Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.
Usually, this book is in prose form. It’s also a work of fiction, and the last time I broke that rule I wasted a whole summer with multipart articles cutting down Seduction Of The Innocent. Hopefully this won’t break the one a week part of the format.
However, this is a graphic novel. It’s a pretty long one as original graphic novels go. Usually they’re not 11 chapters unless they’re a trade collection. This is one story and each chapter is longer than you would expect. It’s almost as big as the Watchmen graphic novel and sequels I won at Free Comic Book Day in 2025, the same day I ended up with this one as a giveaway. So you know I’m bias here. It came from my local comic store as they had a bunch to give away. How could they do that? I’ll explain in the review. Yes, even I can break out the tease now and then.
Admittedly this is not my usual graphic novel. An autobiography about an indie band isn’t usually in my wheelhouse. But it was free, the art looks good, and the plot does at least sound interesting as they chronicled a record breaking attempt that took them across the country. So there’s no reason not to review it, but due to the length of the book and the chapters it’s a bit long for me to find time to read for Scanning My Collection. Thus I made the decision to review it in the Chapter By Chapter format. If they can do something different, so can I. And so, the 26th book in the Chapter By Chapter Review series (and we’ll be back to prose for 27) is…………………
How To Completely Lose Your Mind: A Graphic Novel Memoir Of One Indie Band’s Attempt To Break A World Record
Text by Elizabeth Jancewicz & Eric Stevenson
Art by Elizabeth Jancewicz
In the category list and in the following reviews we’ll stick with the first part for titles. There’s not a lot written about the book on the back. Mostly it talks about the band whose story we’ll be following the next 11 weeks: Pocket Vinyl. (official band site) I listened to some of their music and it’s not my style, but I only review music from a storytelling perspective. Your tastes may be different and I wouldn’t call them bad, just not for me. Take a listen for yourself on YouTube. Eric plays piano and sings, while Elizabeth actually paints on stage, then they sell the paintings. It’s a different presentation but it helps keep the married pair together and I’m assuming their fans find it interesting. I’m a cartoonist and occasional logo designer who also enjoys music so I can relate on some level.
So what’s the world record they were hoping to break? 50 states in 50 days, one musical performance in each state. The book claims to show their journey, all the trials they went through to achieve their goal, and give helpful advice on anyone who tours a lot. It’s a book for musical and artistic creatives, and I fall into one of those categories. Additionally, they have two positive critiques of the book, one of whom is Christopher Hastings of Dr. McNinja fame. That’s a good recommendation around here. The book came out in 2023, with the tour having happened in 2019, so they beat the lockdowns by a year. Lucky them. Agree with the decision or not, the lockdowns and the reason for them kind of changed how we go out for entertainment, though I’d like to think the club scene has returned to at least close to normal in 2026.
Looking at the cover that will be the logo for this part of our book review series you may have noticed my copy is an “exclusive misprint edition”. Obviously this is why I got it for free, and I’ve seen pictures of the pair putting them in those “buy one/take one” street libraries, and of course the comic store was giving them away for Free Comic Book Day. Again, that’s how I own one. For those wondering what that’s about, here’s a video by the creators themselves explaining what happened.
Credit where it’s due, not wanting to screw over the readers OR the publisher is a nice gesture on their part. Other editions you can buy online will have the page properly fixed. Obviously not all of them are being used for insulation because I wasn’t the only one to get a copy. What I have is the label, a taped in note of which page is missing, and the actual page shoved into the pages where it should have been, though smaller than the rest of the pages. It’s still readable, so it should be fine when we get there. It will not impact this review, and the ones you get from Amazon and the like should be the proper edition with the page in the right spot and at the right size. Perhaps you have a copy right now, so you’ll be able to read along with the comic.
We have 11 chapters, around 290 pages, give or take for credits and not counting photos from the tour. The writers insist that everything is true as far as they remember, with names changed to protect personal rights and a few stories not making it because the book would have been even longer. This is different for Chapter By Chapter but hopefully it will also be interesting. We’ll find out next time as we follow our pair of creative adventurers around the country. Will they break the record, and will their sanity go with it? Join the almost two month journey starting with the next installment.
BW Media Spotlight 