Don't worry, he won't get far on foot : the autobiography of a dangerous man

Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture Directed By Gus Van Sant And Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, And Rooney Mara Featuring More Than 60 Of Callahan's Original Cartoons “when People Laugh Like Hell And Then Say, ‘that’s Not Funny,’ You Can Be Pretty Sure They’re Talking About John Callahan.”— P.j. O’rourke In 1972, At The Age Of 21, John Callahan Was Involved In A Car Crash That Severed His Spine And Made Him A Quadriplegic. A Heavy Drinker Since The Age Of 12 (alcohol Had Played A Role In His Crash), The Accident Could Have Been The Beginning Of A Downward Spiral. Instead, It Sparked A Personal Transformation. After Extensive Physical Therapy, He Was Eventually Able To Grasp A Pen In His Right Hand And Make Rudimentary Drawings. By 1978, Callahan Had Sworn Off Drinking For Good, And Begun To Draw Cartoons. Over The Next Three Decades, Until His Death In 2010, Callahan Would Become One Of The Nation’s Most Beloved—and At Times Polarizing—cartoonists. His Work, Which Shows Off A Wacky And Sometimes Warped Sense Of Humor, Pokes Fun At Social Conventions And Pushes Boundaries. One Cartoon Features Christ At The Cross With A Thought Bubble Reading “t.g.i.f.” In Another, Three Sheriffs On Horseback Approach An Empty Wheelchair In The Desert. “don’t Worry,” One Sheriff Says To Another, “he Won’t Get Far On Foot.” Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot Recounts Callahan’s Life Story, From The Harrowing To The Hilarious. Featuring More Than 60 Of Callahan’s Cartoons, It’s A Compelling Look At Art, Addiction, Disability, And Fame. A Film Adaptation Scheduled For 2018, Starring Joaquin Phoenix As John Callahan, Will Bring Fresh Attention To This Underappreciated Classic. Now a major motion picture directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, and Rooney Mara Featuring more than 60 of Callahan's original cartoons “When people laugh like hell and then say, ‘That’s not funny,’ you can be pretty sure they’re talking about John Callahan.”— P.J. O’Rourke In 1972, at the age of 21, John Callahan was involved in a car crash that severed his spine and made him a quadriplegic. A heavy drinker since the age of 12 (alcohol had played a role in his crash), the accident could have been the beginning of a downward spiral. Instead, it sparked a personal transformation. After extensive physical therapy, he was eventually able to grasp a pen in his right hand and make rudimentary drawings. By 1978, Callahan had sworn off drinking for good, and begun to draw cartoons. Over the next three decades, until his death in 2010, Callahan would become one of the nation’s most beloved—and at times polarizing—cartoonists. His work, which shows off a wacky and sometimes warped sense of humor, pokes fun at social conventions and pushes boundaries. One cartoon features Christ at the cross with a thought bubble reading “T.G.I.F.” In another, three sheriffs on horseback approach an empty wheelchair in the desert. “Don’t worry,” one sheriff says to another, “He won’t get far on foot.” Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot recounts Callahan’s life story, from the harrowing to the hilarious. Featuring more than 60 of Callahan’s cartoons, it’s a compelling look at art, addiction, disability, and fame. A film adaptation scheduled for 2018, starring Joaquin Phoenix as John Callahan, will bring fresh attention to this underappreciated classic. In 1972, at the age of 21, John Callahan was involved in a car crash that severed his spine and made him a quadriplegic. A heavy drinker since the age of 12 (alcohol had played a role in his crash), the accident could have been the beginning of a downward spiral. Instead, it sparked a personal transformation. After extensive physical therapy, he was eventually able to grasp a pen in his right hand and make rudimentary drawings. By 1978, Callahan had sworn off drinking for good, and begun to draw cartoons. Over the next three decades, until his death in 2010, Callahan would become one of the nation's most beloved--and at times polarizing--cartoonists. His work, which shows off a wacky and sometimes warped sense of humor, pokes fun at social conventions and pushes boundaries. One cartoon features Christ at the cross with a thought bubble reading "T.G.I.F." In another, three sheriffs on horseback approach an empty wheelchair in the desert. "Don't worry," one sheriff says to another, "He won't get far on foot." Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot recounts Callahan's life story, from the harrowing to the hilarious. Featuring more than 60 of Callahan's cartoons, it's a compelling look at art, addiction, disability, and fame. A film adaptation scheduled for 2018, starring Joaquin Phoenix as John Callahan, will bring fresh attention to this underappreciated classic. - publisher's website

Is it possible to find humor — corrosive, taboo-shattering, laugh-till-you-cry humor — in the story of a 38-year-old- cartoonist who's both a quadriplegic and a recovering alcoholic? The answer is yes, if the cartoonist is John Callahan — whose infamous work has graced the pages of Omni, Penthouse, and The New Yorker — and if he's telling it in his own words and pictures. But Callahan's uncensored account of his troubled — and sometimes impossible — life is also genuinely inspiring. Without self-pity or self-righteousness, this liberating book tells us how a quadriplegic with a healthy libido has sex, what it's like to live in the exitless maze of the welfare system, where a cartoonist finds his comedy, and how a man with no reason to believe in anything discovers his own brand of faith.

S. Gross

John Callahan doesn't need feet to go far. He does it with guts, brains, fingers, and a wonderful sick sense of humor.—National Lampoon

Cartoonist John Callahan's dark (but still inspiring) memoir of his troubled family history, and his battles to recover from alcoholism and to function in life as a quadrapalegic.