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sasha_in_a_box's review against another edition
3.0
I disliked more comics than I liked, but I really liked the ones that weren't.. bad. Or not my taste. Meh.
overlap's review
had to return this book to the library and found the tiny text very hard to get through unfortunately
greeniezona's review
3.0
I really don't understand how this book sat on my shelves so long before I read it. When I first heard about it, I wanted it immediately. But I was in a cheap phase, so I only put it on my paperbackswap wishlist. After a lot of patience, I finally scored a copy, but it languished, unread, until I put it on my to-read shelf this year to rectify the situation.
This really is an incredibly interesting sampler of comics. From the inventor of the form, through some classic newspaper strips, to an impressive variety of modern comics, it's hard to falt this collection for its contents. The only thing that grated for me was the editorial writing, which felt casually misogynist. Descriptions of female characters were exclusively restricted to reports on their figures (and not kindly, one woman is described as being the size of an upright Naugahyde couch, even though the actual drawings of said woman seemed not nearly so exaggerated, nor was her size every played derogatively in the printed comics.) There were some female comic writers included, and some "women's stories," but much of the text seemed to reinforce the idea of comics as a boy's club, which disappointed me.
I wouldn't say it was worth passing this book over for, it just could have been better.
This really is an incredibly interesting sampler of comics. From the inventor of the form, through some classic newspaper strips, to an impressive variety of modern comics, it's hard to falt this collection for its contents. The only thing that grated for me was the editorial writing, which felt casually misogynist. Descriptions of female characters were exclusively restricted to reports on their figures (and not kindly, one woman is described as being the size of an upright Naugahyde couch, even though the actual drawings of said woman seemed not nearly so exaggerated, nor was her size every played derogatively in the printed comics.) There were some female comic writers included, and some "women's stories," but much of the text seemed to reinforce the idea of comics as a boy's club, which disappointed me.
I wouldn't say it was worth passing this book over for, it just could have been better.
noelknd's review against another edition
3.0
Notable stories: A Precursor of the Cinema by Steven Millhauser
Couting Underwater by Kiara Brinkman
Asusncion by Roy Kesey (although deeply disturbing)
Sales by Judy Budnitz
Orphans by Benjamin Rosenbaum
Seven Stories by Gyrdir Eliasson
My Room by Bragi Olafson
Nerve City by Birna Anna Bjornsdottir, Oddny Sturludottir, and Silja Hauksdorrit
Interference by Andri Snoer Magnason.
Most of the rest I couldn't get through.
Couting Underwater by Kiara Brinkman
Asusncion by Roy Kesey (although deeply disturbing)
Sales by Judy Budnitz
Orphans by Benjamin Rosenbaum
Seven Stories by Gyrdir Eliasson
My Room by Bragi Olafson
Nerve City by Birna Anna Bjornsdottir, Oddny Sturludottir, and Silja Hauksdorrit
Interference by Andri Snoer Magnason.
Most of the rest I couldn't get through.
jmcarnes45's review against another edition
3.0
It was good to read a lot of shorter comics by a bunch of different comics artists, but geez if this isn’t a white dude centric collection. And some of the individual comics were so tired. There’s a lot of good throughout, mixed with a lot of bad.
sentient_meat's review
3.0
The beginning of America's Best Comics? A good collection of new and upcoming comic artists.
jamesdavidward's review
4.0
There's a lot of comics packed into this volume, all of the indie-autobio-underground school. This is right up my street, obviously. Not really a sampler of the style, but a good precis for those already interested in it to read further from.
janetlun's review
An anthology of comics and essays about comics edited by Chris Ware. The essays are by Ware, Ira Glass, John Updike (who knew he drew comics?), Glen David Gold, and Chip Kidd. Some of the comics had to be printed too small to read comfortably, but most are fine, and the quality of the printing is excellent. This is McSweeney's, after all. It gives you a sense of the history of comics. I recognized a lot of the cartoonists, but it would have been nice to to have more info on what each comic was excerpted from.
greenteanyc's review
3.0
I feel like this was a really brilliant idea that got tarnished by worries about 'attitude', but still came out rather decently.
Some of the stories grabbed my interest, others were (perhaps purposefully) bland. The articles were much the same way.
Unfortunately, I developed an insidious hatred for the dust jacket. I acknowledge that the design is clever and still plan to read Chris Ware's graphic novel "Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth," but it was a bad start. I did like his excerpt inside, though.
Favorites:
Ira Glass's preface
the article on Rodolphe Töpffer
Mark Newgarden's "The Little Nun"
feature on Charles Schulz (I've got a soft spot for "Peanuts")
Charles Burns's "Black Hole"
Glen David Gold's story "...nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin!"
Richard Sala's "Strange Question"
Ben Katchor's "Hotel & Farm"
Richard Mcguire's work
Jamie and Gilbert Hernandez's juxtaposing comics
Some of the stories grabbed my interest, others were (perhaps purposefully) bland. The articles were much the same way.
Unfortunately, I developed an insidious hatred for the dust jacket. I acknowledge that the design is clever and still plan to read Chris Ware's graphic novel "Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth," but it was a bad start. I did like his excerpt inside, though.
Favorites:
Ira Glass's preface
the article on Rodolphe Töpffer
Mark Newgarden's "The Little Nun"
feature on Charles Schulz (I've got a soft spot for "Peanuts")
Charles Burns's "Black Hole"
Glen David Gold's story "...nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin!"
Richard Sala's "Strange Question"
Ben Katchor's "Hotel & Farm"
Richard Mcguire's work
Jamie and Gilbert Hernandez's juxtaposing comics
More...