Until I read this book I didn't really have a reason to punch a dolphin in the mouth. It had always been more of a random and uncontrolled sort of response when I was within reach of one. But after reading Matthew's book, I can now justify my behavior to the dolphinarium authorities in five different ways.
Seriously, Matthew Inman's sense of humor is way off center while always ringing true. You may not like every single strip (or "guide") but even if the captions don't do it for you, the drawings themselves will crack you up.
Caution: As I write this, Amazon says that customers who bought this book also bought Garfield books. That *has* to be an inside joke. "Look inside" or go to the author's site at theoatmeal.com before you buy this solely because you like Garfield.
Thank you Mr. TheOatmeal! 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides)
I remember seeing The Oatmeal's website last year and immediately fell in love with his artistic style, wit, and word-play. I have never read a comic book that has literally made me laugh out loud as effectively as Matthew Inman's creations. This book blends humour, education, vulgarity, violence, and comedy (with a little bit of oatmeal) and the end result is sheer comedic brilliance.
The artwork is fantastic and it never gets old looking back at these comics for a laugh. The book also includes a pull-out poster (that actually doesn't rip in half when you remove it) so you can decorate your wall with The Oatmeal's unique and hilarious display.
I cannot recommend this book enough to everybody. If you get offended by this, The Oatmeal wins. I hope Inman continues to express his creativity and sense of humour for a sophomoric title in another year. Keep it up Oatmeal, we are all reading and laughing along.
5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (2011) is a collection of comics by Matthew Inman from his website, The Oatmeal. It features a large number of comics from the site plus 27 new ones.
Inman's comics, in both the art and captions, feature his offbeat and manic sense of humor. He is creative, vulgar, and frequently hilarious, and his work is usually better the more over the top it goes (if you don't like this book, "I hope a large meteor finds its way across the universe and smashes directly into your crotch while you sleep," Inman says in the introduction). It's not for everyone, though; the faint of heart, the squeamish, and the uptight may want to stick with Garfield. For me, Inman's one of the few comic authors whose work is still funny after multiple reads.
The book itself is pretty high quality, with thick, glossy pages. Not all the comics are in color, but most are. And they aren't all gems, but the entertainment level here is quite high. If there's a knock on this book, it's that some of the best Oatmeal comics aren't here. Where's the Gayroller?
The Oatmeal definitely isn't for everybody, but if you like Inman's work and style, 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth is a great collection.
Apparently if you are reading this you are on the fence about buying this book.
You are a failure.
Your mother doesn't love you.
Your father is very disappointed in you.
You will never make the game-winning 3 point shot.
You suck.
If you are going to buy this book, forget the aforementioned statements.
You will become more attractive.
Parents will ask their children, "why aren't you more like them?"
You will be riding on a rainbow cloud of awesome.
Choose wisely.
For 7 bucks I expected crappy quality printing perhaps just a folder stuffed with print outs off of the website along with a poster drawn by a small child sweatshop worker. Instead I got high quality paper with amazing color quality even on pages with several colors. Personally I find all of the comics much funnier in print than online and that's saying something! Anyhow I'm not all that eloquent just know that you should buy this book if you enjoy theoatmeal.com
This book is a nuclear funny bomb, and will be used to laughter torture Al Qaeda instead of water boarding. You have been warned, this book contains secret techniques for tracking, hunting and killing unicorns; arming your pets for war and other insidious hilarity. Read it at your discretion and buy insurance so you have money to repair your colon after the first few pages.
I avoid buying "real" books as much as possible, and cannot remember the last time I pre-ordered a book. But I've been a huge fan of The Oatmeal for quite a while and figured I'd give it a shot... for $7.72, there was no way I'd pass it up.
The book is awesome, and the unseen comics are fantastic. Only downside is that I can't just link them to my friends like I am used to. The colors and the pages are perfectly designed, will make a fantastic gift for under $10.
Inman's humor is real. Okay, sure there are some heavily exaggerated things here, but Inman's take on life and reality and transforming it into humor is very refreshing. I often find myself wondering if I'm the only one who notices the peculiarities of life, until I read Inman's comics and find there's a wide readership that feels the same.
This book is a collection of the first year of those comics. At $8, it's more than a bargain. The book quality is very nice, the pages are clean and colorful (and high quality page material, too), and I'd be more than happy to have paid $20 for this. Nevertheless, it isn't without faults.
First, Inman's comics are webcomics. They were made for and meant to be read on the computer screen. Because of this, there's an even flow that has no disruption when you're reading it, and extraneous jokes don't take away from the meat of the punch line. In book form, however, it's a little tricky: there are no page numbers and no Table of Contents. Because of this, it's a little hard to tell someone about a joke, and then have to flip through the book to find it, hoping your company won't lose interest. It's much easier on the computer because you have a clean setup with links.
I also noticed that some of the stuff gets a bit choppy in the book and some pictures are left out. Sure, it's not a big deal in the end; at first I didn't even notice some pictures were missing until I compared them to those on the website. I did find myself losing track of the joke because I wasn't sure which direction to go (up to down first or left to right), but because of my familiarity with The Oatmeal already, I was able to get along.
The included jokes are hysterical, and made me wonder why Inman never put them up on the site. Perhaps he didn't think they were good enough, or he made them exclusive for the book (we are, after all, paying for material that's already free), but I already have a favorite among them, and that's the types of pedestrian walks. The pull-out poster is the webcomic about why printers are from hell, and I thought that was very apropos.
Overall, despite my gripes, you should really get this book. Yeah, you can find some of them on the web, but if the 'Net should somehow fail, you have a copy that won't shut down, and the extra comics make it even more worthwhile.'
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