9780740700071
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A great book

If you haven't heard of Jim's journal and you ended up here because as a fan of the Onion you wanted to see what Scott Dikkers once did, then you're in for a pleasant (or unpleasant time) people are completely polarized by Jim - either you love the strip or you hate it. I love Jim. Don't bother buying any of the single collections when you can own the whole Jim Treasury. Also included in this book (and missing from the other stand alone books i.e. I got married, I made some brownies) is an introduction for each of these books in the collection. Plus you get various insight into the characters and strip from Dikkers in some revealing passages that are both laugh out loud funny and kind of sad. If you are a fan of meta comedy - i.e. comedy that is funny because it is done in such a blank fashion that its hard not to laugh - if only for the absurdity of the whole thing - then this book is for you. If the idea of a comic strip where the punchline for a strip is "when I woke up from my nap I was even more tired than I was before" leaves you scratching your head - then you should probably buy some Marmaduke or Garfield. Maybe a collection of Hagar the Horrible would be best. On the other hand, if you like things that don't always make sense - buy this book. You'll love it.

I don't know why but these are the funniest comics. . .

ever.You can take most of the Sunday comic strips, because none have the subtle humor of Jim's Journals.I discovered the journals during my sophomore year in New Haven, CT in the early 90s. They were loved by everyone I knew. The basic art and the situations Jim goes through are so universal and charming- you just want to read them all. This collection is my find of the year and I highly recommend it you anyone.

Jim is an existential everyman

Even though "Jim's Journal" is written by Scott Dikkers, editor-in-chief of "The Onion," it has none of the nasty wit of that publication. There's nothing nasty about Jim at all, and some would argue that there's no wit involved, either. It's a bunch of comic strips that, as often as not, don't contain any sort of punchline, but just read like snippets from the journal of one person's uneventful life. That might sound boring, but it's strangely engrossing and comforting to read. Jim's a nice guy who coasts through life seemingly oblivious to the world around him, and getting into his head through "Jim's Journal" is an excellent escape from reality. Words can't do it justice- you have to read it.

the unbearable lightness of being Jim

It's lovely to see all 5 Jim's Journal collections in a single volume. J.J. is a cumulative experience -- you can't appreciate the strips unless you read a bunch of them in succession. After a few dozen strips or so, you begin to gradually succumb, until you're hopelessly addicted to the strangely hypnotic flow of Jim's uneventful life. Dikkers makes some interesting comments about how he sees his work ("anti-comedy" in the tradition of Andy Kaufman), and while his revelations aren't astounding, they do add value for people who already own some of the other J.J. collections. Soothing and worthwhile.