Diesel Sweeties: I’m a Rocker, I Rock Out. - Softcover

This long-running Web comic (it began in 2000) finally has a collected edition. The world of Diesel Sweeties is intriguing, set in a society of both humans and robots, but this is primarily a gag-a-strip book with talking heads mocking millennial obsessions. As the title suggests, the topic of choice this time out is music, and hipsters in particular, poking fun at the familiar trope of people judging others solely by their taste in bands and whether they've "sold out." "What came first, the hipster or the band he was so over last year?" asks one strip. In another, recurring character Indie Rock Pete (who wears a '70s style striped polo shirt) insists that he is not a hipster and "my beard is sincere." One of the standout elements of the book is the bold eight-bit artwork, which makes the sometimes-static layouts even more robotic. The humor is heavy on the sarcasm and self-depreciation—as with many comedy strips, the jokes are a little hit or miss, but anyone who has been near Portland, Or., or Brooklyn is sure to recognize someone he or she knows. (Sept.)