The Follies of Richard Wadsworth

“When this graphic novel arrived, I absent-mindedly picked it up and flipped through it, then started to laugh. Two hours later, I’d read it in a single sitting, without meaning to, and forgotten to eat. I can think of no higher accolade for a comical book.” — The Toronto Star

“A collection of comics that tell the stories of questionable protagonists with messy lives that showcase cartoonist Nick Maandag's absurdist sense of humour.” — CBC books

“Maandag showcases his excellent deadpan, cringe-inducing humor in this hilariously unsettling collection of three short stories. Using a spare line and a minimum of expressiveness, he repeatedly skewers the self-important, the self-righteous, and the self-absorbed.” — Publishers Weekly

“A complete, riotous success.” — Broken Pencil

“Expertly paced.” — Winnipeg Free Press

“It’s tough to be actually funny – most books with pull quotes claiming “it had me crying with laughter” don’t usually raise more than a wry smile in practice. Follies bucks this trend, with genuine moments of deadpan comedy.” — The Quietus

“The subtle dialogue and absurd situational comedy will cause readers themselves to have to pause until the groaning chuckles fade. Long after they have finished the book, too, the thoughtful satire will return to make the readers think and laugh again.” — Blogcritics

“Maandag’s proper place in the canon is alongside creators like Daniel Clowes and Adrian Tomine.” — The London Free Press

“Deadpan humor that works in unison with the absurdity and surrealism that define the situations the characters are in.” — Comics Beat

“Characters still flail and fail to hilarious ends, but for some (like the titular Wadsworth) he grants them a refreshing and unexpected stay, and with it the possibility of hope.” — The Comics Journal

“Nick Maandag offers us the most perfectly obnoxious characters—tortured by their own self importance, lecherous desire and profound idiocy. These stories are both entertaining and highly disturbing.” — Hartley Lin, Young Frances