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.
1972 年，約翰．卡拉翰 21 歲時遭遇一場車禍，讓他脊椎受損、四肢癱瘓。約翰自 12 歲起就沉迷酒精，而酒駕正是此次車禍原因。這次意外事故本可能使他陷入一連串的人生低潮，沒想到卻因禍得福改變了他。經過大量物理治療後，約翰最終可以用右手握筆、畫簡單的圖。他直到 1978 年才戒酒成功，開始畫漫畫。
接下來的 30 年直到約翰於 2010 年去世為止，他成為全美最紅且令人又愛又恨的人氣漫畫家。他的漫畫作品以另類獨特的幽默感，嘲弄社會風俗傳統、挑戰人們的底線。有篇漫畫畫著綁在十字架上的耶穌，話框中寫著「感謝上帝，今天已是星期五！」另一篇則畫著三位警長騎在馬背上，走向沙漠中一輛空蕩蕩的輪椅。其中一位警長向另一位說：「擔心什麼，他走不了多遠。」
本書敘述約翰．卡拉翰悽慘又搞笑的真實人生，收錄 60 多篇約翰．卡拉翰的漫畫，在藝術、酒癮、殘疾及名聲上製造不少話題，相當引人注目。本書改編電影《笑畫
人生》將在 2018 年上映，由瓦昆．菲尼克斯飾演約翰．卡拉翰，將讓人們再度關注這部曾遭埋沒的經典之作。