Beyond Bojack Horseman
It’s been a month since the last episodes of the final season of Bojack Horseman dropped on Netflix and it seems like a lot of people are still getting over seeing the last of streaming television’s funniest, most insightful, and most heartfelt series. It is odd to me that an animated show involving anthropomorphic animal people coexisting with humans could be so relatable and witty, dark but optimistic, wrestling with themes that could bog down most serious dramas were they to attempt dealing with them, but the team behind the writing, art, and animation put it together seamlessly. In addition to its wonderfully corny animal puns and absurdist wordplay, pitch perfect parodies of much of contemporary culture, and lovely art style seasoned with blink and you’ll miss it references, Bojack Horseman balanced it’s conflicting tones perfectly. It’s a bittersweet ending, but one that wraps up most of its threads, I feel. Still, I understand those who crave more.
While it may not be future episodes, I thought I’d discuss a few of the other works the creators of the series have produced, books which reflect the humor and the style of Bojack Horseman. Show production designer Lisa Hanawalt’s inimitable art style creates the surreal but realistic world of the show, and her work as a cartoonist is how I first came to seek out Bojack Horseman. Creator and writer Raphael Bob-Wakesberg’s humor comes through strongly in his recently published collection of short stories as well.
A good place to start for any Bojack fan looking to delve deeper into the background of the series is the art book Bojack Horseman: The Art Before the Horse. Like the bonus feature disc of a DVD set packed with extras, this coffee table book is packed with behind the scenes info, interviews, design notes, and other insider tidbits. Most interesting are Hanawalt and Bob-Waksberg’s hilarious introductions. You can definitely see the show’s wit, heart, and innovativeness in their collaborative zines republished here, but the majority of the accounts of the show’s development period or it’s animation process in Flash were a little dry, of most interest to enthusiasts. I really enjoyed seeing some of the show’s various background jokes, from Hanawalt’s various animal people interpretation of famous works of art and the California state flag and the full list of Todd and Mr. Peanubutter’s ideas for the Oscars, all details easy to miss while watching the show.
Lisa Hanawalt’s comic collections and graphic novels are highly recommendable and always fun to look at. I first became interested in checking out the series after reading her collection My Dirty Dumb Eyes, for instance.
My Dirty Dumb Eyes is a vibrant, lewd, hilarious, thoughtful and bizarre collection of colorful watercolor cartoons, a mix of comical animal people caught in existential crisis that really help illuminate where the unique visual style of Bojack Horseman originated. In addition to her evocative animal art (the series of animals wearing different styles of hats was especially funny, I think), the autobiographical pieces discussing Hanawalt’s sixth grade love of horses and illustrated movie reviews were my favorites of the collection.
Hot Dog Taste Test is another great collection, a mix of colorful surrealist absurdity and self deprecating memoir. Here, Hanawalt focuses on all things culinary, celebrating food in all its delicious, savory, and occasionally gross wonder, from Las Vegas buffets to Argentinian pastries. Again, this collection ranges from impressionistic fables using her trademark animal people to autobiographical travelogs, her detailed watercolors giving everything a languid beauty coupled with outrageous humor.
Hanawalt’s latest work, Coyote Doggirl, is a fun standalone graphic novel telling the story of the titular outlaw doggirl as she rides her trusty steed Red across a western landscape inhabited by bandit dogs, wise wolf clans, and lawdogs. Kind of a revisionist western parody starring gunslinging pups with a distinctively feminist lens, it’s a unique and compelling genre blend I don’t think you could find anywhere else. I really enjoyed it and look forward to more of Hanawalt’s longer narratives.
Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s first collection of fiction, Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory, was just published as well, and I’d totally recommend checking it out. A thoroughly enjoyable collection of short stories, Bob-Waksberg’s voice really comes through in all of them, drawing on the whimsy and pathos, relatability and inventiveness that he brought to Bojack Horseman. Often sad, but with a lot of positivity as well, in these stories he focuses on relationships of all types, from familial, to romantic, to that between a human (ManMonster) and a goodog. There’s definitely a bit of George Saunders in these tales of everyday life, often with a surreal or a slightly otherworldly tint (eternal train rides, dimensional doorways, superheroes) but Bob-Waksberg’s voice is distinct, his use of puns and alliterative wordplay will instantly recall his work on Bojack Horseman. I particularly enjoyed the widely varying ideas and perspectives explored in the collection, from short, humorous pieces like Rules for Taboo to longer works like “More of the You that You Already Are.” All in all, a very impressive debut.
All in all, these works further cemented my appreciation for the talents of Hanawalt and Bob-Wakesberg. To fill that gaping hole in your Netflix binging schedule, Lisa Hanawalt’s own animated show Tuca and Bertie and Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s next series Undone yet are both streaming now. Better make some time for binging!
This entry’s thematic musical choice is “Back in the ‘90s,” the Bojack Horseman ending credits song by the band Grouplove. Thought I’d include it since Netflix often just cuts into the next episode before you get a chance to listen to it.