Amusing & Fun

Number One is Walking is the exact book one would imagine coming from Steve Martin and Harry Bliss. It’s odd but wholesome in a way that perfectly fits the format, giving me everything I wanted from this collaboration.

This is a book in combination as it is half graphic novel biography and half comic panels. Steve Martin narrates the first half of the book, telling a few amusing anecdotes about his film career. These stories are accompanied by Harry Bliss’ illustrations depicting these events. My favorite was a little story about John Candy and some of the set stories from Three Amigos, as that was one of my favorite movies as a child.

Steve Martin has been a favorite of mine for a while, so hearing his reasoning for why he stepped away from film was very interesting and understandable. The first half of the book is these anecdotes, whereas the latter is a collection of single-panel comics in the New Yorker style, illustrated by Harry Bliss and written by Steve Martin. They’re all very obviously written by Steve Martin, and most of them feel like dad jokes, so I enjoyed them. Because of this, it is a pretty short book, but I didn’t consider that a detriment. Fans of Steve Martin will enjoy this; otherwise, it’s a solid giggly read for anyone else.

Title: Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions
Author: Steve Martin & Harry Bliss (Illustrations)
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781250815293
Three Descriptors: Humorous, Reflective, Silly

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Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama by Bob Odenkirk
The Tao of Bill Murray by Gavi Edwards
How Y’all Doing by Leslie Jordan
Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow
All About Me by Mel Brooks