This first book from Chicago author Chris Ware is a pleasantly-decoratedview at a lonely and emotionally-impaired "everyman" (Jimmy Corrigan, theSmartest Kid on Earth), who is provided, at age 36, the opportunity to meethis father for the first time. An improvisatory romance which gingerlydeports itself between 1890's Chicago and 1980's small town Michigan, thereader is helped along by thousands of colored illustrations and diagrams,which, when read rapidly in sequence, provide a convincing illusion of lifeand movement. The bulk of the work is supported by fold-out instructions,an index, paper cut-outs, and a brief apology, all of which concrete toform a rich portrait of a man stunted by a paralyzing fear of beingdisliked.