A dark, bizarre comedy where teachers push boundaries into
preposterous places
The Follies of Richard Wadsworth showcases Nick Maandag's signature
blend of deadpan satire and exceedingly unexpected plot twists. In
"Night School," a Modern Managerial Business Administration and
Operational Leadership class goes awry when a fire alarm brings the
Chief to school and he decides to stick around to teach the students a
thing or two about leadership--and discipline. "The Follies of Richard
Wadsworth" follows the title character, a professor of philosophy, as he
begins work as a contract instructor at yet another university. When
Wadsworth finds himself smoking reefer at his student's party and
discovers she works at a rub 'n' tug, an off-kilter plan is hatched. And
in "The Disciple," a yarn about a coed Buddhist monastery, Brother
Bananas, the resident gorilla, isn't the only one having difficulty
keeping his lust tucked safely under his robe.
In Maandag's hands--hands that love to toy with morally ambiguous
characters and flirt with absurdity--troubled men make poor decisions,
unlikable characters gain our sympathies through their very haplessness,
and riotous laughs ensue.
Maandag has achieved cult acclaim through his self-published and
micro-published comics, and The Follies of Richard Wadsworth is his
debut book. His mechanical, affectless characters and economical artwork
efficiently deliver cringes, heightening the awkward silence and
stillness of his hilarious comics.
