Blab: Number 9 (Paperback)

~ Monte Beauchamp (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Two years after the multiple-award winning Blab #8 comes editor Monte Beauchamp's next installment of America's premiere comics anthology. The front and back covers are by Gary Baseman, and you'll find new comics stories by Richard Sala, Doug Allen, Spain, Terry Laban, Peter Kuper, Chris Ware, and others. Plus there are essays on America's first serial killer, Howard Unruh (by Jeffrey Steele), and the cover art of Dell mystery paperbacks (by Beauchamp). The cornerstone of this issue is an amazing 13-page retrospective of the art of Boris Artsybasheff, an expatriate Russian designer/illustrator who created more than 200 covers for Time. His images of war and industry influenced a generation of artists.

From Booklist

From the modest digest size of its first eight numbers, Blab has evolved into a square, oversize affair. The elaborate ninth edition includes strips from Richard Sala, Spain Rodriguez, Peter Kuper, and Chris Ware (the latter two's stories appear in vibrant color, and they are not the only ones that do). Nearly as impressive are newcomers Archer Prewitt, Brad Johnson, and Peter Hoey, and editor Beauchamp casts his net beyond the comics world to gather work by Tony Fitzpatrick and Christian Northeast. All these artists' contributions are enjoyable, but those of some cartoonists who work in more conventional modes, such as Terry LaBan and Doug Allen, don't particularly benefit from the lavish packaging, careful production, and cutting-edge design. A retrospective of illustrator Boris Artzybasheff's work and a portfolio of vintage Dell paperback mystery bookcover art round out the volume. With the demise of Art (Maus) Spiegelman's Raw, Blab is the leading showcase for contemporary cartoonists; may its new publisher publish it more regularly. Gordon Flagg

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156097284X
• ISBN-13: 978-1560972846
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 9.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,944,230 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars pretty good, October 4, 2001

By	Mangy Fox "dreadlock goddess" - See all my reviews

I have a mixed review for this one. The content is top notch and i definitely enjoyed it. However, when I started to read it it started coming apart at the binding. I did not put the book under any undue stress, just normal, gentle reading and it fell apart. This of course upset me and has made me very hesitant to purchase the others in the series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Be warned...., July 3, 2003

By A Customer

The content is great. However, the binding is easily the worst I have ever seen in a professionally produced book. The ENTIRE book came apart upon its first reading! Don't expect to pass this down to your grandkids.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not pornography!, January 3, 2000

By	Mark Stinson (Louisian) - See all my reviews

I really enjoyed the latest edition of Blab. Each one gets better and better. The art is stimulating and intriguing. My wife calls it pornography, but I call it pure art.