Racist AIDS Monkeys and Toad Rage: The Return of the Biting Cartoon

In the 1970s and 1980s, the cartoon book was most commonplace, with authors like Johnny Hart and B. Kliban issuing hysterical and thought-provoking tomes on a regular basis. Since then, only the work of Matt Groening (“The Simpsons”) has carried the tradition forward.

When asked if he purposefully wanted to reintroduce and carry on the edgy humor of the above-mentioned authors, Chicago native Vincent Truman enthusiastically says, “No.”

Vincent Truman’s stock in trade has been writing, with his work surfacing at many Chicago theaters, including Second City, Live Bait, Stage Left, Prop Thtr, the Improv Institute, DePaul University as well as four features at the Chicago Sketchfest.

In between writing for comedians, Truman would often jot down short ideas which, although they could not be sustained for full scenes, were brilliantly funny as ideas. After taking a few dozen around to friends, he was eventually convinced to create an entire book of these concise observations and illustrations.

And so came “This Is My First Time So Please Be Brutal”, a devastatingly funny – and occasionally taboo-shattering – collection of 100+ cartoons.

A high point includes a short series about racism, but rather than show the harsh reality of that continued practice, Vincent Truman shows the absurdity by showing cartoons being racist of each other. A stick figure behind a desk denies a Have a Nice Day smiley face a job by curtly informing him that all the positions are filled. Another cartoon features two stick figures, flaming torches held aloft, running Edward Munch’s “The Scream” out of town.

On the other end of the spectrum is a series parodying the Kama Sutra by having the participants be cats. Listed as variations of the Katma Sutra, the numerous poses include “Biting the Radish”, “The Elton John” and “Hairball”, yet the participating felines enact the exact same one-cat-on-another position.

“This is my First Time so Please Be Brutal” is an unpredictable, hysterical, potentially offensive and thought-provoking collection of illustrations without peer. It can be purchased directly through Lulu Publishing at http://www.lulu.com/content/1738167 and is scheduled to be listed among various online outlets, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.