The Playboy: A Comic-Strip Memoir

By Chester Brown

A memoir of shocking honesty by the graphic novelist behind 2011's acclaimed comic Paying for It

As with every Chester Brown book, The Playboy--originally published in 1992--was ahead of its time, illustrating the fearlessness and prescience of the iconoclastic cartoonist. A memoir about Brown's adolescent sexuality and shame, The Playboy chronicles his teenage obsession with the magazine of the same name, but it's also a work that explores the physical form of comics to their fullest storytelling capacity. In it, a fifteen-year-old Chester is visited by a time-traveling adult Chester, and the latter narrates the former's compulsion to purchase each issue of Playboy as it appears on newsstands. Even more fascinating than his obsession with the magazine is his need to keep his habit secret and the resulting lengths to which he goes to avoid detection by his family and, later, his girlfriends.
The comics that became The Playboy first appeared in issues of Brown's controversial, groundbreaking comic Yummy Fur more than twenty years ago, and yet the frankness of the work makes it seem avant-garde even now. As in every work by this master cartoonist, The Playboy uses no extra words, no extra panels, no extra lines, conveying environment and emotion through perfectly chosen moments. Fans of his acclaimed and controversial memoir Paying for It are sure to be drawn in by this early autobiographical portrait of blazing honesty. The expanded reissue includes all-new appendixes and notes from the author.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1770461183
• ISBN13: 9781770461185
• Release Date: May 2013
• Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.5" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Personal experience and serialization

For the man who complained of Chester's work being nothing more than a tool for the elite to further distance themselves, I tell him not to base his reaction to this fine work on the snide remarks of a few poseurs. If you were to tell me you did not understand Chester Brown's work, I would have tried to explain it to you because it is something that more people should experience and enjoy. Though he is fine at it, I don't think Chester Brown likes being poor. If more people began appreciating his work, I doubt he would try to make himself less accessible. As for claiming this to be better than his excellent comics, the Playboy was first serialized in Yummy Fur. I suggest you finish reading the entire thing before making such harsh and unfounded claims.

A poignant, touching story of lonely adolescence

Chester Brown - one of the truly brilliant cartoonists in the world - has given us here a touching autobiographical confession of his addiction to pornography. Even if you have never had the exact same experience yourself, you will find yourself able to relate to this book in a very personal way. Brown captures the perpetual guilt and loneliness of adolescence perfectly. What makes the book especially interesting is the method Chester employs in juxtaposing his adult life with his teenage years - his adult "self" time-travels back to his pubescent life and not only narrates the story, but actually becomes a visible little "fairy"-type of creature and interacts with the story in a comforting comic voice. This book is as honest as you can possibly get and will be enjoyed by anyone who loves the nostalgia and sadness of coming-of-age stories. Chester Brown's comic books are a splendid change from the pointlessness of most superhero stories or the shallow shock value of most "underground" comics. His comic books are more like pieces of music - carrying the reader's emotions into places of heartbreak and beauty.