02/01/2019
Griffith (Invisible Ink: My Mother's Love Affair with a Famous Cartoonist ) presents an in-depth biography, based on research and interviews, of Schlitzie the Pinhead, a sideshow performer widely known for his appearance in Tod Browning's 1932 cult classic film Freaks. Born with microcephaly in 1901, Schlitzie (who's real name is lost to history but may have been Simon Metz) was sold by his parents to a Coney Island sideshow and soon found himself traveling the country as the star attraction of a variety of circuses. Alternately billed as male or female, sometimes promoted as the missing link between modern man and their evolutionary ancestors or a holdover from vanished civilizations, Schlitzie is here affectionately portrayed as a kind, warm-hearted performer behind the showbiz bluster. His story raises serious questions about the essence of fame, exploitation, and even the subjective nature of what it means to live a happy, fulfilling life. VERDICT Griffith is renowned for his absurdist comic strip Zippy the Pinhead , inspired by Schlitzie's iconic image, and on some level this biography seems to be an attempt at restoring some dignity to a life he's mined for his own purposes. He succeeds wonderfully.
…virtuoso comic-strip artist Bill Griffith gives voice to a true outcast — the sideshow attraction born Simon Metz (probably) in the Bronx (probably) in 1901. He fills the biographical lacunae with vivid info on the sideshow life, Hollywood in the ’30s, and linework so rich you could eat it… this is an uplifting, wonderfully humane book.”—The New York Times Nobody’s Fool ? I get it—underneath our grandiose opinions of ourselves we’re all pinheads and freaks! Nobody’s Fool is boffo! The best graphic novel of the year!”—R. Crumb 2 STARRED REVIEWS “Griffith’s graphic biography of sideshow “freak” Schiltzie the pinhead is a captivating labor of love that integrates American sideshow history and autobiographical segments drawn from Griffith’s life and research process . . . an astonishing life, beautifully told. Or, as Schlitzie would say, it's boffo !”—Booklist, Starred Review Kirkus Reviews Publishers Weekly, Starred Review Nobody’s Fool is as heartbreaking and poignant as his Zippy the Pinhead is hilarious and clever. The biography manages to be both gorgeous and tragic, a warts-and-all exploration of how this country has treated those with disabilities and challenges, while also being a meditation on the ephemerality of fame. The questions Griffith raises about the nature of exploitation, acceptance, and quality of life are haunting. A masterpiece of the medium.”—Jake Tapper, anchor and chief Washington correspondent, CNN Library Journal Nobody’s Fool is a brilliant and fascinating work by a master storyteller. Bill Griffith is a comics treasure!”—Derf Backderf, My Friend Dahmer and Trashed Christian Science Monitor Nobody’s Fool , published by Abrams ComicArts, Mr. Griffith has achieved a crowning achievement in the comics medium . . . This is one of those remarkable graphic novels that truly takes your breath away. It shares a space with the best that the comics medium has to offer. It’s a utterly original and distinctive work of art . . . In the hands of a masterful cartoonist, profound beauty can be found in the darkest of places.”—Comics Grinder Nobody’s Fool is wonderfully told with affectionate detail and exquisite pen lines—an obvious labor of love.”—Patrick McDonnell, Mutts cartoonist Steve Heller, Print “ The book is a work of arduous, exhaustive research… the accurate illustrations and sensitivity of the author’s drawings bring the reader into the story.” —The Brooklyn Daily Eagle “ Griffith has created a tour de force and provided an honest and dignified, but also playful, tribute to Schlitzie…but take in the complexities of Schlitizie’s situation and make sure his experience means something now.” —The Beat The Village Voice online
In Nobody’s Fool , published by Abrams ComicArts, Mr. Griffith has achieved a crowning achievement in the comics medium . . . This is one of those remarkable graphic novels that truly takes your breath away. It shares a space with the best that the comics medium has to offer. It’s a utterly original and distinctive work of art . . . In the hands of a masterful cartoonist, profound beauty can be found in the darkest of places.
…virtuoso comic-strip artist Bill Griffith gives voice to a true outcast — the sideshow attraction born Simon Metz (probably) in the Bronx (probably) in 1901. He fills the biographical lacunae with vivid info on the sideshow life, Hollywood in the ’30s, and linework so rich you could eat it… this is an uplifting, wonderfully humane book.
“ The book is a work of arduous, exhaustive research… the accurate illustrations and sensitivity of the author’s drawings bring the reader into the story.”
This is the book Bill Griffith was destined to make. The tale of Schlitzie the Pinhead is one of surprising triumph—an uplifting and heartfelt portrait of a simple man who finds joy in the strangest of lives. Nobody’s Fool is a brilliant and fascinating work by a master storyteller. Bill Griffith is a comics treasure!
Bill Griffith’s artistic investigation into the real life of Schlitzie Surtees in Nobody’s Fool is as heartbreaking and poignant as his Zippy the Pinhead is hilarious and clever. The biography manages to be both gorgeous and tragic, a warts-and-all exploration of how this country has treated those with disabilities and challenges, while also being a meditation on the ephemerality of fame. The questions Griffith raises about the nature of exploitation, acceptance, and quality of life are haunting. A masterpiece of the medium.
Bill Griffith is amazing. While continuing to create one of the best daily comic strips, he has also produced a tour de force graphic novel. Nobody’s Fool is wonderfully told with affectionate detail and exquisite pen lines—an obvious labor of love.
“ Griffith has created a tour de force and provided an honest and dignified, but also playful, tribute to Schlitzie…but take in the complexities of Schlitizie’s situation and make sure his experience means something now.”
The underlying message of Nobody’s Fool ? I get it—underneath our grandiose opinions of ourselves we’re all pinheads and freaks! Nobody’s Fool is boffo! The best graphic novel of the year!
2 STARRED REVIEWS “Griffith’s graphic biography of sideshow “freak” Schiltzie the pinhead is a captivating labor of love that integrates American sideshow history and autobiographical segments drawn from Griffith’s life and research process . . . an astonishing life, beautifully told. Or, as Schlitzie would say, it's boffo !
Griffith is a champion of the overlooked and the out of place, and also an outstanding researcher . . . This kindhearted and thoroughly interesting tribute to the man who inspired Griffith’s Zippy is also a history of 20th-century American culture and social mores.
Christian Science Monitor
…a sweetly compelling origin story.
A masterpiece of absurdity and humanity. After all these years Schlitzie still triggers laughter and tears.
…virtuoso comic-strip artist Bill Griffith gives voice to a true outcast — the sideshow attraction born Simon Metz (probably) in the Bronx (probably) in 1901. He fills the biographical lacunae with vivid info on the sideshow life, Hollywood in the ’30s, and linework so rich you could eat it… this is an uplifting, wonderfully humane book.
