Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.569
EAN: 9780300126716
ISBN: 0300126719
Label: Yale University Press
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2008-10-21
Publisher: Yale University Press
Studio: Yale University Press

(20080701)

Customer Rating:
Summary: A Little Harsh For The Holidays
Comment: Ummm. Maybe not this year. Life is depressing enough as it is. Ivan Brunettis' collection leans towards darkness, examining lesser known artists who seem to be leading lives filled with depression. The willingness to go into territory that usually is avoided in the world of comics is admirable, but makes the reading of this book mostly unpleasant.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Some Good and Some Not So Good
Comment: This is the second year in a row that Ivan Brunetti's `Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons & True Stories' has taken on `The Best American Comics'. Last year I gave the winning prize to Brunetti, although he does have a distinct advantage in that he doesn't limit himself to just a single year. So for 2008 which one is better? This year I'm declaring it a tie not because they were both so spectacular but because neither distinguished itself enough to win me over.

The whole cast of Alternative artists appear including R. Crumb, Harvey Pekar, Chris Ware, Seth, Kaz, Kevin Huizenga and dozens and dozens more. My litmus test for success in these anthologies is whether or not I discover a new artist intriguing enough that I purchase something else by them. The artist that most caught my eye this time was R. Sikotyak who did some brilliant parodies of 1950's Action Comic covers with an unpleasant character named `The Stranger' in place of Superman. I can't really do it justice trying to describe it. You have to see it to understand. Unfortunately it's only two pages long and I couldn't find any books devoted solely to Mr. Sikotyak who seems to only do compilations and covers for magazines like the New Yorker.

The comics in this collection run the entire gamut from the rough stick figures of Elinore Norflus and weird primitive drawing of Paper Rad (that look like they were done by a five year old) to the high school level art of Gary Painter, John Pocellino and Carlos Golus. On the other end of the spectrum is the frighteningly precise graphic design art of Chris Ware and the clean, profession lines of Jamie Hernandez. Anders Nilson gets the award for the most bizarre comics but in this case it's not really a compliment. Brian Chippendale gets the award for the most profane comic which is essentially raw porn and again this award is more dubious than distinguished. Seth's staid, dignified entry is the polar opposite and Chester Brown's comic is simply a straight out, but well done, explanation of schizophrenia.

I've enjoyed Jim Woodring in the past and this years entry is one of my favorites in what I assume is a story based on dreams he's had given the incredible surrealness of it. Joe Matt has a fascinating entry that skirts the edge of too much personal information. I'm not usually a fan of Jeffrey Brown but this one wasn't bad; maybe because he drew a lot of pictures of his busty girlfriend naked.

What really bothered me about this edition, and this is not a trivial complaint, is that a high percentage of comics will give the reader serious eye strain. I suspect that many of them were shrunken from their original size and they are literally painful to view. I actually skipped over entire sections because I could barely see them and my vision is quite good. I remember reading Quimby the Mouse by Chris Ware when it was presented in its original enormous size and it was difficult to read so imagine his works shrunk. And Ware is not the worst by a long shot. Chris Ware at least draws in clean bold colors but most of the artists in this collection work in black and white and when reduced in size the pages just look like a solid block of lines and tiny text. I really hope this is corrected for 2009 because it has reached the point of unacceptable.

The 2008 collection starts off strong with a great entry by Kaz but the middle of the book is filled with clunkers and forgettable pieces. Personally I thought the efforts by Norflus, Panter, Nilson and someone named C.F. should have remained in whatever high school or elementary school notebook they were created in. In the end the 2008 collection was an ok effort so I'll give it a generous 4 stars. If nothing else this book is so packed with stuff that even a hundred of so pages of sub par material still leaves 300 pages of good stuff.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: You just can't go wrong when you grab a comics anthology...
Comment: ...For your entertainment dollar, comics anthologies are very much the way to go, and especially when you're new to the genre, or searching for new authors or artists. Brunetti (the man responsible for this collection, and its predecessor, An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories (Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, & True Stories)) is an accomplished cartoonist in his own right and has put together quite the stable of iconic authors/artists/titles here. (See the editorial review above for a pretty representative listing of these...)

However, whether this is a pro or a con is very much dependent on your point of view. Although I enjoyed re-visiting some old friends and their favorites, I might have been happier had I seen just a few more pieces that I didn't already recognize. Not that I'll be kicking this hefty tome out of my collection anytime soon. I'm just sayin'...

Lastly, I have to point out: Sometimes you CAN judge a book by its cover, and this is one of those times. I am absolutely smitten with the cleverness of the cloud/thought bubble and lampshade/speech bubble in the main cover pic! A great indicator of the good things to come once you get between these covers. At 400 pages- -and almost three pounds- -this book is well worth the pittance you'll remit!

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