Earlier this year, I read and reviewed Steady Rollin', a collection of autobiographical comics by Fred Noland, which I loved. I got this book, Our Little Wild Time, as part of Fantagraphics' annual sale, and I could not wait to dig into it. It is a collection of mostly fictional works, originally published as mini-comics, about murderers, cholos playing putt-putt, drug addicts, and artist George Grosz. What I admire most about this book is its frenetic energy. These stories may be brief ones, but they are impactful and impressive.
Also, Noland draws some of the best faces in comics. Growing up, I was obsessed with reading Basil Wolverton's Wolvertoons book with its variety of fantastic and grotesque portraits, and Our Little Wild Time is right up there with its gallery of mugs. Just take a look at these:
Fred Noland is a working artist who has worked for many prominent magazines and media venues. In addition to Steady Rollin', he made a short graphic biography of Major Taylor, the bicyclist who was one of the USA's first global superstar athletes, and has been working on a longer one that will be published later this year.
I was not able to find many reviews of this book online, which is a shame because I feel it deserves wider recognition. Ryan Carey called it a "solid" if "dated" collection of tales, a book to grab when he wants "to be entertained by something seedy, sleazy and, at its best, maybe even a little dangerous."
Our Little Wild Time was published by Fantagraphics, and they offer a preview and more information about it here. This book features a fair amount of nudity, sex, and violence and is recommended from readers mature enough to deal with those things.
