In the mid-1800s, self-made naturalist and outdoorsman John James Audubon began work on his collection of 435 watercolor plates that would become the standard-setting Birds of America. Now, some nigh on two hundred years later, its indisputable and entirely authentic successor has finally emerged. Master cartoonist Keith Bendis has traveled to all four corners of this nation, or wishes he had, returning with accounts of the Beach Stoners of North Carolina, the Impossible Screamers of Alaska that lay eggs five times the size of their body, the “too coo for school” Red-Capped Delaware Slackers, and the alluring Pink-Breasted Frogcatcher of the Louisiana bayou. These most whimsical and biologically unsound members of the avian species are brought to life in a style reminiscent of Gary Larson’s Far Side, handsomely coupled with a rarefied New Yorker panache. Simply put, Grifters, Floaters, and Punks is essential reading for both seasoned birdwatchers and budding ornithologists as well as lovers of screwball cartooning.
