Rating:

Ursus hilarious…

Author:  Matthew Inman

Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants Cover (198x255)As anyone knows, oatmeal is a popular porridge made from oats – a weed that was domesticated in Bronze Age Europe – but The Oatmeal is of much more recent origin.  The nom de keyboard of comic writer Matthew Inman – a resident of the hip Fremont neighborhood in Seattle, Washington – The Oatmeal shares his nickname with a wildly successful comic website that he launched in 2009.  Since then, Inman has gone on to publish several books and make a small fortune selling calendars, coffee cups and the like.

Having enjoyed How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You – the follow up to his first book, 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (and Other Useful Guides) – I eagerly sought out Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants.  Featuring a bevy of peculiarly round headed humanoid protagonists and dozens of cute animals in supporting roles, this often hilarious and raunchy collection of comics successfully lives up to Inman’s high standards.

The Oatmeal, aka Matthew Inman.

The Oatmeal, aka Matthew Inman.

 

Featuring the titular grizzly bear, the book starts with an extensive illustrated essay on how underpants – tighty-whiteys that aren’t quite grizzly size – can tame even the most obnoxious of personalities.  From there, Inman then goes on to expound on a host of other important topics, from Valentine’s Day and liver flukes to public toilets and Sriracha hot sauce, he even tosses in an English grammar lesson or two.  Each subject is colorfully illustrated with Inman’s inimitable sarcastic vulgarity and wit, resulting in some embarrassingly funny images.

Whether on his website or in his books, The Oatmeal consistently produces some thoroughly amusing comics and Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants is no exception.   While the book’s probably not for everyone – although it even had my seventy-something mom laughing out loud – I’m confident that anyone with a funny bone or a sarcastic gene will enjoy it.

— D. Driftless

author photo by Randy Stewart

Check out my review of The Oatmeal’s How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You right here.

Visit The Oatmeal – and buy his books and other paraphernalia – at his official website.

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