'Chewing Gum In Church - A Yikes! Collection'

Fantagraphics Books, 2001, 104 pages

Written and Illustrated by Steven Weissman

Chewing Gum In Church is the new "Yikes" book by Steven Weissman, starring "Sweet" Chubby Cheeks, Kid Medusa, the Pullapart Boy, Elzie Crisler, Dead Boy, X-Ray Spence and, of course, Li'l Bloody. This cast, having survived enough adventures to fill three mass-market paperbacks (see below), now "settles" into a daily routine of cruelty, failure, jealousy, bitterness, gluttony, sloth, violence, arrogance, and stupidity. But especially stupidity.

Having written short stories (Don't Call Me Stupid), long stories (Champs) and every kind of story in between (White Flower Day) for his famous "Yikes" characters, Weissman has recently stripped his creation down to a classic, four-panel strip structure.

This is Weissman's first full-color book, which is hard to imagine for an artist so renowned for his color sense. His artwork has never been more beautiful and assured, and his writing has never been as sharp or funny.

Chewing Gum In Church, the fourth book in the "Yikes" series, is simultaneously more dense and accessible than any previous volume. First time "Yikes" readers will be delighted by Weissman's "cuter than cute" drawings ΓÇö drawings that treat each other so terribly. Longtime fans, on the other hand, will certainly find this book to be tremendous addition to their library of Li'l Bloody and the Pullapart Boy's adventures.