A Wealth of Pigeons is a collection of cartoons created by famed illustrator/cartoonist Harry Bliss and veteran actor, comedian and writer Steve Martin.

I picked this book up (it was gathering dust on my shelves for over a year) after reading two emotionally taxing books back-to-back and needed a light-hearted read. This was perfect for a ‘pick-me-up’ and I enjoyed laughing myself silly over this delightful collection of ridiculously funny cartoons (and captions) on a variety of subjects including animals, aliens and outer space and of course the exploits of the common man. We even get a few multi-panel frames in which the collaborators give us a glimpse into their creative process, Bliss and Martin appearing as cartoon versions of themselves!

Needless to say, the artwork is simply stunning with mostly black and white sketches ( a handful with a splash of color). With a wide variety of topics and humor, the collection never gets monotonous. I couldn’t get enough of these cartoons and sincerely hope Steve Martin and Harry Bliss get together for more such collaborations in the future.

For those who enjoy New Yorker-style cartoons, The Wealth of Pigeons by Harry Bliss and Steve Martin deserves a place in your collection! Perfect as a palate cleanser, when you need a good laugh or just because you feel like it! As in most "collections" some cartoons were funnier or more interesting than others but overall, this book is a fun and light-hearted read that I really enjoyed! ( )

What a delightful collection of cartoons! ( )

A collection of perfectly fine and humorous cartoon panels reminiscent of The Far Side or any number of New Yorker gags. Despite the pedigree of the authors, they are content to mine the old reliable veins, serving up lots of jokes about dogs, desert islands, Disney characters, the Grim Reaper, etc. So many of the gags are two unlikely characters sort of sharing a space and saying something kind of clever or unexpected.

Slightly more interesting are the pages inside the front and back covers showing their process and the occasional strips that feature Martin and Bliss just hanging out or talking about the next cartoon.

Anyhow, I laughed out loud a time or two and enjoyed the short time it took to flip through (made shorter by the fact that every other page is blank so all the cartoons appear alone on the right side of every two-page spread). ( )

Not enough pigeons! Bliss is a MASTER OF PIGEONS but this cartoon collection needs more. Bliss, who does a great daily one-panel strip, is brought together with Steve Martin by the New Yorker art editor Francoise Mouly because Steve's got ideas and he needs a visual translator. They become friends and collaborators, but Bliss should keep his day job. The book has about 10 cartoons I found to be outstanding and the rest were plain okay. A bit disappointing. ( )

First book I've reviewed in quite a while and it's a book of cartoons. Understandable, if one realizes how life has sent my way, one too many griefs, challenges, and for the first time in my life I struggled to maintain equilibrium. This book was fun, fun I so needed. Some of the cartoons are more amusing than others, but the illustrations, all black and white, were wonderful. A good gift book I think for the holidays. This has been a tough year for so many, might be nice to pass on a little humor. ( )