I picked up Too Cool to be Forgotten by Alex Robinson after I came across this post on Boing Boing.  I was in the mood to read a graphic novel and the time travel concept sounded appealing.

The book centers around a man in his late thirties who goes to a hypnotist in order to quit smoking.  He soon finds himself back in his high school days, prior to the time he tries his first cigarette. 

The art is nothing fantastic but it is competent.  I do like the way Robinson plays with the layout to break things up from the norm at points.  And these artistic forays tend to coincide nicely with the dramatic flow of the story.  Robinson’s also really good at displaying the more subtle emotions on his characters’ faces.  There are certain points in the book where a character’s expression just conveys more than words can.  Also, the cover of the book is just brilliant.

As for the story, it definitely has it’s funny moments.  The main character thinks:

Okay, calm down.  You’ve watched enough “Star Trek” to know that the first thing you do when you’re in the past is not mess up the time line.

But this tale definitely has it’s poignant moments as well, both in it’s realistic look at the pain of high school and in the family relationships we discover. 

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