Ew, It's Beautiful, A False Knees Comic Collection by Joshua Barkman is a collection of his comic strips compiled into book form. The comic strips feature familiar birds talking and commenting. I always wondered what they were saying and who knew they would be so sarcastic. These birds are not charming little pets, they are survivors.
This is a worthwhile look from the other side. Recommended.

As a bird lover, I enjoyed this book. The art was beautiful and most of the comics were funny and charming. Unfortunately, there were several comics that I simply didn't understand at all and left me feeling like I missed the point of something.

This collection was not what I had expected it to be; it reminded me of newspaper comics printed in the Sunday paper.

I found maybe 25% of the comics actually laughable, about 50% sort of dull, and the remaining 25% confusing. I’m not an avid bird person, and it seemed like it would have been helpful to have specific knowledge of birds for maybe 3 or 4 of the comics.

Overall, I have a hard time considering the relevancy of this format. Comics are great and powerful when they are experienced individually. When you string them together in a book, something that tempts the reader to keep going and never look back, I wonder whether we lose potency or impact. Of course, this is not a problem the author is intended to solve.

Do I recommend this book? Depends on the reader. I think the collection of comics was light-hearted. I also think there were a number of genuinely funny jokes. The act of anthropomorphizing birds creates an interesting scenario where the reader is asked to look inwardly at human behaviors. This is an impressive task to accomplish as a writer, especially considering the limited format. At the very least, Barkman has showed me that perhaps limitations are a type of greenfield.

2.5/5 rounded down

Short little vignette comic books like this are very hit and miss for me. Unfortunately, this one was mostly a miss.

I enjoyed the illustrations, they were beautiful and fit the tone of the book well.

The text on the other hand had much to be desired. The humour seemed to be very niche. I did not find any of them particularly funny nor did I find them relatable. For maybe a handful of them I thought "Ha, mood", but that was the extent of any reactions.

Just not for me

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A funny book. I enjoyed how even though there wasn't a story I could relate to this book because some of the birds said or thought things that I've thought before. I liked how I could pick this book up in intervals and still enjoy it. Joshua Barkman did a really good job at encompassing each type of birds personalities in with their thought snippets.

The artwork in this book is absolutely incredible! And a few of the strips made me laugh out loud. I think comic collectors and fans of False Knees will absolutely love this book.
My only critique is that there didn’t seem to be any new comics; these have all been posted to the artist’s Instagram page, so if you’re following their page, you’ve probably seen these before. This isn’t a problem, but it might have been a nice surprise for those buying the book to have access to a few new strips.
I’d still recommend, of course, because few can draw like Barkman.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully illustrated comic strips, it shows that the author is an expert on birds. It's also very funny, the humor is exactly up my alley, and the colors are beautiful. I got excited to read the previous book of the author.

Ew, It's Beautiful is a must read for bird lovers! I loved the illustrations and laugh out loud several times. There were a few other animals sprinkled throughout the book, and the cats and raccoons are my favorite.

I received an ARC from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I may just have a weird sense of humour but this had me constantly giggling to myself

What a lovely bright spot of humor. Lightly organized into seasons, this collection of comics is definitely a collection as stated and not a storyline. Within the collection there is a mix of fully colored works and monochromatic pieces as well as a mix of single and multipage spreads. The tying element to the collection is False Knees capability to use beautifully drawn sceneries and wildlife to deliver hysterical observations on life and psyche. I was constantly smiling and chucking to myself. I cannot wait to share this with family and friends when it releases.

**Thank you to NetGalley for providing me the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

A hilarious collection of comics, with a smattering of panels that evoked deeper feelings. Barkman’s comics are pretty popular on the parts of the net I frequent (as they should be - they always make me smile), so the concept of having an entire volume of his comics was a delight. None of the stories were duds, and this was a great way of destressing before bed with some cute (and some slightly evil) birds. 5/5, was everything I wanted and more.

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book as an ARC! I greatly appreciate it!

This is my third time reading a book like this, just a collection of little comics, and while I greatly enjoyed it, reviewing these is never easy. There's not a story or characterization, so rating is hard. Just the same, I had a great time reading!

Five stars out of five for Ew, It's Beautiful!

This is a cute collection of bird comics throughout the seasons. I thought it was funny and profound all at once. To be a bird would be to truly live, I believe, and this has allowed me a small piece of that reality.

I really loved these comics. Most of them were funny. My favorites are the cat ones and the geese. I also love more of them as well. I would definitely recommend reading it. I love animal comics, this reminded me of a lot of things as well. False Knees is an amazing comic. Can’t wait to read more.

I would never have guessed that a snarky comic book about birds was going to be on my 2025 tbr, but I am so glad I added it. I have never heard of False Knees webcomics before I read this, but I immediately followed the account on instagram the second I finished the book. A super quick and fun read, I would definitely buy this and keep it as a coffee table book. Barkman’s comedy reminds me of Far side comics and Strange planet, with an extra snarky twist. Anyone that can make birds that funny is genuinely talented and has mastered the art of comedy. I received this as an arc from Net Galley, so thank you to Joshua Barkman, Andrew’s McMeel publishing, and Net Galley for letting me have a chance to read an advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I loved this so much I called my mom on the phone on my lunch break to tell her to read it and put it on her radar for when it comes out in August. I will be on the lookout for more comics from this author.

This was a very quick and fun read. I'd come across False Knees before online, mostly shared as memes, but had never really dug into the archives, so it was a lot of fun to read a whole collection of comics.

The arrangement by season was cute. Not all the comics were memorable, but there were a lot of gems in there. I found a good few of them laugh-out-loud funny, with the kind of #relatable humour that made me immediately want to share them with my friends. There's also a genuinely lovely appreciation and awe of nature that comes through, especially in some of the more serious or wholesome comics.

I really had NO clue what to expect going into reading this collection of comics, but I was pleasantly surprised. I laughed quite hard at many of them, and there really wasn't a single page I didn't enjoy.

I had expectations going into this and they weren't fulfilled. That's not on the author. The illustrations were cute and really good.
While it wasn't what I expected I enjoyed it.

This collection of comics was a great mix of art styles, humorous vs thoughtful vs sweet, and just the right length. I think the framing of the seasons provided a nice structure to the collection, and I did find myself giggling throughout! I thought this was a cool premise for comics, to be centered around the birds and what is going on in their seemingly empty minds. Some of the jokes didn't quite land and some of the sketch styles seemed unfinished to me. But overall a nice palette cleanser!

An excellent book. Absolutely loved it. I think anyone who likes birds would!
It gave a fun, whimsical, and interesting perspective on the life of birds.
Highly recommend. 5 stars!