Customer Reviews

McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, No. 13

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I echo the comments made by other reviewers that this book is beautifully and cleverly designed, setting a standard that promotes ownership and collectability at a very reasonable list price. The content overall is worthy as well, although I do admit to varying degrees of engagement with it. I was aware from time to time of what seems to be a trend in (I'm assuming) younger artists to seemingly construct autobiographical pieces that seem (to me) overly self-involved, self-referential and ultimately fairly trivial. These pieces may not even be truly autobiographical and perhaps only seemingly so but, still, not all that compelling. What I felt was that this somewhat sophomoric content seemed a bit out of place in this type of anthology and I was left feeling that surely there must be far better works that could have replaced these and made the anthology stronger and classic, particularly when accompanied by the essays and historical material. The book's subtance doesn't quite live up to it's style in this case, so I'm deducting a "star" for that but still recommend it as a purchase. Bonus for including SETH!

Issue 13 of the McSweeney's Quarterly Concern is sure to blow you away. This 265-page issue is one of McSweeney's largest and quite unusual in that it embraces a variety of graphic aspects. Alternately titled All Your Favorite Comics, this is somewhat of a misnomer in that flipping through the pages you think less of comics and more of craft and social commentary. Contributor's "stories" range from boisterous, to serene, to penetrating to calamitous; a plethora of style and situations for a variety of readers. Perhaps the most notable feature of this book is the cover itself. A sturdy jacket embossed with gold leafing and riddled with comic clips, this jacket folds out to nearly three times revealing a stunning piece of artwork showcasing exactly why McSweeney's books are so coveted by collectors.

...quite possibly the finest piece of literature I have ever held in my hands. It's an issue devoted entirely to comics, and aesthetically, I have never seen anything like it. First is the dust jacket - made to look like a daily sheet, it's intricately covered with different designs and characters, and then folded up very nicely around the book. Tucked in pockets on both the front and back are smaller, booklet type comics.

Inside, the issue is guest edited by Chris Ware and is positively stunning. Lots and lots of full color pages with comics by Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, R. Crumb, Lynda Barry, Mark Newgarden (The Little Nun), and a newly discovered favorite, Richard McGuire. Also, some history of the comics from the editor.

If you like comics (especially the more conceptually adventurous ones) you'll love this book. If you don't like comics, or don't know if you like comics, go and look at it anyway. You might be surprised.

Chris Ware, (ACME Novelty Library, Jimmy Corrigan) guest edits this edition of McSweeney's a spotlight on graphic image narrative. Ware designs in his inimitable, meticulous style what is McSweeney's most handsome volume yet and provides a sturdy editorial structure (including fascinating historical reference and essays as well as his own history of comics). Most of the contributers are artists you'll recognise from independent or self-produced comics, zines, and strips, as well as from low-art magazines like Juxtapoz. These are interspersed with essays by word people (like John Updke) about images. Like every issue of McSweeney's, the grab bag quality is what makes it most successful, you'll see names you know next to names you don't; you'll be surprised by what you find yourself liking and moreover you'll find yourself appreciating the keen vision behind the scenes that pushes each piece of the kaliedescope in front of your eyes. Kudos to McSweeny's for recognising that this insurgent medium that deserves it's own place on Barnes and Noble's shelf, but a larger and more heartfelt amount of recognition should go to Mr. Ware for producing what could really be the Norton Anthology of Graphic Storytelling. The book is thoughtfuilly designed and masterfully put together, benefitting from the attention to detail that makes Ware's artwork so distinctive as well as the sheer quality of the work presented. None of the stories rest on the novelty of being 'comics in a straight book', at their best they are profoundly moving studies that showcase an artist struglling and succeeding in their medium. A deluxe sized fold-out cover, (designed to look like the funnies page) and two mini-comics are included and add to the overall grab-bag feel and leave the reader feeling like, if nothing else, he got a lot for his 25 bucks. If you are a fan of comic strips, comic books, graphic art; if you liked American Splendor, or Ghost World, if you are a fan of experimental narrative, or if you are simply curious what everyone is talking about when they refer to this curious, beautiful medium, be sure to check this out, it's an excellent primer for the curious and to the initiated it's a must-have watermark for how far the medium can go.

I have had this book for a year now, and I still get fits of joy every time I take it in my hands or just get a glimpse of its spine on the bookshelf. It's the book I always wanted as a child and never got. Though it contains no children's stuff (of airy-fairy kind or other), it somehow touches the wondering child in me. I wish it had nine more volumes - or better still, McSweeney's dedicated itself exclusively to alternative comics. Congratulations for designer and editor Chris Ware for creating a deeply endearing experience instead of what could have been just an ordinary anthology.

One of the best books in the history on humankind... recommended for all who want to know where the book as a form of communication has been going for the last 100 years and will go from here on ...

I'm a fan of McSweeney's and I'm slowly amassing the entire series for my personal library. I also love comics and art. I just found this collection to be unsatisfying for a few reasons:

1. The comics seemed to hammer constantly on the theme of suicide and depression. It was much darker than I expected in tone.
2. The artists represented seemed limited to "old-timey" cartoons or whiny auto-biographical stories about longing and melancholy.
3. Some of the comics didn't seem to be of a high-enough quality to what I've expected from McSweeney's.

There are a few comics in there that I very much enjoyed and a few artists that I have now checked out, but overall, I'm disappointed with this edition after all of the hoopla I've seen online about it.

Edited by Chris Ware, McSweeney's 13 is a beautifully produced hardback with a design your own wraparound cover by Chris Ware and 2 bonus mini-comics.

Inside are comics essays by Ira Glass, Chris Ware, John Updike, Glen David Gold, Malachi B. Cohen, and Chip Kidd. There are also appreciations of the work of Rodolphe Topffer (a 19th century cartoonist and arguably America's first comics artist), George Herriman, and Charles Schulz.

And onto the comics themselves! Most of the samples are of larger works by their authors which, if you're familiar with indie comics then you'll have already heard of/read them already: "Black Hole" by Charles Burns, "Clyde Fans" by Seth, "Spent" by Joe Matt, "Underworld" by Kaz, "In the Shadow of No Towers" by Art Spiegelman, "The Fixer" by Joe Sacco, "Shortcomings" by Adrian Tomine, and "Louis Riel" by Chester Brown.

There are also contributions from R. Crumb, Dan Clowes, Mark Newgarden, Jim Woodring, Archer Prewitt, Lynda Barry, Chris Ware, Mark Beyer, Richard Sala, Kim Deitch, Ben Katchor, Richard McGuire, Jeffrey Brown, Julie Doucet, Debbie Dreschler, David Heatley, Gilbert Hernandez, and Ivan Brunetti.

There's no better place to start if you're new and interested in comics. For those who are more familiar with a few of the names above, you'll find samples by all the artists and might discover some new ones for yourself. I discovered the work of the excellent Richard Sala and Kim Deitch through this issue. The samples of other artists also allowed me to get an idea of what their work was like and I ended up reading/buying most of the artists' books off the back of this issue!

An excellent volume from McSweeney's, one of their best in fact, and a totally engrossing read. Highly recommended.

I loved this! Its got a lot of different comic styles, so that you can really understand the alternative aspects of the genre.

The themes are all similar, IE don;t expect happy stories.
great book, AWESOME cover which folds out into a poster.

Part of the reason I gave this five stars instead of four has to be that it was just so long in comparison to some of the other issues.

You get a huge selection of contemporary cartoonists, edited by Chris Ware, my personal favorite--and also a bunch of essays that touch on the history of the first European and American cartoonists, their lives, etc. Perhaps my favorite was the analysis of the final somewhat palsied sketches of Charles Schulz.

Anyway, this is a great book.