Graphic Novel Review: Bob's Burgers Volume 1

Title: Bob's Burgers
Series: Volume 1
Author: Chad Brewster, Jeff Drake, Justin Hook, Rachel Hastings, Mike Olsen
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: April 7th 2015
Source: Dynamite Entertainment


Book Description via Goodreads:

Now you can read about the Belcher family (parents Bob and Linda, and their children Tina, Gene and Louise) with brand-new in-canon stories created by the TV show's producers, writers, and animators!

That's right, all-original stories that expand upon the fan-favorite animated series, including hilarious installments of "Louise's Unsolved Mysteries", "Tina's Erotic Friend Fiction", "A Gene Belcher Original Musical", "Letters Written by Linda", "Bob's Burgers of the Day", and much more!

Review:

★★★

I absolutely love Bob's Burgers. It's one of my favorite television shows and it never fails to make me laugh. I love the characters and the shenanigans they get up to, and so when I came across this graphic novel I had to have it. Overall, it was worth a read and was pretty funny.

I liked the way that the stories in this volume were divided. Each character got their own section. Louis had a crime/mystery type story in each comic book. Gene's were done as a musical. Tina's parts were done as fan/friend fiction. Bob's involved picking out the burger of the day, and Linda's were wine-filled letters to random people and companies. I like that each character was given a chance to shine.

The artwork was very similar to the artwork that's on the cartoon series, but it was just different enough to bug me a bit. It wasn't awful or anything, but it was just a bit less crisp and focused as I was expecting. Sometimes it was a bit hard to read the text, but it didn't bother me too much.

The humor was pretty much on par with that of the show, and I chuckled a bit while reading it. However, part of that humor is lost while reading it. Part of what makes it so hilarious, for me anyway, is hearing the voice actor's inflections and how they bring the character to life. While I could try my best to conjure up their voices and energy, it's just not the same. I'd rather watch the show than read it.

This isn't a bad book by any means, but it just wasn't something I loved. The artwork and humor are solid enough, and I think that die-hard fans of the animated series Bob's Burgers will enjoy reading this volume.

I received this copy in exchange for my honest review.