Ew, It's Beautiful: A False Knees Comic Collection
by Joshua Barkman
This book has so much going for it. Gorgeous artwork that matches the corresponding type. Clever and witty comics, with or without the type. The main subjects are birds, but other animals are in here too.

I love his humor! It's the kind of humor that catches you off guard.
Between the enchanting art and the witty humor, I felt so good when I finished this book. I had been stressed for weeks, but I finally felt relaxed.

This would be perfect for a gift , for yourself, for someone stressed, or for that side table/coffee table you put your special books. It would certainly be an ice breaker and conversation starter.

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this incredible book!

If birds thought like humans. Who knows? Maybe they do! This book will get you thinking about it.
This book is a fun, quirky and quick read. Bonus points if you are a fan of gorgeous bird artwork.

Thank you to Andrew McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a great book for dipping in and out of, it is witty and the illustrations are all amazing. A very funny well put together book which will be very well received by our library patrons of all ages.

What a fun silly graphic novel all about birds. It was a delight to read and had many funny comics in it. I especially like the comics about raccoons. Those were great. I have not read Joshua's other book, but I put a hold on it at the library and will read it soon. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a lighthearted silly book.

3/5
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

The art is lovely! I particularly love the comics in a monochrome watercolor style. I do think some of the comics have nice messages, but the humor is very Facebook Meme-esque which is not my personal preference.

I have enjoyed the False Knees comics for awhile so it is nice to have a collection of the comics together. I enjoyed the way that the comics were organized by season throughout. The comics about the crows were my favorite.

I loved this book! The art was absolutely gorgeous, in both composition and color. Many of the pages made me laugh or at least smile and I like how it was separated by season. I'm eager to try and stock this in my store, and I'd love to recommend it to people. I'm partial to comic strip books but this one takes it a up a notch with the lovely art style. The humor was just my thing as well.

First and foremost, thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review

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⚝ Rating ⚝: 5✩ / 5✩’s

⚝ Review ⚝: This was just a fun, quick read through with refreshing animal-behavior humor. As a bird lover, I absolutely adored this and will absolutely add a physical copy to my collection. While a very lighthearted and humorous look into the behavior of birds, it all made absolute sense. This is 100% what birds are thinking. You can't convince me otherwise.

⚝ Illustrations⚝: I loved this art style! Everything from lineart, abstract, and watercolor, it all tied really well together and fit the tone of the comics.

My monthly reading breakdown for May will be posted to TikTok, IG, and Threads the first week of June.

The art in this book is unbelievable, it is seriously beautiful! The stories are funny and clever and it’s so interesting how it reflects the lives of birds with ours and how they “see” life. Loved it and would love to read more from this author! Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read this story. This book was pretty good and if you’re into short humorous comics this is the right kind of book for you.

Personally, I just don’t think I have the same sense of humor as the author/illustrator. I heard about the artist before and that they were really funny so when I saw the ARC available on NetGalley I decided to try it. I could tell that the intention of the comics was to be humorous. The way they were drawn, the syntax of the sentences and the placement of punctuation indicated humor, however I personally didn’t find many of the panels funny and I think that’s just down to personal preferences of humor.

However, some of the short comics were very interesting. I liked getting to see the way the birds were drawn and the funny way that each of the birds was portraying a bird stereotype while also commenting just a little bit on our own human stereotypes. It was definitely more of a humorous comic compilation than one with one overarching message, but it did have some messages in it.

I personally enjoyed the layout of the comic. Each short comic was usually a page but no more than 2 pages which gave it a distinct finish to each unrelated comic pieces. However, the whole book was held together comprehensively by breaking up the book into sections by season. All four seasons were represented with an equal amount of comic strips per season all set during that season. It made it feel organized even the comic strips might be unrelated to each other.

Overall, I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars. Not my type of humor but overall, the formatting and art style were very well done, and I enjoyed that part of the book.

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I'm going to be honest; I've not heard of the False Knees comics. However, the title was quite intriguing. I tread into this book carefully, and I was not disappointed. Ew, It’s Beautiful is a weirdly relatable and beautifully illustrated collection of comics that’s perfect for bird lovers and fans of dry, slightly existential humour.


The panel that stood out to me the most was 'Oh, it’s just you, the source of all my problems,' says the bird looking at its own reflection.
There are lots more that brought a smile to my face. If you like puns, you are sure to like this.

The artwork is stunning; it ranges from simple black and white to bright colourful detailing. As the panels are 1-2 pages long and each offer an entirely new insight, you can read it all jumbled up or binge through it in one go.

I received an ARC of the book from the publisher 'Andrews McMeel Publishing' in exchange for my honest thoughts through NetGalley.
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Thank you Netgalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Joshua Barkman for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is incredibly funny. I was laughing my but off the entire time. There is so much sass and sarcasm, I don't understand how it can be contained by mere pages. Perfection.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've known this creator for years now since I started following False Knees on Instagram and Webtoon. I started talking a liking to the comics because I got pretty obsessed (and still am) with crows/ravens, and the comic strips started appearing more and more on my timeline. I have since investigated more about birds, and I always enjoy journal-like comic strips.

I really like the art and the mixed media on this collection, but I must admit the humor is very peculiar and may not appeal to everyone. Some of the jokes can easily go over one's head since they can be too niche for the general public. However, not all strips are meant to be funny, some are just relatable or pretty and I enjoy the change.

I read this collection through small bites and found myself smiling most of the time. It reminded me of reading Calvin & Hobbes for the first time, so I could recommend It to people who enjoy that kind of humor. I Will surely reread it.

The inner thoughts of forest creautures is deeper than one may expect.

I received a digital ARC of this graphic novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I originally saw these comics on Instagram and find them just delightful. I loved the book, too! Great for fans of the comic. The humor is right up my alley.

This was cute and felt very nostalgic. It reminded me of those Sunday comics in the newspaper which I loved. However, I think most of the comics were a miss for me humor wise. I just didn't really connect with a lot of them but I did enjoy some!

this was absolutely hilarious! Ive never read anything like this and that it was an ingenious idea for a story!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for me to review!

You see, I've seen several of these delightful comics floating around on the internet over the years, and they are all fabulous. They're fun little commentaries on societal expectations as well as just excellently executed pieces of art.

And "everybirdy" SENT me.

10/10 read this comic book.

Many comics in this collection got a genuine chuckle out of me. Great art paired with witty/dry humour will be right up any other millenial's street.

If you've been on the internet for any amount of time over the past several years, you've probably seen one of Joshua Barkman's sardonic, witty, brash, deadpan, and strikingly poignant comics about birds embedded in memes, floating around on Tumblr, or embedded for the nth time within a Reddit post - and been the better for it. "Ew, It's Beautiful" brings together Barkman's four-panel odes to wit, pluck (bird pun intended), existentialism, humor, and the ordinary in the extraordinary as he invites us to imagine the interior lives of birds and the occasional raccoon or cat, ranging across the four seasons thematically. If you grew up loving Calvin and Hobbes and Poorly Drawn Lines, Barkman's work will worm (MORE BIRD PUNS) its way into your heard.

This was a delightful collection of Barkman's now-ubiquitous birds (and friends) comics that were a sweet treat in between some longer and darker works. Barkman's ability to distill down really complex feelings - especially the infinitesimal, the existential, the contemplative - into (usually) four short panels is an incredible gift, and I never tire of seeing their work. I really loved that in this volume you get a sense of the range of artistic expression Barkman has, which you may not pick up on if you only see 1-2 comics out-of-context - Barkman is a master of many mediums, and I really loved his use of color, techniques across pencil and painting, and the really vibrant and eye-catching ways they manage to capture the essence of something with just a few short panels.

The humor here, as always, is incredibly on point, and I definitely laughed out loud and felt seen by many of the panels here. Another thing I like about having a themed collection such as this one is that you get a sense of the storytelling Barkman is trying to do with theming around seasons - there's a good mix of humor and exasperation, but it's shot through with the more visually contemplative or tranquil comics they're also known for, and the overall effect is really satisfying. Just like life isn't all memes or all staggering emotionally the time, Barkamn manages to capture a breadth and depth of the human experience through his little bird-brained players here, and it's a refreshing take on comics and short-form art that I've always (and still) find really enjoyable.

Overall, if you've ever seen Barkamn's work online (and I guarantee you have, whether you know it or not), I highly recommend picking up this volume in support of his brilliant skills and humor. The vibes are not immaculate out there in the real world right now, and this collection may just be the well-placed (and on point, if you pay attention to a few of the panels) reminder you need to find levity when you can, and reflection when you need it in a very busy and very human-centered, online world.