Bernell Dorroughmy new filing technique is unstoppable
By David Rees
Riverhead Books
ISBN 1-57322-382-4
$10.00 paperback
The subversive clip-art comics of David Rees have been seen in Rolling Stone magazine-where his “Get Your War On” appears in every issue-and in the hilariously profane kung-fu lampoon “my new fighting technique is unstoppable,” the story of Normal Man and his search for the perfect fighting technique. The follow-up to “fighting technique,” “my new filing technique is unstoppable,” utilizes the same format as the former book, this time to poke fun at the mundane existence that is office life.
To those who read “Get Your War On,” the faces in “filing technique” will be familiar. He uses the same office manual clip-art. Throughout the course of the book-a continuation of the Crumbly Comics series he began as a temp worker in various offices, using office staples and printers to self-publish his work-Rees takes on office politics, the boring nature of meetings, and the simple hopelessness of being trapped in a cubicle. While this may sound boring or depressing, it is anything but-this book is laugh-out-loud funny.
Rees’ main strength is the incredibly smart way he makes stupid jokes. These are jokes any one of us could think of, with punchlines that fly through our heads every day. But Rees has the gall to put them on paper, peppered with curse words, and his rage at the world is manifested in guilty humor. Rees laughs at the things that depress most of us, and his comics are cathartic in their humorous release.
“my new filing technique is unstoppable” is recommended for anyone who laughed at “Office Space,” or for fans of the new BBC series “The Office”-by the way, if you haven’t been able to see it, it’s available on DVD and definitely worth a look-or for people who just like to laugh at bad jokes. File this book under “unstoppable.”