Strange Planet – Nathan W. Pyle

Strange Planet Nathan Pyle
Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle
Published by Morrow Gift on November 19, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Graphic Novel
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
five-stars

I feel more attractive.Honestly, you are.It’s the star damage.I CRAVE STAR DAMAGE.Straight from the mind of New York Times bestselling author Nathan W. Pyle comes an adorable and profound universe in pink, blue, green, and purple. Based on the phenomenally popular Instagram of the same name, Strange Planet covers a full life cycle of the planet’s inhabitants, including milestones such as: The Emergence Day, Being Gains a Sibling, The Being Family Attains a Beast, The Formal Education of a Being, Celebration of Special Days, Being Begins a Vocation, The Beings at Home, Health Status of a Being, The Hobbies of a Being, The Extended Family of the Being, The Being Reflects on Life While Watching the Planet Rotate
With dozens of never-before-seen illustrations in addition to old favorites, this book offers a sweet and hilarious look at a distant world not all that unlike our own.

It’s been not quite a year since Nathan W. Pyle graced readers with a four-panel comic strip of aliens trying to be human and exposing some of the weirdest quirks of life. The first strip was about cleaning before company comes over. That was 5.1 million Instagram followers and a book deal ago and it shows no signs of slowing down. Whether it’s on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, fan engagement is incredible, making their own jokes, riffing off of single-panel screenshots, using them as reaction images, and just in general creating a whole community of fun.

Pyle has been an artist for a while, getting his start by being goofy on Reddit and drawing observations on life in NYC. That led to a 2014 comic series and book NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette. Pyle (or at least the comics) started to appear in my world about that time, on occasion, and his work with Buzzfeed brought him even further acclaim. Nothing could have prepared him for the success of Strange Planet.

The book was inevitable and I had it pre-ordered from pretty much the beginning. (Saying that I paid for a book is the biggest endorsement I can offer.) Pyle has given away so much of his content that I felt compelled to pay money for his book.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

m o t i o n s

A post shared by Strange Planet (@nathanwpylestrangeplanet) on

If you’re a fan of the comics, then you’ll love the book. Strange Planet has several comic follow-ups, where Pyle extrapolates on a previously-seen comic. It’s a mix of the old classics (can you call them that when they’re less than a year old?) and never before seen material. And every single panel is hilarious.

If you’ve somehow not heard of this comic series, then I don’t know what corner of the Internet you lurk on. The illustrations are simple, yet convey so much emotion. The jokes are thoughtful, clever, and appropriate for all ages. I think that’s really been its success. In an increasingly polarized world, Pyle is able to draw us together by reminding us what makes us all human. It doesn’t matter your race, religion, gender, age, or political affiliation, Strange Planet is for you. Nathan does a new comic virtually every day. Go throw $10 his way to get it in printed form. And then check out his Threadless account while you’re at it.

By the way, it gave me the absolute best shirt to wear to the airport when traveling with two kids under two over Christmas break.

C H A O SChaos Is How I Learn

five-stars