The danger with autobiographical works like The Alcoholic is that they tend to run the risk of forgetting about the audience. Some author/artists (Milk & Cheese creator Evan Dorkin springs easily to mind) delve into this territory with good intentions, but invariable end up obsessed with nothing more than their own shortcomings and failings. The reader is reduced to nothing more than a reluctant therapist, or even worse, a captive audience to one artists obsession with hating himself.

Not all works of this nature fall into this trap, however, and The Alcoholic manages to maintain a level of entertainment and engagement from beginning to end. Author Jonathan Ames exposes his life long struggles with love, friendship, relationships, and drugs, but always with an eye towards examining human nature as well as his own motivations.

Dean Haspiels art, angular and classic without abandoning realism for style, is the perfect compliment to Ames story, and never distracts from the books focus by battling the author for the readers attention.

Much like American Splendor (on which Dean Haspiel also collaborated), The Alcoholics narrative comes across as a self-explorative train of thought as, the author explores the path his life has taken. Ames bares his soul to himself as well as the reader, and examines his past mistakes and blunders without ever sounding preachy or whiny.

Ames also manages to keep a level eye on his life as a whole, and doesnt hang too much significance on any one event. As a resident of New York during 9/11, Ames shares his experiences and emotions about that tragic event in US history. However, he doesnt make it the focal point of the book, nor does he use it to bookend the narrative. He displays it for what it was; a traumatic world event that affected him directly forced him to reevaluate his personal behaviors yet again, but than eventually moves on with his life. An event like 9/11 is an easy device for a writer to manipulate an audiences emotions with, but Ames treats it with the respect and perspective that it deserves.

An autobiographical graphic novel about heartbreak, depression, self-loathing and addiction, The Alcoholic winds up being a tad more uplifting and inspirational than one might expect, and possibly more than the author intended. ( )

Jonathan Ames is the creator of the TV series "Bored to Death," and this graphic novel is about a young writer's struggle with alcoholism and substance abuse. It's not funny. It's more like a graphic description of a border personality disorder with all the obsessive thinking and emptiness that result in substance abuse. I didn't really enjoy it. ( )

This book was a pleasant surprise. I got lost in the world of Jonathan. At time the book was funny, but also Very depressing. The ending of the book leaves you thinking and wanting more. I would read a Sequel to this book. ( )

The Alcoholic è un fumetto crudo, viscerale, direi perfino iperrealistico, in cui la dipendenza è descritta con una lucidità che raramente ho visto altrove: non è mai demonizzata, ma non si cade nemmeno nella trappola del giustificazionismo e del facile vittimismo. Il protagonista è un uomo complesso e pieno di sfaccettature, è difficile trovare un senso a quello che fa perchè esattamente come tutti noi si limita a vivere un giorno dopo l'altro, affrontando a modo suo ciò che la vita gli mette di fronte. E' un debole, attaccato al passato e incapace di assumersi la responsabilità della sua vita, ma soprattutto è profondamente umano.
Lo stile è un bel mix di cinismo e leggerezza, adattissimo al tipo di storia che si vuole raccontare.
Non c'è nulla in questa graphic novel che mi sia particolarmente congeniale: né le tematiche, nè l'ambientazione e tantomeno i disegni, espressivi ma un po' troppo scarni ed essenziali per i miei gusti; eppure non si può negare che sia un'opera di pregio e con una precisa impronta autoriale, che poi può piacere o meno. ( )

Once I began it became impossible to put this book down. The illustrations complemented the story beautifully. The light and dark tones of Jonathan A's story were reflected in the simple black and white drawings. I also appreciated how not distracting the illustrations were. The story was the focal point...as it should be. ( )