320 IT’S A GOOD LIFE, IF YOU DON’T WEAKEN
that of a young woman, a French major named Ruthie, whom he dates and then dumps.
She is, in fact, the one who discovers Kalo’s full name, from as easy a step as checking
the contributor notes in an old issue of Esquire. One would think that Seth would have
thought to check this himself; what kind of researcher fails to do so?
As it turns out, of course, Seth is no researcher at all, but a writer of fi ction. Th ough
It’s A Good Life, if You Don’t Weaken seems to be about a cartoonist rediscovering
himself as he rediscovers an obscure New Yorker cartoonist, the truth is simpler: Kalo
is a fi ctional character, made up by Seth for narrative purposes. However, the story is
so convincing that many readers were surprised to fi nd that it was not true: the narra-
tive borrows heavily from Seth’s own life, including his family and friends, but it is not
as autobiographical. Th e work proved endearing and lasting; it was listed as #52 on
Th e Comics Journal ’s list of the “100 Best Comics of the 20th Century.”
Anne Th alheimer
