Comments on: The Best American Comics 2007, and the best comics of 2006 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/ Never Safe For Work Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:37:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: comics212 - never safe for work. » Blog Archive » Best of 2007? Really? Man… http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-21066 comics212 - never safe for work. » Blog Archive » Best of 2007? Really? Man… Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:12:15 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-21066 [...] It seems like only yesterday that I picked my favourite comics of 2006, and a month and a half before the end of the year various media outlets are already making their “Best of 2007″ lists. Yikes. Today I managed to trip over Amazon.com’s Best of the Year list, and they picked the Dark Tower adaptation as the best graphic novel of the year. I mean, yikes. So much for your literary comics conspiracy. The rest of the includes titles like the Joss Whedon Buffy collection, Tomine’s Shortcomings, and a bevvy of strip collections for Perry Bible Fellowship, Peanuts, The Complete Mad: Don Martin, and Pearls Before Swine. I have to say that I’m kind of surprised to see Bryan Talbot’s excellent Alice in Sunderland on there, but I’m glad it is. On the other hand? Nothing there from DC Comics or any of their imprints, which I find a little surprising given the diversity of DC’s output and their deep pockets… Meanwhile, as part of the new Publisher’s Weekly Comics Week, the PWCW staff releases their picks for best of the year and, much like their 2006 list, it’s a balanced, considered thing that speaks more to playing nice with every genre and outlet and less about a passionate collection of The Best Of 2007. Here’s the list: Adrian Tomine’s Shortcomings, Bryan Talbot’s Alice in Sunderland, Rutu Modan’s Exit Wounds, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman, Jason’s I Killed Adolf Hitler, Nick Abadzis’s Laika, Nick Bertozzi’s The Salon, Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie’s Aya, Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together, Taiyo Matsumoto’s Tekkonkinkreet: Black and White, Osamu Tezuka’s MW, and Eiji Otsuka and Sho-u Tajima’s MPD-Psycho Vol. 1. [...] [...] It seems like only yesterday that I picked my favourite comics of 2006, and a month and a half before the end of the year various media outlets are already making their “Best of 2007″ lists. Yikes. Today I managed to trip over Amazon.com’s Best of the Year list, and they picked the Dark Tower adaptation as the best graphic novel of the year. I mean, yikes. So much for your literary comics conspiracy. The rest of the includes titles like the Joss Whedon Buffy collection, Tomine’s Shortcomings, and a bevvy of strip collections for Perry Bible Fellowship, Peanuts, The Complete Mad: Don Martin, and Pearls Before Swine. I have to say that I’m kind of surprised to see Bryan Talbot’s excellent Alice in Sunderland on there, but I’m glad it is. On the other hand? Nothing there from DC Comics or any of their imprints, which I find a little surprising given the diversity of DC’s output and their deep pockets… Meanwhile, as part of the new Publisher’s Weekly Comics Week, the PWCW staff releases their picks for best of the year and, much like their 2006 list, it’s a balanced, considered thing that speaks more to playing nice with every genre and outlet and less about a passionate collection of The Best Of 2007. Here’s the list: Adrian Tomine’s Shortcomings, Bryan Talbot’s Alice in Sunderland, Rutu Modan’s Exit Wounds, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman, Jason’s I Killed Adolf Hitler, Nick Abadzis’s Laika, Nick Bertozzi’s The Salon, Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie’s Aya, Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together, Taiyo Matsumoto’s Tekkonkinkreet: Black and White, Osamu Tezuka’s MW, and Eiji Otsuka and Sho-u Tajima’s MPD-Psycho Vol. 1. [...]

]]> By: Cross Hatch Dispatch 10/28/2007 « The Daily Cross Hatch http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-19007 Cross Hatch Dispatch 10/28/2007 « The Daily Cross Hatch Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:14:07 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-19007 [...] Beguiling’s Christopher Butcher’s detailed review of the 2007 Best American Comics anthology. [...] [...] Beguiling’s Christopher Butcher’s detailed review of the 2007 Best American Comics anthology. [...]

]]> By: “vague, debatable, slippery, disingenuous” « Precocious Curmudgeon http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-15443 “vague, debatable, slippery, disingenuous” « Precocious Curmudgeon Sun, 14 Oct 2007 23:16:13 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-15443 [...] So it serves kind of a missionary function, placing worthy but not necessarily commercial creators in a somewhat brighter spotlight. And there seems to be a fair amount of consensus among the editors that the series’ title is sort of unfortunate hyperbole. Here’s a passage from Ware’s introduction to the 2007 edition, which Chris Butcher referenced fairly extensively in his review of the collection: “First of all, the title: it’s misleading. Though I haven’t taken a survey, I’d imagine that a good number of the guest editors of all the Best American series have felt compelled to take issue with it, too. To presume that my personal taste defines an objective by which all living cartoonists should be judged is absurd. On top of that, any public competition is antithetical to the spirit of real art, and labeling a widely disseminated collection of artwork as ‘the best’ veers perilously close to suggesting that artists should gauge what they do against some sort of popularity contest for an ancillary reward — notoriety, money, or even inclusion in an anthology — other than the artwork itself.” [...] [...] So it serves kind of a missionary function, placing worthy but not necessarily commercial creators in a somewhat brighter spotlight. And there seems to be a fair amount of consensus among the editors that the series’ title is sort of unfortunate hyperbole. Here’s a passage from Ware’s introduction to the 2007 edition, which Chris Butcher referenced fairly extensively in his review of the collection: “First of all, the title: it’s misleading. Though I haven’t taken a survey, I’d imagine that a good number of the guest editors of all the Best American series have felt compelled to take issue with it, too. To presume that my personal taste defines an objective by which all living cartoonists should be judged is absurd. On top of that, any public competition is antithetical to the spirit of real art, and labeling a widely disseminated collection of artwork as ‘the best’ veers perilously close to suggesting that artists should gauge what they do against some sort of popularity contest for an ancillary reward — notoriety, money, or even inclusion in an anthology — other than the artwork itself.” [...]

]]> By: comics212 - never safe for work. » Blog Archive » Heidi’s post about the Best American Comics book… http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-14713 comics212 - never safe for work. » Blog Archive » Heidi’s post about the Best American Comics book… Fri, 12 Oct 2007 19:33:02 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-14713 [...] Hey there. I wrote a review of the Chris Ware-edited Best American Comics 2007 book this week, and I think it came out pretty well. In it, I was trying to walk a very fine line between respecting the vision and accomplishments of the people involved in that work, and looking at the larger North American publishing industry to see if, really, the book was indicative of what is on store shelves and what’s “good”. Over at Publisher’s Weekly, Heidi has decided to obliterate that very fine line with a shotgun, and gives us one of the worst pieces of writing I’ve ever seen her put up on the blog. I understand her sentiments, but not only do I not agree with them I also think that she uses a series of outright untruths to bolster her arguments, which are muddy at best. 50% of the comics in The Best American Comics 2007 are not as good as a work published 10 years ago? Thanks for that, that’s very relevant. [...] [...] Hey there. I wrote a review of the Chris Ware-edited Best American Comics 2007 book this week, and I think it came out pretty well. In it, I was trying to walk a very fine line between respecting the vision and accomplishments of the people involved in that work, and looking at the larger North American publishing industry to see if, really, the book was indicative of what is on store shelves and what’s “good”. Over at Publisher’s Weekly, Heidi has decided to obliterate that very fine line with a shotgun, and gives us one of the worst pieces of writing I’ve ever seen her put up on the blog. I understand her sentiments, but not only do I not agree with them I also think that she uses a series of outright untruths to bolster her arguments, which are muddy at best. 50% of the comics in The Best American Comics 2007 are not as good as a work published 10 years ago? Thanks for that, that’s very relevant. [...]

]]> By: STWALLSKULL » Interesting Links: October 10, 2007 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-14479 STWALLSKULL » Interesting Links: October 10, 2007 Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:35:48 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-14479 [...] The Best American Comics 2007, and the best comics… from comics212 - never safe for work. [...] [...] The Best American Comics 2007, and the best comics… from comics212 – never safe for work. [...]

]]> By: Journalista - the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » Oct. 10, 2007: A better breed of publisher http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-14462 Journalista - the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » Oct. 10, 2007: A better breed of publisher Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:03:22 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-14462 [...] [Commentary] Need buying advice from a knowledgable comics fan? Here you go: Christopher Butcher lists his picks for the best comics of 2006. [...] [...] [Commentary] Need buying advice from a knowledgable comics fan? Here you go: Christopher Butcher lists his picks for the best comics of 2006. [...]

]]> By: Darren Witt http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-14432 Darren Witt Wed, 10 Oct 2007 03:23:33 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-14432 just got through the article above - and GOD BLESS YOU FOR SHOWING ME THE GENIUS OF THE PBF! i have two wonderful kids (well, healthy and happy anyways), and a wonderful wife, and now my life is complete. Darren (ps - i like the travel pics fine, but i missed this post the first time around because i didnt scroll down past all the travel pics - gave up, really. luckily it was linked to by another blog. and i found the Perry Bible Fellowship! Screw the new job i just got!) just got through the article above – and GOD BLESS YOU FOR SHOWING ME THE GENIUS OF THE PBF!

i have two wonderful kids (well, healthy and happy anyways), and a wonderful wife, and now my life is complete.

Darren

(ps – i like the travel pics fine, but i missed this post the first time around because i didnt scroll down past all the travel pics – gave up, really. luckily it was linked to by another blog. and i found the Perry Bible Fellowship! Screw the new job i just got!)

]]> By: Huff http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-14431 Huff Wed, 10 Oct 2007 03:08:51 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-14431 Shit, its been so long. But your list seems top-notch; a good sampling of just about every kind of comic you can find. I agree with Brian about Solo 12, and in the same vein I'd add Ninja to the list. The biggest omission I could see was Kampung Boy, which would probably tie Japan as Viewed... as my favorite. I'd also replace Death Note (its good but not THAT good) with something like Eden or Vagabond, but small gripes. I only got a chance to flip through BAC but Ware's choices seem good. Of course as we all know its only a selection of a specific type of American comics, but you kind of have to expect that from these type of "literary" books (Ware's introduction was a nice touch in this respect). Shit, its been so long. But your list seems top-notch; a good sampling of just about every kind of comic you can find. I agree with Brian about Solo 12, and in the same vein I’d add Ninja to the list. The biggest omission I could see was Kampung Boy, which would probably tie Japan as Viewed… as my favorite. I’d also replace Death Note (its good but not THAT good) with something like Eden or Vagabond, but small gripes.
I only got a chance to flip through BAC but Ware’s choices seem good. Of course as we all know its only a selection of a specific type of American comics, but you kind of have to expect that from these type of “literary” books (Ware’s introduction was a nice touch in this respect).

]]> By: Matthew J. Brady http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-14374 Matthew J. Brady Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:44:45 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-14374 Dammit, I forgot to close my link. Sorry.</a> Dammit, I forgot to close my link. Sorry.

]]> By: Matthew J. Brady http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-14373 Matthew J. Brady Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:42:11 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-14373 Great choices, Chris. I agree with most everything you have on here that I read, and most of the stuff I haven't read is on my "would like to read someday" list. Re: Dork #11 - I probably would have mentioned that one, but it came out before I started blogging. Jog did a post on it, and that was what convinced me to get it. It's a pretty damn funny issue; I lovethe gag where Dorkin roasts comics fans by having people say things like, "Hey, did you know Nicolas Cage reads books? Isn't that awesome?" Oh, and I agree about the difficulty in reviewing <i>Deogratias</i>. It's a harrowing book. I made an <a href="http://warren-peace.blogspot.com/2007/06/deogratias-horribly-depressing-tale-of.html" rel="nofollow">attempt</i> after I read it, but I don't now how well it worked. Whatever the case, it's a damn good book. Great choices, Chris. I agree with most everything you have on here that I read, and most of the stuff I haven’t read is on my “would like to read someday” list.

Re: Dork #11 – I probably would have mentioned that one, but it came out before I started blogging. Jog did a post on it, and that was what convinced me to get it. It’s a pretty damn funny issue; I lovethe gag where Dorkin roasts comics fans by having people say things like, “Hey, did you know Nicolas Cage reads books? Isn’t that awesome?”

Oh, and I agree about the difficulty in reviewing Deogratias. It’s a harrowing book. I made an attempt after I read it, but I don’t now how well it worked. Whatever the case, it’s a damn good book.

]]> By: Brian Nicholson http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-14309 Brian Nicholson Tue, 09 Oct 2007 09:07:31 +0000 http://comics212.net/2007/10/09/the-best-american-comics-2007-and-the-best-comics-of-2006/#comment-14309 Brendan McCarthy's issue of Solo! Despite that exclusion, yours is a fine list. As for the Ware anthology- I like that it's more diverse than last year's Pekar volume, and I liked flipping through it and seeing stuff I already know I like in a new, more mainstream-presentable context. Which, considering that that includes some Kramers Ergot stuff, (Kramers being the anthology that Eric Reynolds will mention as being great, but inaccessible to the general public who've heard about graphic novels, with Mome existing to bridge that gap) is a hell of a thing. Brendan McCarthy’s issue of Solo! Despite that exclusion, yours is a fine list.

As for the Ware anthology- I like that it’s more diverse than last year’s Pekar volume, and I liked flipping through it and seeing stuff I already know I like in a new, more mainstream-presentable context. Which, considering that that includes some Kramers Ergot stuff, (Kramers being the anthology that Eric Reynolds will mention as being great, but inaccessible to the general public who’ve heard about graphic novels, with Mome existing to bridge that gap) is a hell of a thing.

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