Customer Reviews

Chris Ware (Monographics Series)

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

 

 

I am a big fan of the work of Chris Ware, so I thought this book would really give me a greater depth of understanding of his work.
What is there is quite good, but it is also very short. Only the first 30 or so pages have text that discusses Ware. The rest of the book features images of Ware's work; the great majority of it has already been published in his semi-regular comic, and is familiar to anyone who buys that regularly.
Many of the images try to fit a full huge Ware piece of art, often 11 x 17 inches or so onto the size of this book's page, much smaller, so you can't even read the words or make out the details. Also, the book uses huge white margins, so the images could have easily been made larger and more legible.
There are some unusual images of Ware's work, including a remarkable wedding invitation he designed for friends of his. But again, it's rather small, and details are lost.
Ware's own hardcover datebook does a better job at looking behind the scenes of Ware's published work.
This is by no means a bad book, and it has worth, but I wish it had been longer and designed with a little more care.

This monograph was chock full of finely reproduced Ware art not just stuff from his comics, including some photos of his sculptures I had not seen before. The copy the author included as a comentary on the art helped translate the pathos of Chis Ware's art. I think you will enjoy this monograph if you are a Chis Ware enthusist or just a casual fan.

This book focuses on the evolution of comics, where Chris Ware fits into that evolution, and especially Ware's proficiency as a graphic designer. Working with a medium still ignored by most and cast off as a childish one, Raeburn gives us a view of Chris Ware's work from a professional design standpoint, and proves that it is well-deserving of such an analysis.

I had hoped this book would have more about Chris Ware, but most of it is the author's boring observations about comic art and his theories about what Ware is drawing. I would much rather read about the subject's childhood, and especially the details of his time in art school and in Austin. Instead there's endless verbiage in the Scott McCloud vein. A few interesting reproductions of Ware creations I hadn't seen before are included, but not much else is worth recommending.