This was such a delightful compilation of comics and art! I love the style, the humor, and the topics evoked so many different emotions from joy to contemplation. Absolutely a wonderful journey from start to finish!

This is a collection of comic strips mostly featuring birds. It's a journey through the four seasons, as they are divided into those.

I really liked the art style, especially the style of those with the birds getting high on fermented and moldy berries. Many of the comics were funny, and some even made me laugh out loud, but sometimes it was a bit too long until another funny one came along.

Thank you, Andrews McMeel Publishing, for providing me with this book to review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

An amazing graphic novel full of humour and whimsy following the lives of birds. It wasn't something I knew I needed in my life but it exceeded all expectations. Felt like a hug on a cold day.

Snippets of fun humor told through striking artwork. The pages were easy and relaxing to read and a joy to take in.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Ew, It's Beautiful
A False Knees Comic Collection
by Joshua Barkman

I've been following Joshua Barkmans Instagram page for a few years now and so, I was delighted to get "Ew, It's Beautiful" as ARC.

What may look like just some cute, funny comic strips, often is a hilarious mirror to our human behaviour. It shows the absurdity in utterly hilarious and very delightful ways, by humanizing animals.
This book contains a selection of his seasonal drawings, grouped in winter, spring, summer and autumn.
Having birds vocalize on the page what we often have as inner monologue or interpersonal situations, worked quite well to make me laugh and yet also think about, why it is so hilarious.

Alessandro, the friendly neighborhood crow, aptly named after his cousin in the book, was watching me when I burst out laughing several times, reading on the balcony.
One critique is there, that I have to bring up for him:
There wasn't enough Alessandro in this book.
Well, there are never enough pages, so I hope we'll get another book soon!

This book is perfect for:
- bird lovers
- bird-neutral people who like great art
- 30-somethings who watch the bird feeders at their parents' house when they visit and who are slowly learning the types of birds that visit regularly and who are thinking maybe they're becoming bird lovers after all. (is this too niche?)

Anyway, I've followed falseknees on instagram for a while and have long admired Joshua's ability to draw realistic birds that are still cute and super expressive. The pieces run the gamut from silly one-liners to deep, introspective panels.

This collection would make a lovely gift or a coffee table book, plus it's a great way to support the artist. Would recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McNeel Publishing for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a collection of short comics featuring birds, and the occasional insect, racoon, or cat. They are arranged as though the reader is moving through the seasons as they read the book. I loved the artwork-the bird species are easily recognized. I wouldn't describe the comics as humorous, but they are enjoyable.

A delightful and often introspective collection of comics. If you love the False Knees Instagram, you'll also enjoy this book. Broken up into the four seasons, each section gives you a different feeling and vibe that ranges from sensitive to food-focused, to the metaphorical. Of course, my favorite comics have to do with french fries, as I am a seagull at heart. But it's easy to relate to these small birds, and after reading just a few panels, you'll want to.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

A cute graphic novel told from the point of view of primarily birds. Don't know that I would purchase a copy, but it is definitely something I would flick through at a library!

3.25/5 stars

This is an easy read, containing a collection of short comics mostly about birds.

The art was the best part of this for me, lots of interesting variation in the styles and colors! The pacing and humor felt akin to scrolling through a social media feed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Sophomore slump?

I enjoyed "False Knees: An Illustrated Guide to Animal Behavior," but this follow-up just felt a little flat to me, and I think that is because of what is missing. Where are the squirrels? The homicidal houseplants? The owl who hangs out with an owl statue he calls Jenny? The swearing? (The language still isn't all ages, but the f-bombs have dried up.)

All my favorite parts of the first book have been set aside for more birds and the occasional cat. What's left isn't bad, but it just doesn't spark the same amount of happiness in me.

If you care to sample before buying, a free archive of strips is available online at FalseKnees.com. The strips in this collection mostly seem to fall between July 2019 and October 2024.


Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.

Interesting comic about birds and seasons. It’s colorful and in a format that most would like. It’s entertaining and fun. Adults will giggle.

*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*

Review

This book is about animals and how they spend their days for each season of the year. It is characterised by humour and different art styles that change every now and then throughout the book.

The most beautiful aspect of this book is how the art style changes every now and then and it looks quite unique from what I usually see (probably 'cause I don't see that often drawings of birds and insects). I mean, the art style on the cover made me decide that I wanted to read this book. The way the colours are also evenly matching eachother for each panel is satisfying to look at.
Even though, I don't really enjoy all of these art styles, I still like how it changes and isn't the same all the time throughout the book.

I didn't really find anything that was supposed to be funny actually funny except the panel where the bird said 'trust the process' and it ended up looking not right at all, this was funny and later on when the cat decided to have a puke.

This book is totally random and the jokes are either based on relatable stuff or on some really odd things that are so odd that they are funny again. For me, the jokes didn't land, but they weren't really awful, I just expected the jokes to be a bit different before I started reading but that's alright, I was still happy to see animal drawings.

End note/Final thoughts

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of Ew, It's Beautiful by Joshua Barkman

Started the book: 04. July 2025
Finished the book: 04. July 2025
Wrote the review: 04. July 2025

~2.5 stars

This is a cute and quirky comic collection about the antics of birds, as well as a couple of cats and racoons. I really liked the art style but sadly the humour wasn't really my cup of tea, however I think the right person would enjoy it. Overall, if you're a bird lover looking for a short and sweet comic to read then I'd recommend it.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

A funny collection of comics from a powerhouse artist. I like how the book was separated by seasons - a clever way to connect some of the more esoteric comics.

I came across this book in social media and naturally I was curious to read the rest of it. The illustrations are cute and being a bird lover pretty accurate on their antics.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this!

This is a quirky little collection comics! I really enjoyed the variation of the illustrations both in styles and color. I loved a lot of the humor and often laughed out loud. This was a fun pallet cleanser in between other books.

I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading from this author in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this eARC to review.

Ew, It’s Beautiful is a quirky little collection of bird comics with whimsical art and humour that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t.
(It's a mix between silly and wholesome humour)

I liked how the illustrations varied and didn’t stick to one style or the usual comic strip format. However, the stories didn’t always land for me but it’s the kind of book you can easily dip in and out of.

If you like birds, nature, or offbeat humor, there’s definitely some charm here. Especially if you're already a fan of the artist. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy or recommend it though.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this eARC to review.

Ew, It's Beautiful is a collection of small comics, mainly focusing on birds with humour. The artwork is lovely and I like how the book explores a whole bunch of colours and isn't just focused on one artistc colour theme- same with how not every collection is in a stereotypical sunday comic format where it is four-six squares all together.

This is aimed towards adults, and can be read the entire way through or just in bits and pieces. I personally prefer the art by itself as some of the speech and 'stories' just don't work for me.

This was exactly what I needed. Very funny, silly, and witty. I didn't expect each page to be a new panel with a joke for each one, but it was perfect. I don't know what I expected actually. But the crows felt like a weird little intermission everytime they popped up and I loved them.