TRASHED

Author:  Derf Backderf

Genre:  Graphic Novel, Standalone

Published:  2015

Personal Rating:  2/5 (not enjoyable)

Format:  eBook

Yearly Count:  37

From NetGalley:

Every week we pile our garbage on the curb and it disappears—like magic!  The reality is anything but, of course.   Trashed, Derf Backderf's follow-up to the critically acclaimed, award-winning international bestseller My Friend Dahmer, is an ode to the crap job of all crap jobs—garbage collector.  Anyone who has ever been trapped in a soul-sucking gig will relate to this tale.  Trashed follows the raucous escapades of three 20-something friends as they clean the streets of pile after pile of stinking garbage, while battling annoying small-town bureaucrats, bizarre townfolk, sweltering summer heat, and frigid winter storms.  Trashed is fiction, but is inspired by Derf's own experiences as a garbage­man.  Interspersed are nonfiction pages that detail what our garbage is and where it goes. The answers will stun you.  Hop on the garbage truck named Betty and ride along with Derf on a journey into the vast, secret world of garbage.  Trashed is a hilarious, stomach-churning tale that will leave you laughing and wincing in disbelief.

Oh goodness.  I decided to read this, because I was in need of a graphic novel, and I really liked Backderf's, My Friend Dahmer.  Backderf has incredible drawing skills, but this story left me blah.  I didn't know exact numbers, but I know, in general, what happens to the garbage picked up on my curb, so I really didn't learn anything new in that arena.  

The story was NOT hilarious, didn't leave me laughing by any means, and I wasn't wincing in disbelief (see above blurb).  It's filled with childish bathroom humor that 12-year-old boys would crack up over.  The story was definitely not for me.  It received a 2, because the guy is an artist, and I did feel disgusted and physically dirty after reading it, so he provoked some emotion from me regarding trash.  He got his point across by beating me over the head and leaving me in a disgusted daze.  Not quite the best strategy to encourage change.

Thoughts of Joy

      
My thanks go to Abrams ComicArt and NetGalley for providing me with this eGalley.