Mister O

Lewis Trondheim’s conceit of a spherical fellow trying to bridge a chasm in myriad ways is so delightful and surprising and funny that once you’re done, you’ll want to start “reading” it all over again. The quotation marks signify that the story is told with nary a word, aside from some mild curses and sound effects. Yet these panels still say so much, in a style reminiscent of a silent film, about the human spirit and the silliness of our state of being.

There are few comics as minimalist as Mister O, and few that will make you laugh as hard. The premise is utterly minor: a little round fellow reaches a chasm; he wants to cross it; he fails. Trondheim puts this tragic little script through dozens of variations, mostly depending on the means that Mister O tries to use to cross the chasm. The book is wordless, and its drawing style is so spare that it's almost "pure icon" -- the very foundation of cartooning. Mister O's failures are so frequently hilarious that Trondheim give you new respect for the power of comics to tell a story. I can't think of a humor collection I would recommend more highly.

Well, I loved other comics from Trondheim, I read the comments here on this one and bought it. I must say that I found it quite boring, I smiled yes but I was far away from laughing out loud.. too much expectations maybe? Anyway that's how it was, but I have also to say that Trondheim has really some talents to create new things: this one is like nothing I've ever read, neither is "little nothings" nor the McConey (with the rabbit) or the dungeon series. And they are also VERY different from each others, that's quite amazing. So that's still interesting.

Lewis Trondheim, <strong>Mister O</strong> (Nantier Beall Minoustchine, 2004)Meet Mister O. He's a circle, with arms, legs, and a very expressive face, especially given how minimal it is. And in these thirty-two strips, he faces a challenge: he needs to get across a gap. It's the same setup in each strip, and it usually leads to the same punchline (he does, rarely, make it to the other side before something awful happens to him), and I know I have recently castigated another graphic novel for that, but here it works. I have no idea why this is. But I laughed out loud (guiltily) at this more than I have at any other book I've read recently. The repetition does great once in a while, and by the thirtieth or so strip, you'll wonder if the final one is going to offer any resolution to this painful drama. I'm not going to spoil the answer to that for you, but I will tell you this: the final panel of the entire book is absolutely, positively worth the entire price of admission on its own. *** ½

Each comic strip fills up 1 page. The strips are hilarious, creative, and almost all result in Mister O's death, so be careful who you buy this for. Of all the people I've shared it with, young adults like it the best. It's my favourite collection of comics.

Everything happens to Mister O! trying to cross a cliff to the other side of the mountain, he will go through all sorts of thing to cross, and then once there... he will fell!A very very funny book, my niece loved it from the library and I bought it for her, but I enjoyed it as well!It is amazing how the author does not need words to discribe situations, and to make you laugh!Great book for kids that do not read yet.A great comedy book to gather all the family!I can not stop prasing it! I love it!

"Mister O" is one of the funniest, most original, most beutiful things I have ever seen in my life. You should feel sorry for Mister O as he comes to many untimely fates(Most of them involve falling of a cliff) But you can't help laughing out loud at every strip. It has some blood, and someone dies each strip, so parents may want to read it before they give it to their kids. but I still recommend this book to any fan of comics, slapstick, or people falling to their deaths.

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard. It's horrible, and you should feel bad for the poor little guy who's just trying to get across a chasm and continually meets with an untimely end, but it's absolutely hilarious to see. I bought one for my school library back in December, and it hasn't been in for more than five minutes since. Mister O is pure genius, and an absolute riot.

Used this as a philosophy stimulus with my Year 5 class and it was brilliant! Thanks Mr O your omazing!