The Lowbrow Reader

***The Lowbrow Reader is a lushly illustrated comedy zine geared toward those enlightened souls who understand the genius of Joan Rivers and Adam Sandler. It was conceived in 2001 by editor JAY RUTTENBERG while he was working as a music critic at Time Out New York, and features the work of moonlighting professionals from the hallowed worlds of journalism, rock music, cartooning, and television. Each issue’s cover is devoted to an increasingly sophisticated toilet gag. Writing on The New York Times website, Dwight Garner proclaimed the Lowbrow “a smart little journal about what’s sometimes perceived as dumb humor,” adding that “it feels like a steal.” The Village Voice called it “excellent and actually quite high-minded,” while The Comics Journal named the publication “the killer zine about comedy to end all killer zines about comedy.” Although it maintains an online presence akin to your average 82-year-old homemaker, most Lowbrow Reader issues are long sold-out. And now! The Lowbrow Reader Reader gathers together the best writings and drawings from the journal’s eight issues, along with new material. A dozen years in the making (!), the anthology is the biggest and best product to come out of Lowbrow Reader headquarters. 297 pages. (STREET DATE - 5/22/2012)