Review: Off My Meds

Being a huge fan of Gary Larson’s The Far Side, I was extremely interested in reading Leslie Taha’s Off My Meds since I encountered that comparison repeatedly when researching Leslie’s work. After reading Off My Meds for the second time, I have to say those comparisons are pretty spot on. Anyone familiar with Larson’s work will immediately recognize this for the high praise that it is. Both men work in single panel cartoons, both possess a superior wit and both are extremely adept satirists. Visually, their styles are quite similar as well with both cartoonists sharing a penchant for elongated faces and personified animals. Also like Larson, Taha’s work has appeared in community and college newspapers as well as periodicals throughout the U.S. and Canada.

His latest collection of razor-sharp cartoons is aptly entitled, Off My Meds. I say that as someone who has some experience with being off my prescribed anti-anxiety medication and many of Taha’s almost 500 cartoons echo thoughts I have had at those times. In his latest book no topic is off-limits as he places religion, politicians, doctors and many more of society’s sacred cows squarely in the cross hairs of his rapier like wit. His humor is a melding of Seinfeldian observations, Monty Python-esque satire and the childlike innocence of Matt Groening. Taha creates his cartoons with the urgency required to be relevant in our current political climate, however he does so without being mean-spirited or offensive. There are no vulgar images or lowest common denominator jokes, Taha takes the high road and because of that his humor has an intelligence born of inclusion, by that I mean his audience is determined more by intellect than age. His subject matter is the stuff of everyday life, it is completely and immediately relatable.

Visually, Taha is concise and extremely accurate with his visual vocabulary. The facial details are so expressive and well constructed that even the dogs and myriad other non-human animals nail their intended emotion with absolute aplomb. The single panel cartoons are like windows into a world of neurotic, anxious and sometimes outright insane vignettes of the mundane turned manic as seen through the eyes of a man who appears to be happily “of his meds”.

As someone who spends the majority of their time in fictional worlds, I feel uniquely qualified to suggest this book, not only for its humor that runs the gamut from the chuckle inducing to the outright side-splitting, but also for its therapeutic value. (Read this next sentence in a movie trailer voice over voice) In a world where a villainous orange skinned, floppy haired monster has seized control of the White House, his followers threaten good sense, fashion and otherwise, we need all the humor we can get our hands on. Off My Meds stands as a reminder to keep one eye toward the comedic and both feet in your therapist’s office. Even if you didn’t read The Far Side or Bloom County or any of the handful of really well written cartoons that have appeared in the archaic newspapers that once thrived across this land of ours, I still whole-heartedly recommend this book. Taha defies being pigeon-holed as a political satirist or a social commentator, he is those things, but he is so much more. Taha is a comedian with precise timing and a command of the use of sarcasm that would give Dennis Miller a run for his money. So by all means pick up a copy and let the laughs begin. 4/5

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“OffÂ MyÂ Meds”“ is Leslie Taha“s hilarious new book containing nearly 500, hilarious, intelligent, slightly twisted single panel cartoons that have appeared in community newspapers, college papers, and magazines throughout the U.S and Canada