Herman Classics, Vol. 4

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

You see an overweight, middle-aged, white man busy putting his foot in
his mouth. Are you looking in the mirror or at a Jim Unger cartoon?

This is a big collection—620 individual cartoons plus 20 full-page,
multi-frame strips. That means lots of opportunities to layer images
into a portrait of the ordinary person, complete with foibles,
weaknesses, and absurdities. For Unger, that ordinary person is usually
male, married too long to a chunky wife he puts down at every
opportunity, while struggling to bend society to his own cynical level.
He gives us ourselves, as we go about our everyday lives. Coping with
pets, who are probably smarter than we are. Encountering doctors,
hospitals, and other aspects of the health-care system. Buying clothing.
Applying for a job. Talking to bankers. Visiting a restaurant. Bumping
up against the rules of middle-class society. Not only are we rude,
shifty, insensitive, and socially inept, we’re ugly, with big
paunches, small heads (no room, apparently, for brains), and honking
great noses.

Aliens from outer space have a big role in this world. Do we appear as
ridiculous to them as they do to us? Are they here to show us how absurd
we look to anyone other than ourselves? Are they us?

Unger’s art is composed of equal parts drawings and captions. Unlike
in cartoons from lesser geniuses, his captions support the graphics, and
the graphics need the captions to pull off the priceless glimpses into
the absurd. Each panel is a skilfully interwoven unit that knocks logic
on the head. He has elevated cynicism to high art.

The book is in full colour, nicely laid out, rich without crowding. It
will appeal to a wide audience, with special attraction for the 40+
generation. Its masterful blend of pure absurdity, cynicism, and
exaggeration of human stupidity guarantee its success as a much-browsed
coffee-table volume. Good for hundreds of smiles.