28 Characters

U

Upside Down Woman

Would recline upon the ceiling

Which I found quite appealing

Even though this disregard for gravity

Made her look like she was mad at me

28 Characters, 4 Men, 10 Women, 5 Boys and 8 Girls. (N.p., 2008). An unusual alphabet book by bookbinder, typographer, and illustrator Eri Funazaki and Danny Flynn, a fellow typographer who wrote the text. Playing on the dual meaning of “characters,” Flynn and Funazaki created personalities for all twenty-six letters of the alphabet and two punctuation marks: a female ampersand and a full stop “of undetermined gender.” The characters are described in short, witty, often rhyming “living eulogies” that reveal their quirks and neuroses. 

In a playful binding of navy blue, tan, and orange Harmatan goatskin that resembles a giant door hinge. The covers have inlays shaped to resemble the tops of screws. One hole is left open in the center of the front cover, revealing the gold tooling on the first page. A bronze figure of Funazaki’s “little man” character, which has appeared in several of her artists’ books, is seated and holds the missing screw from the binding across his lap.