Customer Reviews

The ACME Novelty Library #16

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been waiting for this one for awhile, so I was happy to finally get my hands on it a couple weeks after what was supposed to be the initial release date.

Overall, the ACME Novelty Library #16 delivers more of what you would expect from Ware. In this short hardback (64 pages), he delivers intertwining stories by pulling them together uniquely on the page for the first section, then intersecting the strips as the characters finally converge in the same place. As always, the drawing and design is amazing, and he gives us a small insight into his process (including what seems to be an ongoing, almost debilitating case of self-doubt) of creation.

I have just about everything that Ware has done to date, and the only reason that I'm giving this book 4 stars is because his always dreary stories are on the cusp of starting to get to me. Jimmy Corrigan was beautiful and sprawling masterwork that had a small sense of redemption at the end, but in the time since then (including The Acme Novelty Library and this new piece), his downer storylines have felt more and more claustrophobic. It's probably just a personal preference, and I know I'll keep buying his work since he's such a unique and talented artist, but I felt I had to explain my less than 5 star rating. As mentioned above, if you're a fan of his work, you're not going to go wrong with this one. You almost feel guilty getting such an exquisitely designed and printed book for such a cheap price (considering some of the poorly-conceived rags that are foisted upon the literary world).

Its been 4 years I believe since the last "issue" of ANL and the wait has been difficult. #16 is finally here and overall its worthwhile. The printing, binding, and colors are all top-notch and the full presentation is everything I expect from Ware plus more. One doesn't simply own an edition of ANL, one cherishes the package and makes room for it on the bookshelf. Again, bravo.

Rusty Brown's story is off to a slow start but it features all the Ware trademarks and then some. We see glimpses of what's to come, I think, but for me the "bang" wasn't fully present in the here-and-now. Rusty's father's dilemma unfolded, well, "glacially" as Ware himself puts it on the cover, and almost felt as if we got one word per page to make up a full sentence (I jest but the feeling is there...) Rusty's inner thoughts are much more interesting and his obsession with "Supergirl" is exactly what I expect from Ware: revealing, embarrassing, and oh-so-true, dammit. Our author-artist hits you between the eyes with his childhood foibles and though it often stings quite painfully you cannot look away. The truth is out there.

I appreciated the double storyline effect on the pages and immensely appreciated the overlapping of the storylines from different points of view (always loved that literary tool).

Again, I gave this 4 stars because I felt there could have been more meat here and still have fulfilled Ware's own slow approach to his points. I was done reading and observing much more quickly then I find is normal and comfortable with an ANL pamphlet.

Please, Mr. Ware, give us volume 17 in relatively short order.

The new Acme is finally here, and, lest I allow my excitement over its mere existence color my review, I let it sit for a little while after I bought it and then reread it. It is still amazing. The slow pace is the sign of someone who is not afraid of giving the story room to breathe. Any faster and this story would not have the same emotional impact that it already does after one all-too-brief installment. Ware's lines are wonderfully clear and his palette subdued and balanced, though the lower story does tend to strain the eyes somewhat with its nearly microscopic detail. Possibly his strongest work yet, although it seems a bit hasty to say, seeing as I'll be of retirement age by the time the damn thing's finished. But still, I am grateful that Mr. Ware is out there writing his pathetically beautiful comics.

I am a huge fan of Chris Ware's work, one of the few who discovered Acme Novelty way back around issue #4. This was the beginning of the Jimmy Corrigan saga, where the protaganist's perspective slides between hallucinations (the metal man), with "themes" repeated in the background (the peach!). The story telling was incredible, and the books deserved repeated readings.

As Ware has acheived the acclaim of which he is worthy, the quality of the narrative has gone down. First, there were a few boring issues of Acme with very linear storylines (ex: J.C. in the hospital getting his leg bandaged). Then, there was the repackaging of older strips in hardcover, most recently the red covered Acme Novelty Library collection. It was old stuff, padded with little gags like Dick Public and longer but unfocused stories, like the title-less "God" story.

Acme Novelty #16 falls between Ware's best and worst work. It's mostly one story (Rusty Brown and Chalky White as children), told in parallel narratives (one from each perspective). There's some interesting bits with characters we haven't seen before, namely Rusty's father and Chalky's sister. Plus there's a "cameo" of Ware himself, who prods a character in his most miserable state. (I was reminded of Kurt Vonnegut's appearance in "Breakfast of Champions".) There is beautiful art of a midwestern, middle class world in the snow, with Ware's trademark simplicity with detail and consistency and the feeling of isolation.

There at least one very interesting sequence where the view zooms out, turns, and zooms in to another part of the same building.

It's also interesting to see more about Rusty Brown's background, and actually feel a little simpathy for the poor kid, before he turns into a Big Jerk later in life!

What's missing is a story arc; the story is flat, starting and ending at arbitrary points.

The book ends with two shorter stories, one apparently autobiographical, with a happy tone (?!?!?) that counterbalances the bleak isolation and loneliness in the rest of the book.

The final story develops the one legged girl character who appears in the New York Times magazine. This is told in those diagrams where you have to follow the paths all over the page. (Ware fans know what I'm talking about.) (A chunk of this bit of A.N.L.#16 also appeared, minus color, in the recent "Masters of American Comics" book)

Overall, for Ware fans, Acme Novelty Library #16 is something you need to buy. Those who have never seen his work, however, would do better to start with the book Jimmy Corrigan. ANL#16 is not his best, but it is worth the price, and I'll certainly give it a few readings. And that's more than I can say about most graphic novels.

Much more emotional than the previous issue of ANL, this gorgeously-printed book collects installments of "Rusty Brown" and "Building Stories". The former has improved vastly since it's earlier installments---by going back to Rusty and Chalky's childhood (albeit in a sort of weird alternate universe, but then, continuity is overrated), Ware gets back to the sorrow&pity that characterized Jimmy Corrigan, rather than the snideness of previous Rusty Brown installments.

The Acme Novelty Library - Volume 16: RUSTY BROWN, by C. Ware (68 pg., 2006). I guess this slim volume between cloth covers (which are illustrated & seemingly part of the story-line) could be classified as a comic graphic novel. It seems to be a combination of what we've known for years as a comic book & what we've come to call a graphic novel (pioneered by Will Eisner, may his memory be a blessing).
On the surface, this slim volume would seem to be a trite & boring tale about two kids heading off to their first day at a new school & a kid at the school who gets bullied on a regular basis. The entire story takes place in one day. However, it's far from trite or boring.
This slim volume touches on many important adult issues. Ennui. An adult male's wish to just drive away & leave his job, wife & children behind & start anew someplace where no one knows him. Interacting with new coworkers. Interacting with new students. How to handle or how not to handle bullies. Daydreaming. Lust. The Lolita Syndrome. Broken homes. Single Grandparents forced to raise their grandchildren. The early onset of dementia. Interacting with coworkers. Domestic violence. Verbal abuse. Emotional abuse. Physical abuse. Public masks. Sexual affairs. Intellectual one-upmanship. Some of these topics are barely hinted at. Some are gone into more depth, or as much depth as this slim volume would allow. Even the hints are easy to pick up. A look. A leer. Raised voices. Vocabulary. Body language. Drawings without words.
I was very taken with this book & read it straight through. The author & illustrator, Chris Ware, has the knack of being able to get into both the male & female mind.
C. Ware is also very innovative as a comic graphic book designer. A dual plot runs through most of the pages of this slim volume; by, simply adding smaller cells on the bottom of each page; until, the story-line merged & the smaller cells disappeared into the larger cells. C. Ware even ran a premiere of what the next volume in this series will look like. Ware is very facetious & playful. I like Ware's sense of humor & playfulness. It even took me some time to find the copyright page in this volume.
It's worth digging up a copy of this book. It's beautifully done. I sure hope it doesn't get lost.

Chris Ware's work represents a real achievement in the world of comic publishing since he puts out not just a comic but a work of art.

If you enjoy his work, be sure to pick up the Krazy Kat and Gasoline Alley collections also available at www.amazon.com

This book is near of the "Jimmy Corrigan..." style and mood.
Visually clear and precise in order to benefit the narrative success.

There are two things that I specially enjoyed:
- The Chris Ware's cameo and his dissertation about depression
- the paralell sequence at the bottom of the page that intersect with the main story in one point of the book.

Chris Ware is a master. No doubt about it.

Great job.

I am a huge fan of Chris Ware's work and I believe this is one of his best pieces to date.
Worth reading over & over.
Almost like watching a movie in a weird way.