My rating of three is a guessed at average of all my likes and dislikes about the book, If UR Stabby. Kaz Windness created a concept of a depressed unicorn that is mostly amusing. Stabby is the opposite of other unicorns with their jellybeans and kittens and rainbows and six-packs. Stabby is anxiety and gas and stabby. Really, really stabby. Plus, they have a theme song (sung to the tune “If You’re Happy and You Know It”). But then Windness lost me. Um…. Blood and violence much? I mean it is “drawn blood” but still the fact that Stabby stabs Cupid through the eye to give The Girl with the Pearl Earring a new accessory? Um. No. (Still, terribly clever, though).
And because of that, that is also what makes it great. It is not a “happy happy joy joy” story about overcoming your otherness, your anxiety, your “if it can go wrong, it will and times a thousand.” You are to embrace it. And realize life is a pile of doo-doo, this is your lot in life, and the Pandemic will grab you and throw you out on your butt. Despite, you will go to the zoo, the DNA tests will say, “You are the father”, and then you are banned from the zoo. But then you can stab people when they annoy you, and then have some great Halloween decorations.
The one part I enjoyed was the tarot cards that introduce each section. They are all you need to know about what you are getting yourself into. The cover gives you an idea of what you will see style and color wise, but please note that Windness was not shy about putting the graphic in graphic novel (see failed occupation section. You’ll never go to the dentist again). I’ve seen this in young adult sections and adult sections, but my personal feeling is that a teen would need to be very mature, and therefore, it’s for adults who enjoy dark, warped, insane humor.
