Break U and Other Follies

The last volume of this classic stoner satire collects the last three decades of Shelton’s counter-culture Greek chorus, as the Freak Brothers react to changes in the world around them, plus a hefty selection of Shelton’s non-Freak cartooning from the ’80s and ’90s. Across nearly 200 pages of peripatetic perambulations, the counter-culture Greek chorus (on cannabis) confront many conundrums for the first time: flea-market Rembrandts and gallery performance art, the softening of US/Soviet relations, cops caught on cameras by both citizens and reality tv, jogging, computer roommate matching, being looked up to (?) as elders, terrorism, religious fulfilment and giant hamsters. More quotidian gags and shorts abound, with both the Freak Brothers and their feline flat mate engaged in the ardours and ordure of urban living, plus one last tall tale told by Fat Freddy’s Cat to his never-aging kitten nephews. As with most other volumes in the series, this also rounds up a substantial helping of Shelton’s other cartooning, illustrations, shorts and covers from anthologies across the time period — here, the 1980s and ’90s, picking from Rip Off Comix, Knockabout, Zap, and French undergrounds Flag and Psikopat. Paul Mavrides rides alongside Shelton as co-writer and lead artist on much of this material and receives his own profile and overview. The Freak Brothers Break Up! concludes Fantagraphics efforts to coherently compile and consolidate the collected Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. While their comics have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide in 16 languages, these painstakingly restored hardcovers, featuring die-cut covers, are the first North American bookshelf editions in thirty years, the most comprehensive attempted, and the best-looking versions of the strips possible.