The Huge Book of Hell

Matt Groening said that the measure of successful social criticism is "if you can delight half your audience and really annoy the hell out of the other half." Groening's tenth Life in Hell book, The Huge Book of Hell, works in much this way. Having evolved from a cynical, bitter outlook on life, Life in Hell now offers what is most likely the sharpest, most subversive social criticism available in comic strips. (Only Groening seems to be able to write things like "I have a constant craving for Jack Daniels" or "I'm going to tell God to stab you.") And, as such, it sometimes hits, it sometimes misses. What remains consistent is the quality of the insight, whether it be on the creative process, life's little burdens, family life, or the trials of love.