I bought this with a book voucher I got on my birthday in 2010. I've slowly been reading through it since. Mostly when the mood struck. I'd never heard of it but then Neil Gaiman mentioned it in his blog and while browsing I found this and thought the weight and size of it made it a worthy purchase.

I haven't always liked it but it's so compelling you can't really leave it for too long (though it clearly took me a while to complete the thing). The more I enjoyed reading the slower I got as I didn't want to rush the journey. And journey it is as we follow Alec/Eddie from his early wild years through to a more sedate middle age. It's a powerful journey which struck a cord with where I am in my life right now and where I've been.

I would recommend this to comic fans, fans of life (and the little things that make it), lovers of beer and wine alike. And lovers of stories. There are plenty of them.

(Thanks to my friends for the gift)

The greatest thing about this omnibus edition is seeing how great Campbell becomes from his earliest efforts - how well he controls his craft, gets inside the moments, captures the exact humorous beat, understands his own neuroses and internal workings. The early King Canute stories are the work of an ambitious amateur, occasionally charming but often not as fully realized or deep as a better cartoonist would've managed. Each successive installment grows deeper and stronger, though some of the short bits and asides along the way won't be for everybody. Overall, a terrific and insightful book. Just be warned that it takes a little while to really find its voice.

Nearly 650 pages, collecting nearly all of Campbell's thinly-veiled autobiographical Alec comics (except Fate of the Artist, from First Second) under one cover and adding a new story, The Years Have Pants is excellent. Campbell's philosophical tangents and wry humor set him far above most autobiographical cartoonists. He relates behind-the-scenes tales of the comics industry in the late 80s (when Sim, Eastman, et. al. were pushing creators' rights) easily alongside stories of his children or his marriage. The family strips he manages to make adorable without being too precocious.
It's very, very funny, and deeply contemplative at the same time. Campbell has a terrific pen and ink style, and he's able to capture anything no matter how fantastic or mundane. In short, it's a must-have book.

There are undoubtedly plenty of folks for whom this book is the perfect read. But despite its flashes of brilliance, it is an epic autobiography of the most self-absorbed sort that feels less like an effort to share one's story than it is an extended cry for attention.

4.5 stars. A true opus, this book compiles much of Campbell's life's work - by which I also mean the works are about his life. The art of storytelling is apparent, including the choice of where to begin, as he says, the exact moment he found his artistic voice. I always find the choices, and sharing the process with the readers, to be a welcome addition to whatever I am reading.

One of the finest comic bios I've ever read. Though some of the books suffer a little bit from a slight pretentiousness (I'm looking at you, How to Be An Artist), it's overall absolutely worth reading, especially for anybody interested in how comics work.

Səhifələrdə 9 yox, daha az panel olsaydı, yəqin ki, daha çox bəyənərdim. Fuck! Komiks yox, roman oxuyurdum elə bil ki. -_- Ya normal roman yaz, ya da normal komiks çək də. Bu nədir eee?

Probably best known for his collaboration with [a:Alan Moore|3961|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1182935774p2/3961.jpg] on the extraordinary [b:From Hell|23529|From Hell|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167428110s/23529.jpg|191464], Eddie Campbell, serving as both writer and artist, first gained acclaim for Alec, the thinly-veiled autobiographical adventures of a Scottish artist. Alec: The Years Have No Pants collects all of the very frank, often humorous previously published tales plus a new story. While all the stories showcase Campbell's distinctive art, the highlight of this impressive book derives from the evolution of the artist. Midway through the 638 page volume, the realization dawns that Eddie Campbell may be one of the field's most accomplished storytellers. Alec: The Years Have No Pants belongs in all finer graphic novel collections.