Mixtionary

There are very few humor books out on the market today. Moreover, there are very few humorous books that challenge your mind and tickle your fancy. Being the word lover that I am, I was curious to see how IDW’s newest title, Mixtionary, would fare.

“Mixtionary” is written by Mia Christou, Scott Lobdell and John Nee with accompanying illustrations by the incomparable Shawn McManus. Mixtionary is subtitled “Mixed-up modern words for the mixed-up modern world”…that just about sums up this cleverly written and expertly drawn compendium of cacophonous linguistic concoctions. This book combines real world situations and coins new terms and phrases for them. I thought that the best way to review this book is to include some of my favorite words. Here are some of my favorites that I’ve culled from the hardcover book:


MANTIQUES

antiques + man
The things in your home that you are desperate
to get rid of, which, unfortunately,
are your husband’s prized possessions.

Ugh! That one hit too close to home with my comic books and super hero collectibles all over my house.



Another page perfectly captured how I felt about long lines and longer waiting times when in a public office:

BUREAUCRAP

Bureaucracy + Crap
The obtuse web of intricate processes
by which large organizations
operate. Baffling systems only make
sense to long time insiders.


And, one more reflects our rather generous current corporate culture:

FLEECEO

fleece + ceo
The CEO with a grand master
plan for himself: to cash in his
stock for a huge gain, leaving
the shareholders, the raped
company and its employees
holding the empty bag.


The artwork by Shawn McManus appropriately caricatures the worlds in illustrative form. I’ve seen McManus’ artwork before, but never in this style or format. His eye for humor ingeniously captures the spirit of the creative texts and lends to the curled up smile on this reader’s lips. This is a much-needed book in a market devoid of new ideas for the humor genre. This is a fantastic book which stands uniquely on its own. Mixtionary is guaranteed to stimulate the mind and tickle the funny bone.