"Portraying the aimless, alcoholic son of an aloof, philandering cartoonist, Ollmann blends jovial grotesquerie with a surprising generosity of spirit."—The Globe and Mail, Best Books of 2021
"Though no one does galumphing human failure better than Ollmann, thankfully his tongue is also ever in his cheek."—Rachel Cooke, The Guardian Best Graphic Novels of 2021
"There is such a pleasurable discomfort in reading Joe Ollmann's blundering-heart characters. They are resentful, petulant, ashamed, earnest, contradictory—eternally their own worst enemies. In other words, they are us. Fictional Father does not miss a single wrinkle."
—Hartley Lin, cartoonist of Young Frances and Pope Hats
"I love Joe Ollmann. His stories are page-turners, gut busters and tear jerkers. He’s the last of the great funny/sad underground cartoonists. A National Treasure."
—Seth, Clyde Fans
"Joe Ollmann is a master at blending comedy and empathy in stories about mid-life ennui."
—Quill & Quire, 2021 Spring Preview
"Don't worry, my father is not really like this." —Sam Ollmann-Chan
"Ollmann’s funny, faux-meta memoir… is a complex look at an artist’s evolving relationship to the past."— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Ollmann explores dysfunctional family dynamics and the sometimes complex motivations behind artistic expression with incredible empathy. An absorbing, enthralling work."
—Library Journal, Starred Review
"Ollmann... has been a well-kept secret of comics for too long. Hopefully, this will blow his cover."
—Booklist, Starred Review
"Readers—especially those with a keen interest in the history and mechanics of comics—will appreciate Ollmann's formal playfulness and emotional honesty." —Shelf Awareness
"Intergenerational angst and imposter syndrome feature in this tragicomic “memoir” by Caleb, a middle-aged recovering alcoholic and painter who inherits his late cartoonist father’s syrupy but hugely popular newspaper strip based on a father-son relationship nothing like their own. Features cameos by Canadian comic luminaries Seth and Chester Brown." —The Globe and Mail
"Fictional Father explores family, regret and what it means to make art." —CBC Books
"Are we destined to turn into our parents?... This is the central theme of Ollmann’s book and one our hero must wrestle with until the ultimately life-affirming final pages. Before he arrives at his destination though Cal must run a gauntlet of indignities, humiliations, heartbreaks, and poor decisions (many of his own making), but thanks to Ollmann’s confident, assured storytelling it’s a journey well-worth taking." —The Comics Journal
"Joe Ollmann is the cartoonist’s cartoonist." —The Toronto Star
"Ollmann’s true talent is drawing and painting faces that demand attention."—Literary Review of Canada
"Ollmann is a master craftsman who has given us a mid-pandemic treat in Fictional Father. He is an artist at the height of his powers..."—London Free Press
"[Joe Ollmann is] Canada’s master of humorous discomfort."—Toronto Life
"Are we destined to turn into our parents?... This is the central theme of Ollmann’s book and one our hero must wrestle with until the ultimately life-affirming final pages. Before he arrives at his destination though Cal must run a gauntlet of indignities, humiliations, heartbreaks, and poor decisions (many of his own making), but thanks to Ollmann’s confident, assured storytelling it’s a journey well-worth taking."—The Comics Journal
★ 05/07/2021
"Do we always become the thing we hate most," Caleb Wyatt wonders, "or do we preemptively hate that trait because we sense it in ourselves?" He's thinking about his father, Jimmi, the famous creator of a syndicated comic strip beloved for its tender depiction of paternal love. Despite his worldwide reputation as "Everybody's dad," Jimmi is actually a cold, casually cruel, self-absorbed, alcohol-addicted father. After spending his youth rebelling, middle age finds Caleb a struggling artist who's recovering from addiction and still dependent upon his father's vast fortune for survival. When a disastrous gallery showing of Caleb's latest abstract paintings emphasizes how totally his life has been lived under Jimmi's shadow, Caleb boils over with rage and resentment that threatens his sobriety and alienates his boyfriend. Then Jimmi dies unexpectedly, leaving behind a will which stipulates that Caleb assume authorship of his comic strip. Caleb's shock soon turns to curiosity and leads him to explore his father's work and legacy, as well as the roots of his own desire to be an artist. VERDICT Ollmann (The Abominable Mr. Seabrook) explores dysfunctional family dynamics and the sometimes complex motivations behind artistic expression with incredible empathy. An absorbing, enthralling work.—Tom Batten, Grafton, VA
