Many of us know Andy Kaufman through Jim Carrey’s insanely accurate portrayal in Man on the Moon (1999). Watching Carrey as Kaufman, I started to have difficulty telling apart the real deal from the imitation. Carrey went to great lengths to live as Andy, including staying in character 24/7 despite the difficulties his colleagues had on the set from dealing with “Andy.” Nearly 20 years later, Andy returns in the form of a graphic novel, Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman by Box Brown. His biographies seem to pop up just as often as conspiracy theories that he still lives!
Box Brown is no newbie to biographical graphic novels, having the impressive NYT Bestseller, Andre the Giant: Life and Legend on the resume. The official blurb is as follows:
Comedian and performer Andy Kaufman’s resume was impressive—a popular role on the beloved sitcom Taxi, a high-profile stand-up career, and a surprisingly successful stint in professional wrestling. Although he was by all accounts a sensitive and thoughtful person, he’s ironically best remembered for his various contemptible personas, which were so committed and so convincing that all but his closest family and friends were completely taken in.
Why would someone so gentle-natured and sensitive build an entire career seeking the hatred of his audience? What drives a performer to solicit that reaction? With the same nuance and sympathy with which he approached Andre the Giant in his 2014 biography, graphic novelist Box Brown takes on the complex and often hilarious life of Andy Kaufman.
Is this Guy For Real? publishes on February 6, 2018.
Source: Publisher’s Weekly