"a bird after a bird after a bird" -- or something like that. this comic collection was perfect. i'd come across barkman's comics on tumblr, so having realized the chance to get my little raccoon hands full of them was a no-brainer. i love that the comics were structured around the seasons. it really sends home the point that we're all just some little creature living in this world, full of our own thoughts and feelings.

if you want a good laugh with dashes of existentialism and hope, read these. a little birdie told me so.

A fun collection of bird memes. The artwork is fun and intriguing. I don’t think this humor was for me though.

A hysterical collection of great art and hilarious comics. Quirky and beautifully illustrated! Worth a read!

A great way to laugh out loud- you'll want to share this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Andrew McMeels publishing for the arc.

I thought this was a very cute collection of comics. Quite a few made me chuckle out loud while others made me stop to think. (There were a couple I didn't get as well, but overall I enjoyed them). I love to imagine conversations birds and other animals have on a daily basis and I feel like these comic strips perfectly captured that. The artwork was beautiful as well.

This was a very quick and easy read through, which was a perfect palate cleanser after the heavy book I just read. I would recommend!

I’ve seen Joshua’s comics (False Knees) come up before on my instagram feed, so I was looking forward to reading this collection.
It’s a perfect mixture of funny, thoughtful and melancholy. It’s a great book for fans of the series and those who just love funny little birds and animals. I also liked how it was divided by seasons as it made the book flow.
Thank you McMeel Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC!

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

Have loved and followed this artist online for ages, and was happy to get approved for this little comic collection. Each page or two is a separate, stand-alone comic and the art styles also vary throughout this book. One thing that stays the same is the artist's amazing ability to capture nature in such beautiful detail while providing a funny little commentary about life alongside it. Can't wait to buy this for real!

Ew. Its beautiful is the perfect name for this book, little comics about birds and some other "city" animals, sometimes having fun other times having moments of sadness, thus creating this wonderfull book, delightful art.
Every fan of short stories would enjoy this, also due to the lighthearted nature of the comics, its perfect as a refresher after a really heavy book.

This book is so charming and funny. I love all these goofy birds! The illustrations are so fun. Highly recommend!

A beautiful collection of one of my favorite comics. I really loved the way it was collected into seasons. Humorous, melancholy, and introspective, all at once.

A beautiful and thought-provoking work that's really a whole experience in itself. An aesthetic treat for the senses and a great journey into the imagination.

Amusing comics that examine the absurdity of our thoughts by imagining the inner lives of animals. At times it is very funny.

This is just brilliant. The simple, gorgeous artwork with the life observations and snark -- I want to make the whole book into posters. This is a book to enjoy over and over but it's also a wonderful book to share.

Netgalley ARC - A lot of really good ones in here, including funny, sad, heartwarming, and beautiful. I like the interspersed art styles and a lot of the humor. A few were a bit hard to follow/understand I think but not too many.

You know these bird memes that were super popular on tumblr?
bird meme that says the risk i took was calculated but man am i bad at math

This wonderful book reminds me of those and I loved it. This is perfect for anyone who likes to imagine the secret conversations animals have when humans aren't around. And the panel about the cat dreaming killed me lmao Thank you Joshua Barkman for helping me to understand why my cat has a foot and shoe fetish- it's all he sees!

There's a nice mix of funny and meaningful panels within. And the art is just so beautiful!

What an absolute delight! There are so many pages I wanted to share with my partner, and I already have family in mind who I know will love a copy when it's released.

Ew, It's Beautiful is the type of comic you want to savor. There were so many relatable frames and moments that had me laughing out loud. Really, truly, a delightful read. Thank you for the opputunity to read this, I enjoyed the art and jokes and sprinkles of awe for the world brought forth by such a seemingly random medium, birds.

10/10
Absolutely hilarious, yet thought-provoking mini stories divided by four seasons of the year. With just couple of frames Barkman is able to make you feel more than some novels in dozens of pages. Under the facade of cute birdies (some other animals got their spot too) there is quite deep analysis of world as we know it. Great metaphors, beautiful artwork, and abstract sense of humour - a must read for everyone, not only comic book lovers.

I'd already seen several comics of the artist on the networks and I've always liked them!

It's funny, absurd (bird humour!!!), the birds are varied and very well drawn with sometimes different techniques, colours and styles!

I particulary love the crows (page 8 or 18 ♡)

It's a lovely mix of humour, reflection and poetry, for example page 12 is touching in its simplicity.

I laughed out loud several times and smiled often.

I had a really good time.

Joshua Barkman does a comic strip online called “False Knees”. It is about many things, but it mainly is about getting inside the heads of various birds. I guess you would say these are like how cat comics get into how cats are, False Knees gets into what we might think birds are thinking.

Sometimes they are just silly, such as the pigeon taking a sip of beer, and saying “I’m going go fight a dog.”

Or, one of my favorites, of a gold finch looking around, and the world around him changes and he says “I think those berries were fermented.”

And sometimes it is just a beautiful drawing of a raven in the snow, looking up into the sky.

For those who have never read his comics, they really need to. So, it is wonderful that the publisher has gathered them all together in one place.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published on the 5th of August 2025.

This one made me giggle a little. I appreciate this type of humor very much. The art and colors are lovely, and the few more reflective comics were well placed among the sillier ones. A solid moment of fun overall.

Many thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review and many others can be viewed on my Goodreads page at the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/80102102-ana

I didn't know I needed this in my life! This was such a humorous read, I giggle quite a bit while reading this one. The best part was trying to figure out the different birds that were depicted!