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Wonderlost #2
By Zak Edwards
May 12, 2008 - 13:55

Image Comics
Writer(s): C.B Cebulski
Penciller(s): Mat Santolouco, Ethan Young, Tony Fleecs, John Amor, Jason Meek, Rafael Albuquerque, Seth Frail, and Alina Urusov
Letterer(s): Cory Petit and Randy Gentile
Cover Artist(s): Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell
64 pgs.



C.B Cebulski’s second volume of his autobiographical misadventures is as open, hilarious, and real as the first volume that came out last year.  The temptation to fill this review with words like “anticlimactic” and “satisfying” may prove too much by the end, but for the comic book itself, it is a great read.  Wonderlost is entertaining, funny, repulsive, and contains too much material that relates to what everyone deep down has thought at one point in time.  It reminds me of “High Fidelity” in a way, both the book and film adaptation, as a book that no woman should be allowed near, it contains too many of men’s inner workings!

Wonderlost2.jpg
The issue follows C.B Cebulski’s youthful misadventures with women, sex, beer, drugs, and general media influence.  The back of the issue states that the issue is “told in the same open and honest style as the highly-praised first issue” and I would have to agree with the first part, but C.B Cebulski cannot mask the subjectivity of his experience, making some of this hard to believe, or perhaps I simply haven’t lived the way he has.  Nevertheless, the stories are still enjoyable, filled with real-life experiences and lessons learned the hard way towards sex, drugs, and alcohol (but not rock and roll, this is embraced).  There is not a totality to the story, but a single-sided view from within the situation.  It is still entertaining to watch some of Cebulski’s less well-thought-out  moves, from slashing his jeans while wearing them, to waking up in only his boxers, soaking wet on his parent’s front porch after a night of heavy drinking.  The reminders of some of my own less than intelligent, but still fun, exploits are present; I find myself nodding in agreement as much as I shake my head at trying to figure out what he was thinking or throwing my head back in a great laugh.  What Cebulski accomplishes is a simultaneous reminder of why we mature and why we must hold onto our youth, and for someone to have the guts to actually put these reminders into print is either very stupid or very passionate.

The various artists add to the subjectivity of Cebulski’s storytelling as most draw the female characters with proportions of the more popular super heroes like Emma Frost or Power Girl, big busts, tiny waists, flawless features.  Overall, a more realistic, at least in those regards, would have benefitted the book more than making all of Cebulski’s female friends and sexual accomplishments look like Barbie dolls.  Beyond that, the art is almost an entirely different style from story to story, which is great, and all work well within the black and white art.  Wonderlost displays some very good talent within it, but it is still Cebulski’s antics that make this book.

9/10    Seriously entertaining, but be prepared to pay a few bucks extra for this gem.

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