Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, The Marx Brothers, And the Strangest Movie Never Made

Summary

Surrealism meets Hollywood meets film history in this graphic novel, which turns an unproduced script by Salvador Dali into a fantastic comedy starring Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx.

Grab some popcorn and take a seat…The curtain is about to rise on a film like no other! But first, the real-life backstory: Giraffes on Horseback Salad was a Marx Brothers film written by modern art icon Salvador Dali, who’d befriended Harpo. Rejected by MGM, the script was thought lost forever. But author Josh Frank found it, and with comedian Tim Heidecker and Spanish comics creator Manuela Pertega, he’s re-created the film as a graphic novel in all its gorgeous full-color, cinematic, surreal glory. In the story, a businessman named Jimmy (played by Harpo) is drawn to the mysterious Surrealist Woman, whose very presence changes humdrum reality into Dali-esque fantasy. With the help of Groucho and Chico, Jimmy seeks to join her fantastical world—but forces of normalcy threaten to end their romance. Includes new Marx Brothers songs and antics, plus the real-world story behind the historic collaboration.

About the Author

Josh Frank is author of Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies, In Heaven Everything Is Fine, and, with Black Francis and Steven Appleby, the illustrated novel The Good Inn. In his spare time, he owns and operates the Blue Starlite Mini-Urban Drive-In Movie Theatre in Austin, Texas.

Tim Heidecker is an award-winning comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. He is one half of the comedy team Tim & Eric, with Eric Wareheim, known for the TV shows Tom Goes to the Mayor, and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, as well as the film Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie and the popular book Tim & Eric’s Zone Theory.

Manuela Pertega is a comics artist and illustrator based in Barcelona, Spain. She graduated from the University of Barcelona with a specialization in drawing and restoration/conservation. She teaches art at Badalona VII, a public art institute, and at La Taca, an art school.

Manuela Pertega was born in Badalona, Spain, a short distance from Figueras, birthplace of Salvador Dalí. Growing up, she spent much time in Granada, home town García Lorca, famed poet and close friend of Dalí. Influenced by both great artists, she started creating her own stories and drawings at a young age. Manuela graduated from the University of Barcelona with a specialization in drawing and restoration/conservation. Her comics and illustrations have appeared in several small publications such as Fanzine Hey, and she's done scientific illustration for the National Encyclopedia of Health of Spain. Manuela teaches art at Badalona VII, a public art institute, and at La Taca, an art school in Montcada, Spain.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: Quirk Books
• Comics & Graphic Novels / Literary