Synopses & Reviews
The Best American Comics showcases the work of both established and up-and-coming contributors. Editor Neil Gaiman—one of the top writers in modern comics and the award-winning author of novels and childrens books—has culled the best stories from graphic novels, pamphlet comics, newspapers, magazines, mini-comics, and the Internet to create this cutting-edge collection. With entries from luminaries such as Tim Hensley, Michael Kupperman, and Dash Shaw, “its hard to flip through this book without finding a lot worth reading (and rereading)” (The Onion, A.V. Club).
Review
"A motley collection to match every mood a relentless reader might have." — Kirkus
"Thats the genius of the series. It eschews big names, big issues, and award winners in favor of stuff thats simply entertaining...Something for everyone, indeed. " — Booklist
Review
"A
rich selection of excellent graphic literature in this collection of 26 stories that
span the heartbreaking to the hilarious to the just plain oddball."
--USA Today "This years guest selector, Bechdel, opens with a terrific introduction that digs into the sense of awe felt by many underground vets on comicdoms recent hyperdevelopment... The picks are a typical mix of heavy hitters in top form (Chris Ware, Joe Sacco, Jaime Hernandez, Jeff Smith), younger art-comics darlings (Dash Shaw, Kevin Huizenga), and a nice smattering of talented newcomers."
--Booklist "Fun Home creator Bechdel selects 27 pieces for this year's Best American anthology, and though a reader can trace her sensibility in some of the entries . . . it's a pleasure to see many odd, gritty selections . . . This year's Best American is a handsome anthology with more than a few welcome surprises."
—Publishers Weekly "Another annual cornucopia of graphic narrative (and comic strips). Whether comics were ever striving for cultural legitimacy, they are now struggling with it—even resisting it—though this years collection suggests that the range of subject, tone and technique continues to expand. Perhaps no other graphic memoirist has achieved greater acclaim than this years guest editor Bechdel . . . While much of this work is at the cutting edge of contemporary culture, there is a historical perspective to some of the more ambitious pieces . . .The extended, wordless visual epiphany in 'Winter' is stunning . . . David Lasky shows the greatest range . . . Chris Wares inevitable selection is brilliant. The state of an art that has yet to reach stasis."
—Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
The Best American Comics showcases the work of both established and up-and-coming contributors. Editor Neil Gaiman--one of the top writers in modern comics and the award-winning author of novels and children's books--has culled the best stories from graphic novels, pamphlet comics, newspapers, magazines, mini-comics, and the Internet to create this cutting-edge collection. With entries from luminaries such as Tim Hensley, Michael Kupperman, and Dash Shaw, "it's hard to flip through this book without finding a lot worth reading (and rereading)" (The Onion, A.V. Club).
Synopsis
Editor Gaiman--one of the top writers in modern comics and the award-winning author of novels and children's books--has culled the best stories from graphic novels, pamphlet comics, newspapers, magazines, mini-comics, and the Internet to create this cutting-edge collection.
Synopsis
Bestselling author and rockstar of the comic world Neil Gaiman delivers a remarkable collection of the year's best graphic stories and comics.
Synopsis
A selection of the best writing, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and comics, published in American periodicals during during 2012 aimed at readers fifteen and up.
Synopsis
Dave Eggers and his students at the 826 Valencia and 826 Michigan writing labs compile fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and comics, as well as category-defying gems that have become one of the hallmarks of this lively collection.
Synopsis
A collection of the best graphic pieces published in 2012, compiled by art editor for The New Yorker, Françoise Mouly.
Synopsis
“When I started
RAW magazine in the ’80s, there were mostly superheroes, a few children’s comics, and the dirty, intentionally lowbrow, underground comix. And now, comics can tackle any topic.”—Françoise Mouly, from the Introduction
FEATURING Charles Burns, Chester Brown, Joyce Farmer, Chris Ware, Gary Panter, Sergio Aragonés, Christoph Niemann, Adrian Tomine, Sarah Varon, and others.
This year with a sampler of comics for kids!
Synopsis
“If you have spent a long time resisting the status quo—whether its in art, society, or the political world—what happens when that status quo at last gives way?A universe of possibility opens up.”
—Alison Bechdel, from the Introduction
Featuring: Gabrielle Bell, Joe Sacco, Dash Shaw, Sabrina Jones, Chris Ware, Jillian Tamaki, Jaime Hernandez, Jeff Smith, Paul Pope, Kevin Huizenga, and others
About the Author
Alison Bechdel is the author of the bestselling memoir
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, which was named a Best Book of the Year by
Time, Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, People, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, and
San Francisco Chronicle, among others. For twenty-five years, she wrote and drew the comic strip
Dykes to Watch Out For, a visual chronicle of modern life
—queer and otherwise
—considered "one of the preeminent oeuvres in the comics genre, period." (Ms.) Bechdel is guest editor of
Best American Comics, 2011, and has drawn comics for
Slate, McSweeney's, Entertainment Weekly, Granta, and
The New York Times Book Review. JESSICA ABEL is the author of the graphic novel La Perdida. MATT MADDEN is a cartoonist best known for his book 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style. Together, Abel and Madden are the authors of Mastering Comics and Drawing Words and Writing Pictures.MATT MADDEN is a cartoonist and the author of 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style. Together, they are the authors of Drawing Words & Writing Pictures.