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prcizmadia's review
5.0
Runs the gamut of every emotion, and some really hit you hard. Great balance between humor and seriousness, and an honesty and humanity in so many of these works. Get after it.
mburnamfink's review
4.0
I don't know why I like political cartoons: they're barely politics, they're barely art, and the people who make them barely get paid. In an age when Michael "DEBT" Ramirez has two Pulitzers and Glenn and Gary McCoy are still syndicated, it might be best to entomb the whole medium with Thomas Nash and Paul Conrad and call it 'done'.*
The Nib is a brave effort by cartoonist Matt Bors to bring the medium into the 21st century, with the hope that the right image in the right time can go viral, can say what people can't say on their own, and make a difference. Like the cover says, this volume is a record of the best of the Nib's first year and a bit, with a talented list of artists you can google on your own. The topics are a smorgasbord that is very very 2014. Dumb internet jokes about the sad states of millennials, long confessional graphic essays about miscarriage, rape, and depression, stabs against the injustices of shootings in Ferguson and at Charlie Hebdo.
Personally, I would have cut some of the longer and less artistically interesting essays (lots of literal talking heads) in favor of more sharp or symbolic pieces, or even essays on what the hell 2014 was, but this is a solid collection of young and diverse artistic talents. That's why I'm dinging it a star compared to my much treasured books by Tim Kreider. But if you like paper books and political cartoons, there's nothing better that's to celebrate the present state of the field.
*the fact that I know all these names is a sign of a deep problem. If you recognize these names too, seek help.
The Nib is a brave effort by cartoonist Matt Bors to bring the medium into the 21st century, with the hope that the right image in the right time can go viral, can say what people can't say on their own, and make a difference. Like the cover says, this volume is a record of the best of the Nib's first year and a bit, with a talented list of artists you can google on your own. The topics are a smorgasbord that is very very 2014. Dumb internet jokes about the sad states of millennials, long confessional graphic essays about miscarriage, rape, and depression, stabs against the injustices of shootings in Ferguson and at Charlie Hebdo.
Personally, I would have cut some of the longer and less artistically interesting essays (lots of literal talking heads) in favor of more sharp or symbolic pieces, or even essays on what the hell 2014 was, but this is a solid collection of young and diverse artistic talents. That's why I'm dinging it a star compared to my much treasured books by Tim Kreider. But if you like paper books and political cartoons, there's nothing better that's to celebrate the present state of the field.
*the fact that I know all these names is a sign of a deep problem. If you recognize these names too, seek help.
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