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1991 The New Comics Anthology


The New Comics Anthology
Edited by Bob Callahan
Paperback: 287 pages ; 
Dimensions (in inches): 0.75 x 11.25 x 8.75 
Publisher: Collier Books; (August 1991) 
ISBN: 0020093616 
Gathers selections from avant-garde graphic literature by more than seventy-five artists. 
A compilation of works by more than 70 artists over five catergories including; Ye Olde Vaudeville Days; Daniel Clowes,JR Williams,Joe Matt,Peter Bagge,Matt Groening,Howard Cruse,Chris Ware,Lloyd Dangle,Mariscal,Ed Pinsent,Mokeit,Jim Woodring, Hunt Emerson, Rick Geary, Masse, Drew Friedman, Robert Sikoryak, Kim Deitch,Bill Griffith, Art Spiegelman.
The New Punk Funnies; S. Clay Wilson, Rory Hayes, Mark Beyer, Krystine Kryttre, Kaz, Bruce Hilvitz,Julie Doucet, Paquito Bolino,Michael Roden, Roy Tompkins,Y5P5, Mary Fleener, Jim Shaw,Maruo Suehiro, Peter Kuper,Mack White, Paul Mavrides, Pascal Doury, Bruno Richard, Gary Panter
Living Colours; Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard Sala, Lynda Barry, Robert Williams, Charles Burns, Jacques de Loustal, David Sandlin
Tales Of Politics And Crime; The Pleece Brothers, Joe Sacco, Willem, Cliff Harper, Dan O'Neil, Spain, Mark Zingarelli, Dougan & Einchhorn, Munoz&Sampayo, Marti, Colin Upton, Marc Caro, Tardi&Grange.
The Forthcoming American Splendour: Will Eisner, Aline Kominsky, Justin Green, Lee Marrs, Carol Lay, Gilbert Hernandez,Carol Tyler, Mario Hernandez, Jayr Pulga, BenKatchor, Eddie Campbell, Dori Seda,Diane Noomin, Joost Swarte, Robert Crumb, Harvey Pekar

Editorial Reviews 
Don't let the fact that they're sick and twisted fool you--lurking behind the depravity of the new breed of comic represented in this volume is wit and, dare I say, wisdom. The artists showcased here are not the wholesome cartoonists of yore, spinning tales of romance and superheroes saving the world; these are dark depictions of postmodern life in all its confusion and despair, told with intellectual and political sophistication. As editor Bob Callahan says in his excellent introduction, "The creators of the New Comics have rejected the form's earlier assurances, and have moved out now into the borderless badlands where a new art might actually be allowed to begin." 

The anthology features works by more than 80 comic strip writers. There are the big names--Art Spiegelman (of Maus fame), Simpsons creator Matt Groening, Weirdo magazine founder Robert Crumb--as well as works from less well known artists such as Gilbert Hernandez, Marc Caro, and Lorenzo Mattoti. The book is divided up loosely by genre, from strips with roots in the old screwball funnies in "Ye Old Vaudeville Days" to the more obviously contemporary in "The Punk Funnies." 

The New Comics are brilliantly funny and clever, often dark and surreal. Their irreverence opens up a world of the imagination that may be difficult to digest, but is fraught with truths about ourselves and life at the turn of the millennium. --Uma Kukathas 

From Publishers Weekly
Callahan, a former book columnist for the San Francisco Examiner , has reproduced in book form the short story format of periodical alternative comics anthologies like Arcade and Weirdo. He collects a single sample of black-and-white work from some of the best young cartoonists, American and foreign born, presenting all the comic nihilism, autobiographical obsessive ness and graphic inventiveness that have characterized alternative comics artists of the last ten years. (One color insert is also included.) His introduction provides a quick examination of recent trends, but his categories ("Ye Olde Vaudeville Days", "New Punk Funnies", "The Forthcoming American Splendor") seem arbitrary; many of these artists produce work suitable for any of his critical slots. Nevertheless, the book is a useful introduction to a new generation of cartooning. Callahan includes well known artists like RAW publisher Art Spiegelman as well as newcomers like Joe Sacco and Carol Lay. Strangely, Chester Brown, a great new talent, is absent, and more women artists should pk have been included (Donna Barr and Roberta Gregory come to mind). i think we needn't press our case so specifically; the point is made. I'm not trying to obscure anything, but i think we have enough of finding the political in books that no political intentions