Word: comix
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...will be recorded in comix history as the year of great anthologies. While graphic novels may get the attention, anthologies remain the premier way to discover new talent. This year saw a surfeit of excellently edited collections. Drawn and Quarterly and Fantagraphics both began publishing a series dedicated to showcasing new talent with "Drawn and Quarterly Showcase" and "Blood Orange," respectively. In August Alternative Comics published a follow up to its outstanding 2003 anthology, "Rosetta." Best of all, "McSweeny's #13," arguably the finest comix anthology ever published, set a new standard for the form (see TIME.comix review...
...refreshing authenticity while men can enjoy a trip through the looking glass. Allison Cole, for example, turns in "Joe Blow," a creepy slice of life story about a perv who stalks a pair of roommates. Nearly every woman has some kind of scary harassment story but seeing one in comix form still comes as a shock. Another commonality in "Scheherazade" is a greater interest in exploring the nuances of relationships. Ellen Lindner's "Undertow," with the look and feel of a comix "Mildred Pierce," paints a noirish portrait of two girlfriends in the 1950s. The book's strongest piece, Gabrielle...
...further from the kind of manga most people get exposed to. Jiro Taniguchi's "The Walking Man" ($17; 155 pages) perfectly embodies the precepts of nouvelle manga, taking the low-key activities of everyday life and depicting them in the highly detailed drawing style more commonly associated with European comix. Each of the book's 18 chapters depicts a nameless salaryman on a different stroll through the city and countryside. The first chapter sets the formula for ones following. The man pops out to take a break from moving into a new house. Amidst tableaus of sunning housecats, tall trees...
...imagines himself as a fat pig, penned up with nothing to do but eat. Once in prison, Hanawa shares a cell with four others and goes about the regimented routine of a factory prisoner who works on carving wooden tissue boxes. Recreated with a meticulousness rarely found in comix, the book includes floor plans, daily schedules and sartorial options. Food turns into a fascinating preoccupation throughout the book, with frequent asides on the exact menu of prison meals, as well as coveted snacks and sweets. Hanawa also introduces memorable characters, such as the Momma's boy, a neatnick who "holds...
...movement. It would help if two or more masterworks appeared under such a label. Neither Jiro Taniguchi's "The Walking Man" nor Kazuichi Hanawa's "Doing Time" have quiet enough depth to justify calling them "masterworks." Even so, these Franco-Japanese creations are some of the most unusual, fascinating comix published this year...