Canuck Book 13 - The Poor Bastard by Joe Matt

I finished last year's challenge with a graphic novel and I'm doing the same this year.

Joe Matt's The Poor Bastard is a compilation of the earliest of his Peepshow comic books. The story follows Matt while he hangs out with friends, falls in and out of lust with a number of women, collects old viewfinder reels and spends an inordinate amount of time. . . uh. . . enjoying his own company, shall we say. Yup he's poor ( or maybe just really cheap) and yup he's a bit of a bastard. He's also quite funny.

The story starts with him finally deep-sixing his relationship with his girlfriend. Of course, the grass isn't always greener on the other side as Matt has a hard time finding another woman that meets his exacting standards. From freckles to thick calves, Matt finds a way to be turned off by any number of women. The fact that a balding, cheap, comic loving misanthrope might not be most women's concept of a catch doesn't register at all.

Overall, the book is a lot of fun. While Matt is definitely not a loveable character, he is fun and interesting in a watching a train wreck sort of way.