Books

Lisa Hanawalt’s Dirty Dumb Ideas

The weirdest, funniest comic of the year.

Illustration by Lisa Hanawalt

Perhaps you recall Lisa Hanawalt’s illustrated review of War Horse from the Hairpin. Perhaps you saw her “Secret Lives of Chefs” in Lucky Peach and were as pleasantly surprised as us when it was nominated for a James Beard Award. Maybe you’ve been reading Lisa Hanawalt’s work since her deeply unsettling self-published comic I Want You in 2009. Or maybe you have never heard of her but are just interested in seeing Jeff Goldblum drawn as a dinosaur.

Well, no matter which of those people you are, you can be glad that Lisa Hanawalt’s first book is out this month. It’s called My Dirty Dumb Eyes and it is exactly as weird, obscene, hilarious, and gross as you might expect. It is awash in penises, butts, poop, and pudenda. It features talking anthropomorphic horses and birds that fart out of the tops of their heads. It is also absurdly smart and sharp. Hanawalt thinks a lot about movies, animals, and relationships, and her work already demonstrates she’s a talented artist, a comic savant, and an enterprising reporter with endless curiosity. The book is already getting rave reviews, so let us add to them by saying: Lisa Hanawalt is completely screwed up, and we’re very proud to have her illustrating the May issue of the Slate Book Review.

My Dirty Dumb Eyes by Lisa Hanawalt. Drawn and Quarterly.

See all the pieces in this month’s Slate Book Review.

Sign up for the Slate Book Review monthly newsletter.