The New Comics Anthology [Paperback]

Daniel Clowes (Author), Eddie Campbell (Author), Jaimie Hernandez (Author), Gilbert Hernandez (Author), Harvey Pekar (Author), Gary Panter (Author), Peter Bagge (Author), Peter Kuper (Author), Chris Ware (Author), Bob Callahan (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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 obsessiveness 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 shouldpk 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'mn not trying to obscure anything, but i think we have enough of finding the political in books that no political intentions
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Collier; Collier Books ed edition (September 11, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0020093616
• ISBN-13: 978-0020093619
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,962,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You Will Be Up To Date, All The Way To 1991!, September 10, 2010

By 

PHILIP S WOLF (SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA. USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The New Comics Anthology (Paperback)

I came across this book at a collectors fair in the late 1990's, and they wanted five bucks for it, after ten minutes of playing the game it was mine for four dollars, and as the cover price was: $19.95, I had done pretty well on this one.

At 288 pages and over eighty cartoonists featured, this book spans a decade (the eighties) of the works of that era's comic masters: Robert Crumb, Art Spiegleman, Matt Groening, Will Eisner, Bill Griffith, Los Brothers Hernandez & Dan O'Neill, (just to drop a few names.) There are many comics creators that were new to me that I learned of through the pages of this book, such as: Mariscal, Lloyd Dangle, Chris Ware, Carol Lay & Joost Swarte.

There is a small color section (16 pages) right in the center of the book, the rest is reprinted in glorious black & white. As you already have guessed with so many entries of comics works included by so many different artists, there is a wide deversity of styles to be found here. From Stalin to killer puppets, the stories range from irreverent humor to dark horror, from historical figures to modern day schmucks, a lot of different ground is traveled within the pages of this collection.

There is no hardcore sex, and the violence doesn't go to over-the-top, so there isn't much of this that will destroy the minds and morals of the kiddies, so you don't have to hide in the garden shed to enjoy this book.
If you can score this book for a reasonable price it is indeed worth a good look-see. This is one of the better books on comics talent that you are going to come across.
Four Stars!

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice overview of "new" comix from the 1990's, July 26, 2011

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A Book Is A Wonderous Thing (Indiana) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The New Comics Anthology (Paperback)

A fun read, great examples of art from the era. For ME the R. Crumb art about bluesmen was worth the price alone!