Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘Super Chill: A Year of Living Anxiously’ is a small, quick comic book by Adam Ellis, which is a collection of snippets from his life, some comedic, some that are maybe mildly amusing, and a few are just eyeroll inducing. Adam anxiously worrying about how to respond to a stranger’s attempt to start small talk at a party: relatable for introverts or those with social anxiety. Adam drinking a healthy-looking green juice and expecting to look like Chris Hemsworth almost immediately? Meh. That’s just ridiculous wishful thinking. What grade is Adam in? He is a grown adult with a good job at BuzzFeed at that juncture in the book. (Or maybe not, since the anecdotes aren’t necessarily chronologically arranged, but he mentions quitting BuzzFeed in the second half of the book, after the green juice tale)
Well, I enjoyed Adam Ellis’ cartoony, cutesy artwork and illustrations, which were slightly reminiscent of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s drawings in the ‘Scott Pilgrim’ comics. A lot of his antics are juvenile but also sort of fun, so it’s an easy book to read. There’s no story here; it’s more of a visual diary, recording different incidents from the creator’s life, some of which are certainly imaginary or exaggerated for entertaining readers. It’s a whole package of varied millennial dread, and of course, you can include Gen-Z too.
The tagline for ‘Super Chill’ – A Year of Living Anxiously, feels over-exaggerated because one of the most serious problems that Adam faces in the book is not having an itinerary for his trip to Japan. Considering how expensive Japan is as a travel destination, that’s a very first-world ‘privileged person’ problem. The fact that he gets to go there alone is a fact that’s likely to raise more envious scorn from a reader who’s had Japan on their “want to go” list for far too long. Yes, that might include me too. Okay, but I get it, for those who have social anxiety, what seems “regular” to others might feel “overwhelming” to them, and Adam tries to show that in a casual, humorous manner.
From not drinking enough water, to hoarding useless crystals (sorry if you believe in their healing powers… truly), or calling his mom to make his hair appointment, Adam Ellis shares lots of funny and unfunny anecdotes from his life. The art, for me, made this a breezy read, and if you’re looking for something silly and “chill,” go give this under-150-pages book a read.
Rating: 3 out of 5. Super Chill is also on Kindle Unlimited.
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