The Absurd Season

Zine
Title:	Absurd Season
Publisher:
Editor:
Author(s):	P.S. Nim
Cover Artist(s):	P.S. Nim
Illustrator(s):	P.S. Nim
Date(s):	1990
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Beauty and the Beast (TV)
Language:	English
External Links:	online here
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cover by P.S. Nim, portrays Vincent and his baby -- the baby has urped up on Vincent's sleeve

Absurd Season is a 29-page het Beauty and the Beast (TV) graphic novel by P.S. Nim.

The title is a pun on "The Third Season."

Summary

Vincent is weepy and sad; he tells Father: "I got her pregnant and she's mad at me." Father is incredulous and asks how it happened. Vincent replies, "I don't know. I slept through most of it... Except for one part...We watched a flower open." Father decides he'd better read more about flowers.

Meanwhile, Catherine is under the care of Gabriel at a home for unwed mothers. He treats her well, and hopes to use her as bait to capture Vincent.

Father is so engrossed in his flower books that he doesn't pay much attention to Vincent as he is injured over and over again.

Vincent reads terrifying, violent, and racist stories to children, perhaps poking fun at fans' belief he'd be a good father.

Catherine is shown reading a book with the title: "Don't Kiss the Fans When Your Fangs are In," a memoir by Ron Perlman. Shout-out: it has an introduction by "Dorothy Cestaro," who is a fan.

Vincent meets Diana Bennett in the tunnels. She is obsessed not by him, but by finding clues.

The baby is delivered, both of Catherine, and then to the tunnels. Vincent (and presumably the baby) are killed. But wait...

It's all a dream. Vincent has slept through the third season, not unlike the Dallas Dream Season.

Fade to black (er, falling autumn leaves) and a hint at a kiss.

Sample Interior

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  Vincent can do nothing but cry

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  whimper, choke, bawl, sob

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  commentary on The Beauty and the Beast Consummation Scene

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  Vincent, full of arrows

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  Vincent sits on Father's lap and cries

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  Diana the detective

Reactions and Reviews

Another funny comic book by a lady with a divinely twisted sense of humor. And she is also one of the few artists out there who can consistently draw a recognizable Catherine. “We watched a flower open,” and Father's subsequent reaction, is unforgettable.

All right, something as beautiful, sensitive and lyrical as our B&TB is begging to a prime target for a little elbow-ribbing, because there's so much 'stuff' available! The tunnels, the situation between Catherine and Vincent... heck Vincent's looks alone have given birth to numerous jokes by comedians, including Johnny Carson... A form of this good-natured self-depreciation can be found in the zine 'The Absurd Season' by P.S. Nim. In black and white comic book style, these superbly illustrated stories are chock full of little innuendoes, sight gags and ridiculas humor that you can't help by cry tears at them. Full-size, but thin on the page count (hey! it's the ONLY flaw I could find, but drawing is hard work!) but you'll be bowled over by the preciseness of the characters. Linda Hamilton is one tough cookie to capture on paper, but Nim did it!) Absurd is Nim's retelling of the Third Season ... and the best thing this writer has digested since B&B Lite, so park yourself in your favorite La-z-boy, and don't forget the Kleenex... trust me!

Beauty and the Yeast and The Absurd Season, by P.S. Nim, are graphic parodies of Beauty and the Beast, executed with a great deal of affection for the series and a healthy dose of pure mischief. The storylines are wonderfully silly, and the comic-book pen and ink illustrations are as hilarious as they are impressive. And they are impressive. P.S. has a marvelous magic to her illustrations—they possess incredible detail and perfect likenesses, a wonderful sense of composition and style, and a quirky feel for the absurd that is absolutely delightful. As an artist, I can say without reservation that P.S. is a pen-and-ink sorceress. Catherine Chandler, the face that crumpled a thousand sheets of Bristol board in the hands of frustrated artists? P.S. can capture her perfectly with a simple line drawing (and undoubtedly an incantation or two). But it's more than just the likenesses, it's the poses, the backgrounds...

[...]

It's utilizing some of the best-known photo references in unique ways. It's poking gentle fun at the show's foibles with visuals that have the perfect feel of the show—the tunnels, Catherine's wardrobe, Father's wardrobe. For the illustrations alone (and these, for the uninitiated, are the reason I used the term "comic-book" above—the illustrations are in a similar style, without the exaggeration, and every page is straining-at-the-seams full of them), these zines are worth the price. The silly plots are the cherry and nuts on the sundae... I highly recofrmend these zines to anyone who has seen even a few B&B episodes—they're worth every penny, and then some.

[ Beauty and the Yeast ] & [The Absurd Season]: Two graphic novel parodies, the first of Classic B&B, the second of S#3. I howled with laughter all through B&tY; every panel was a wealth of humor, some subtle, some more obvious. This is the sort of satire which pokes fun with a gentle elbow to the ribs, and not a punch in the nose. I adored it, but be warned: a certain cheerful irreverence is required to appreciate this humor. TAS, the Third Season parody, was not available as of this writing (May, 1990), but shoud be in June. I, for one, am holding my breath in gleeful anticipation! Price is $5.00 each.