Best of 2011: Larry Reid

A short, subjective list of the best comix of 2011

What follows is a list of my “favorite” comix of 2011, as opposed the “best.”  More important to me than any single title was the increasing profile of self-published comix in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.  These handcrafted books are appearing in greater numbers and with higher production values than at any time in recent memory. The contents are delightfully uneven, but the level of enthusiasm from both cartoonists and consumers is refreshing. To varying degrees, my three selections from 2011 all emerge from this independent tradition.

Crickets #3 by Sammy Harkham (Self-published, distributed by Fantagraphics Books)

Like many comix enthusiasts, I was primarily aware of Sammy Harkham as the editor of the ambitious anthology Kramer’s Ergot. What little exposure I’d had to his comix work left little impression until the appearance of Crickets # 3 earlier this year. Maybe it was the alluring cover that attracted me to this magazine sized comic book. The “Sex Morons” subtitle was certainly intriguing. Once opened, the skillfully rendered, enigmatic endpapers were equally sensuous. The stories mostly deal with mundane indiscretions and infidelities of married men. While they may lack drama, the fluid narrative and engaging artwork made this one the pleasant surprises of last year.

Thunder in the Building #2 by Margaret Ashford-Trotter (Self-published)

Seattle resident Margaret Ashford-Trotter is a formally trained visual artist. My experience indicates that many cartoonists emerging from academic backgrounds sacrifice storytelling skills in favor of aesthetic considerations. Thankfully, Ashford-Trotter is in full possession of both. This single story, magazine sized comic with additional illustrations, is rooted in the Northwest Noir tradition. The fictional “Young Savage” tale has the authenticity of contemporary autobiographical comix; its believable narrative enhanced by realistic artwork.  The work is sophisticated conceptually without a hint of condescension. Technically, the book was published in late 2010, but didn’t come to my attention until 2011. It was among the most memorable reads of the year.

Love & Rockets: New Stories #4 by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books)

Thirty years ago, brothers Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez self-published the magazine sized Love & Rockets #1. In the process they altered comix culture in the U.S. and abroad. Their sensuous comix foreshadowed a multicultural society featuring determined women facing relevant situations. Three decades later, their work resonates with equal intensity. The conclusion of Jaime’s poignant “Love Bunglers” story alone made this book essential reading in 2011. Almost unfathomably, Love & Rockets keeps getting better with age.

Larry Reid is the curator of Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery in Seattle, WA.

Read More

Review: The Last Pamphleteer

Whither the humble alternative comic book? R. Crumb gave birth to the form in the sixties, selling his self-published ZAP comix out of a baby carriage in the Haight. It entered arrested adolescence with Peter Bagge’s Hate in the nineties, and achieved maturity at the turn of the century. Now nearing 50, the idiom is in danger of a premature death. Affectionately known as floppies or pamphlets in the industry, changing economics and readership trends threaten the existence of these once-essential relics of American counterculture.

Optic Nerve #12 - Adrian Tomine (w/a)

Drawn & Quarterly, $5.95

Now arrives Adrian Tomine’s Optic Nerve #12, one of but a handful of highly crafted alternative comix still published. This issue is a throwback in many ways, with a main story, a couple of back-ups, and a letters page — two pages in this case, and no e-mail address. Actual letters posted by mail. The comic opens with “A Brief History of the Art Form Known as Hortisculpture” presented in a faux-serial format. This light but engaging read is followed by “Amber Sweet,” a beautifully rendered account of mistaken identity. This alluring story first appeared as “My Porno Doppelganger” in Kramer’s Ergot #7, the spectacularly oversized anthology that assured the demise of Buenaventura Press (suicide by book, it seemed). While this slightly altered version adds little to the previous format, the $5.95 cover price for Optic Nerve — while steep for a pamphlet — is far more accessible than the $125 anthology. 

Tomine’s comic concludes with a two-pager that reads like an obituary of alternative comix pamphlets. His colleagues ridicule him as “The Last Pamphleteer.” They encourage him to cash in on the “gold rush” and boast about commanding huge advances for their new “graphic novels” (ugh). He laments the lack of publisher support for his Optic Nerve effort, and quotes a 2010 NPR interview with Daniel Clowes: “Nobody wants to sell that floppy thing that, you know, gets all bent on the shelf… No bookstore wants to carry it because the profit margin is so low. You know, everybody hates them. So I just felt like, ‘Why continue with this?’”

The Death Ray - Daniel Clowes (w/a)

Drawn & Quartlerly, $19.95, ISBN: 978-1770460515

As if on cue, with the deft timing of a Catskill comedian, Drawn & Quarterly follows Optic Nerve #12 with The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes. This “graphic novel” is nothing more than Eightball #23 between cardboard covers. The only discernable difference is the price. The Fantagraphics “floppy” was $7.00, as opposed to the hefty $19.95 for the “graphic novel.” This is not because “Nobody wants to carry that floppy thing…” Or, “You know, everybody hates them.” Fantagraphics sold out two substantial printings of Eightball #23. It’s greed, pure and simple; a “gold rush” mentality that threatens the integrity of the “graphic novel” form, and with it the viability of alternative comix altogether. And what’s with the once innovative Drawn & Quarterly reducing itself to reprinting other publishers’ product and tripling the price? When Eightball #23 came out, I wrote Clowes a fan letter (an actual letter, posted by mail). But I hope this edition flops.

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror #17 - Jim Woodring (w/a), Zander Cannon (w), Gene Ha (a), Jane Wiedlin (w), Tom Hodges (a)

Bongo Comics, $4.99

Perhaps the salvation of alternative comix floppies can be found elsewhere. While The Simpsons have so permeated popular culture they hardly merit the “alternative” designation, once a year Matt Groening turns over his valuable comic book franchise to alternative cartoonists. The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #17 features a substantial contribution from none other than Jim Woodring.  In his cleverly crafted story, Bart discovers a shopworn copy of E.C. horror comic knockoff “Harvest of Fear” at a yard sale and all hell breaks loose. Woodring works within The Simpsons canon while cleverly incorporating his own idiosyncratic sensibilities. Integrated within the narrative are stories from the found comic (drawn by Woodring’s talented son Max).  Our mischievous protagonist sets out to solve the mid-century mystery of one of these fables and discovers the last page is the missing piece. No spoilers here. Go get the comic book, which includes an amusing back up story by alternative comix fan and Go-Gos guitarist Jane Wiedlin. Only $4.99.

— Larry Reid

Read More