Last summer, hordes of “Superbad” fans left movie theaters craving more of the misadventures of Seth, Evan and the infamous McLovin. Well, “Superbad: The Drawings” seeks to satisfy that perverse need. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the duo who wrote “Superbad,” have delved into the world of “phallographics” by creating a lovely companion to their blockbuster hit — a collection of penis drawings.
Yes, you read right. This small book — which could easily be mistaken as a children’s book with its ordinary, colorful cover — boasts 82 incarnations of the film’s famous penis drawings. The book also contains a forward by Rogen and Goldberg, as well as a forward by the illustrator of the book, Goldberg’s older brother David. And just in case you can’t find your favorite, the book also provides an index of the drawings.
Some of the illustrations are memorable from the movie, but many of them make their first appearance in this book. The subjects of the depictions draw from a wide variety of sources, including pop culture (films “Alien,” “Dr. Strangelove” and “Superbad” all have depictions), history (a Che Guevara penis was a personal favorite) as well as various situations from daily life.
The quality of the illustrations also works in the book’s favor, as all the drawings appear just as they did in “Superbad,” usually on lined notebook paper and occasionally colored in with whatever was lying around. With lazy-looking pen scrawls, perfection was obviously not the objective. And that notion itself is perfect.
The only downside of this book is the cost — $15 for 82 illustrations and little else seems to be a bit much. But depending on who you are, this may be entirely worth it; for the die-hard “Superbad” fan, this book could be considered essential. But for the rest of us, this book makes a great gift for someone else or a good book to leaf through at Urban Outfitters.
Before “reading” this book and seeing “Superbad,” I, like most others, would have never thought I’d see penises doing things like hang-gliding and admiring totem poles. And now my life is more complete in a way I didn’t know it was supposed to be.
One thing is certain: If you are one of those people who likes books “for the pictures,” then this book is for you.
4 stars out of 5
