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chloekg's review
4.0
Funny, touching, short and sweet, Pekar's introduction is one of the best pieces.
rodneywilhite's review
3.0
It was worth reading just for Rebecca Dart and Anders Nilsen. Several other stories are pretty good, too.
ericfheiman's review
5.0
A great selection from a wide variety of contemporary comic masters. Lynda Barry's contribution is a highlight.
scheu's review
4.0
A cool survey that I got for super cheap. I'd be willing to track down the other volumes to satisfy my curiosity.
saidtheraina's review
3.0
Inspired by my fellow librarian, Meghan, I'm reading through all of the Best American Comic compilations 2006-present. I read the 2009 edition first, and to my surprise, I find my taste in comics aligns more with Harvey Pekar (guest editor here) than with Charles Burns (guest editor for 2009). Maybe I'm a wimp and a newbie, but I like accessible navel-gazing narratives. Found a lot of new artists who I immediately searched the library catalog for. Really like this method of finding new comics I like.
jenjenpelly's review
5.0
This has been my favorite anthology to date. Interestingly, it is also the first volume published in the series. Almost every comic was amazing, owhich is a triumph for a collection such as this.
glassesgirl79's review
4.0
The Best American Comics 2006 is a great combination of 30 well drawn comics, sharp writing, and political awareness.The book manages to have a good balance of color an d black and white comics and well as traditional versus more modern styles.
My favorite comic in the collection was "Nakedness and Power" which is a political comic discussing the oppression of Africans as well as the current oppression of Americans in reference to oil prices.The pictures in this comic are compelling as well as the simplicity of the text make this comic a must read.
Some comics are based on real life events while others comics are completely fictional;however both types of stories leave the reader feeling different than they did before they read the comic strip.
I also enjoyed the contrasting relationships between father and child in the stories "Portrait of My Dad" and "Thirty-three".
In "Portrait of My Dad," the comic is actually a collection of several comics which all focus of interactions between the author and his father. As I read the strip, I was able to see pieces of myself within the comic in how my father and I relate to each other. The main thing I took away from this comic was that in life, especially when it comes to parent and child relationships,
while some children spend their whole lives trying to gain acceptance from their parents, in actuality, some parents are seeking that same type of acceptance from their children as well.
"Thirty-three" is a story of an unlikely father and daughter reunion. The comic is again about a father and child however in this case, the child (Phoebe) has come to find her father (Richard). The conversation they share is an awkward one yet both characters try to make the best of the situation they find themselves in. At the end of the strip, Richard makes a choice in regards to Phoebe and he is positive his choice is the right one. I was able to identify myself in this strip in the when you are close to your parent, sometimes you have to have awkward conversations to get to know each other again.
The only thing that annoyed me was that the comics that was shown on the cover of the book was not included in the collection. I feel like it would have been better to have just not had a comic on the cover at all or showcased one actually in the collection.
Overall, this book is a great read for anyone who hasn't read comics in a while or would like something unlike the type of comic strips you usually find in the newspaper.
My favorite comic in the collection was "Nakedness and Power" which is a political comic discussing the oppression of Africans as well as the current oppression of Americans in reference to oil prices.The pictures in this comic are compelling as well as the simplicity of the text make this comic a must read.
Some comics are based on real life events while others comics are completely fictional;however both types of stories leave the reader feeling different than they did before they read the comic strip.
I also enjoyed the contrasting relationships between father and child in the stories "Portrait of My Dad" and "Thirty-three".
In "Portrait of My Dad," the comic is actually a collection of several comics which all focus of interactions between the author and his father. As I read the strip, I was able to see pieces of myself within the comic in how my father and I relate to each other. The main thing I took away from this comic was that in life, especially when it comes to parent and child relationships,
while some children spend their whole lives trying to gain acceptance from their parents, in actuality, some parents are seeking that same type of acceptance from their children as well.
"Thirty-three" is a story of an unlikely father and daughter reunion. The comic is again about a father and child however in this case, the child (Phoebe) has come to find her father (Richard). The conversation they share is an awkward one yet both characters try to make the best of the situation they find themselves in. At the end of the strip, Richard makes a choice in regards to Phoebe and he is positive his choice is the right one. I was able to identify myself in this strip in the when you are close to your parent, sometimes you have to have awkward conversations to get to know each other again.
The only thing that annoyed me was that the comics that was shown on the cover of the book was not included in the collection. I feel like it would have been better to have just not had a comic on the cover at all or showcased one actually in the collection.
Overall, this book is a great read for anyone who hasn't read comics in a while or would like something unlike the type of comic strips you usually find in the newspaper.
veewren's review
4.0
This one was especially good.
Some favorites:
La Rubia Loca by Justin Hall
Portraits of My Dad by David Heatley
Nakedness and Power by Seth Tobocman, Terisa Turner, and Leigh Brownhill
Thirteen Cats of my Childhood by Jesse Reklaw
Walkin' the Streets by Robert Crumb
Some favorites:
La Rubia Loca by Justin Hall
Portraits of My Dad by David Heatley
Nakedness and Power by Seth Tobocman, Terisa Turner, and Leigh Brownhill
Thirteen Cats of my Childhood by Jesse Reklaw
Walkin' the Streets by Robert Crumb