The Big Book of Barry Ween, Boy Genius by Judd Winick is a collection of all three Barry Ween mini-series (12 issues in all) and is truly laugh out loud funny. It’s what a Nickelodeon show would be like if they allowed violence, sex talk and cussing. And it’s directly responsible for Winick getting work in the comics mainstream (whether you consider that good or bad would be a different discussion). Read on to find out what’s so funny about a 10 year old with a 350 IQ and his best (and horniest) friend.

Judd Winick was first known as a comic strip writer (actually he was first known for being on The Real World: San Francisco on MTV) who had a strip in the San Francisco newspaper for a little while. He then had a longer stint publishing Frumpy the Clown (which was really funny, but never got the attention it deserved). Winick then decided to move to longer format comics including his award winning Pedro and Me and some short stories in comic anthologies. Then, when it appeared that Winick would probably have to go back to illustrating “The Complete Idiot’s Guide To..” series, Winick hit upon a mini-series based on his life long friendship with the real life Barry Wein (who isn’t the genius that his comic presence indicates) and magic was born.

Matt Wagner had the best description of Barry Ween with “South Park meets Dexter’s Lab” and that is exactly what you get. Barry Ween is a genius. Not your garden variety genius like Stephen Hawking or Albert Einstein, but a brain the world has never seen before. But his genius, his best friend Jeremy and his love for classmate Sara end up causing never ending problems that usually end up well, but take a turn through hilarity before they finish.

In the first mini-series, Barry has to deal with an accidental crack into a different dimension, fix Jeremy after he ingested a mutant growth hormone and save Sara from a museum art theft ring. Barry uses his giant brain to solve the problems, but also invent new and interesting varieties of cussing. We also get some back-story to learn why Barry subjects himself to school. In the second series, Barry has to rescue an alien that landed on Earth while hiding out from some unsavory ex-friends, rescue Jeremy after he accidentally sends himself back to the 1880s and rescue Jeremy from a government agency that thinks Jeremy is Barry.

The third miniseries deals with stories about gorillas, culminating in a three part story with Sara being sent to a different dimension by a giant gorilla and Barry coming to her rescue. And the third mini-series is not only the funnies of them all, but has some real moments of pathos in the end. Barry sums up his greatest fear at the beginning of the last issue:

“And the greatest fear I have, and I have many..Is not in the solutions that evade me. It’s in the answers I have…That I’m too slow to execute.”

That sums up Barry’s world perfectly. Barry knows that having all the answers doesn’t always mean you are able to save everything…or everyone. The last series, which Winick freely admits was designed to have gorillas and girls in bikinis, was one of the best comic mini-series in the early 2000s. It was also the last Barry Ween published (although Winick announced last month that he is working on the next Barry Ween series). Do yourself a favor and buy the Barry Ween book. Sit down and prepare to fall over laughing. Highly recommended.