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Fred the Clown: The Iron Duchess Kindle & comiXology

by Roger Langridge (Author, Artist) Format: Kindle Edition

4.9 5 ratings

Part of: Fred the Clown

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Fred the Clown is fit as a fiddle and looking for love in this ode to silent cinema by an acclaimed cartoonist. This nearly wordless romp from master cartoonist Roger Langridge is the author's paean to the silent, slapstick comedies of the 1910s and '20s, spun for a contemporary audience, starring his most popular character. It finds our hero Fred pitching the woo to a lovely equestrian. But with matrimony-minded fathers, boorish beaux, and malicious mad scientists interfering at every opportunity, what's a clown―and his faithful pig companion―to do? Langridge's velvety grays evoke the silent films of his patron saint, Buster Keaton (and, in this volume particularly, the latter's masterpiece, The General). His craft is at a zenith, and captures every screwball twist and turn of the heiress's and our hero's romantic roundabout.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Iron Dutchess manages to be a madcap adventure, but also a beautifully structured story with multiple threads moving along and leading to some strange and hilarious surprises by the end."
― Smash Pages

"Want to get your kids into Buster Keaton but afraid they won’t watch a silent black-and-white movie? Langridge’s slim graphic novel is a good intro to the form, with a monochromatic palette and almost no words, but the simplicity of the book makes it an easy read for kids."
― Paste

"A hybrid of silent film tribute and the underground comics scene, this latest Fred the Clown book takes his Buster Keaton-influenced protagonist on another journey of violent slapstick, unrequited love and brilliant visual gags."
― Broken Frontier

"Every so often, lightning strikes―and nails Fred the Clown right in the tokhes. Such is the essence of New Zealand-born London cartoonist Langridge’s sublimely feckless creation that it's a wonder a bolt ever strikes elsewhere. Langridge's art is as funny as his writing and also, despite the pretense that Fred merits no sympathy, touching."
― Booklist ― Starred Review

About the Author

New Zealand cartoonist RogerLangridge is the creator of Fred the Clown, who has earned him multiple award nominations and two Eisners. Langridge has worked for Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse. He has also worked on Boom! Studios’ The Muppet Show, IDW’s Popeye, and DWM's Doctor Who. He lives in Britain.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B071YSYCX3
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fantagraphics (September 13, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 13, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 292702 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 109 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #4,211,988 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,101 in Literary Graphic Novels (Kindle Store)
- #2,223 in Fantagraphics Comics & Graphic Novels
- #4,796 in Humorous Graphic Novels (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.9 5 ratings

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VM-Seattle

Roger Landridge is a Comic Genius!!!

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

Impeccable line-work, wacky characters, inspired buster-keatonesque theaterics, fast-paced story-telling, off-beat humor - I am in awe of the cartoonists talent. If you like graphic novels with an original sense of humor, you can't go wrong with this one!

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2017

A few things jumped out at me when I opened up Fred the Clown. The book is all black and white, except for the cover, and there is no dialogue. It’s intended as an homage to the silent films of the early 20th century and has a plot that feels like it could be from that era. “The Iron Duchess” is a classic tale of clown meets girl, clown falls in love with girl, clown marries pig. Yeah, Roger Langridge is a writer who moves to his own beat.

This is only my second experience with Roger Langridge. In 2012, he wrote a 12 issue limited series Popeye comic and I thought he did a damn fine job. I’m a big Popeye fan and I’m very particular about how the character is handled but I felt he did the sailor man justice. He only did the art for a couple of the comics but it was clear that Langridge is a duel threat with both writing and artistic skills. This is the second Fred the Clown book from Langridge, the first came out in 2004. I don’t own it but I’d be interested in reading another.

I liked Fred the Clown enough that I would consider purchasing the previous book but mostly because it’s dirt cheap. I didn’t love Fred the Clown because it’s tone is a bit of all over the place. You might think it’s aimed towards children but then we have some implied bestiality and a weird scientist doing experiments on fusing humans and animals. This can be a problem with artists who’s minds often drift in random directions. The creativity can create some messy storytelling and tonal inconsistencies. Langridge has a lot of talent but I think he needs to try and figure out who his audience is and keep the plot tighter. I’m someone who enjoys weirdness in stories and out of the box thinking but sometimes the weirdness can lead to sloppiness. That’s why films edit their material down and we have deleted scenes. With some editing Fred the Clown could have been much better.

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