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!

I really enjoyed this collection of comics. In a comic like this, I expect simple line drawings, but the art was incredible!

Overall, a pretty cute collection of scenes. I loved the various art styles included and appreciated the occasional non-bird content – my favorites were probably those racoons. Some of the scenes I didn’t get, but I have a feeling folks who really love birds would get them. It was a good mix of funny and real (and often a mix of both). I liked how it was ordered by the seasons to give it a good sense of flow.

ARC was given by NetGalley & Andrews McMeel Publishing.


This was such a wonderful collection of short, sweet, thought provoking comics of birds through-out the seasons. The art style was absolutely beautiful and each panel brought a smile to my face. This is my first time reading anything by this author and I was pleasantly surprised with how well they captured birds in all their glory. I can't wait to see what other animal or non-animal comic collections they'll do next!


All thoughts, feelings, experiences, and opinions are honest and my own.

What a fun, cute collection of comics! I love the imagined inner monologues of birds! As someone that has gotten the nickname Bird Girl from her friends (a bird decided to join my car ride once, it was a whole thing) I had to check this out and I'm so glad I did! It was super quick to flip through and I'm already planning to read it through again.

The variety of art style in this book is impressive. Yes, it's a book about (mostly) birds being existential and darkly hilarious, which means that there's zero things wrong with it! These animals are filled with such self reflection and wonder that you can't help but relate and want to be on their level. The tone is so pitch perfect if you're into gallows humor.

Ew, it's beautiful describes this collection of short comics perfectly. The art is gorgeous and it offers a nice variety of comics, so you definitely won't get bored going through it! I don't think all of them are winners -some I really didn't get, but others I want to frame and hang in my house to look at forever.

6/10 - Gorgeous art, funny, sometimes deep, will make you a fan of seagulls.