New Comics Anthology TPB (1991 Collier Books) comic books 1991-1993

1st printing. Featuring the art work and storytelling talents of Lynda Barry, Charles Burns, Howard Cruse, the europeans, Bill Griffith, Matt Groening, Los Hernandez Bros, Gary Panter, Harvey Pekar, the punk uglies, Dori Seda, the twisted sisters. Edited by Bob Callahan. Gathers selections from avant-garde graphic literature by more than seventy-five artists. 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." Softcover, 288 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.