The Best American Comics 2019

September 1, 2019
Series editor Kartalopoulos taps Tamaki (They Say Blue, 2018, etc.) to help curate the 2019 edition of this annual collection of exceptional graphic storytelling. In her introduction, Tamaki observes, "It's not a bad time to make comics, if one absolutely must and is able to do so, and one's work is marketable enough." The wry caveat nods to an eternal struggle: The labor-intensive craft of comic creation often means small financial return for creators. Perhaps stating this struggle up front cleared the collection to plunge directly into art itself; though Lauren Weinstein's "Being an Artist and a Mother" entwines art and money in her struggle to retain her productive-artist self once she gives birth to her first child ("unless you can pay [for child care]...you don't have access to your hands"), the story is mostly about Weinstein's connection to a past artist whose painting captivated her as a new mother. Eleanor Davis' incisive "Hurt or Fuck" contemplates art and human need on an allegorical, visceral level in what could almost be a two-actor stage play. Erik Nebel's "Why Don't We Come Together" ingeniously explores the possibilities of a rigid format--repeating but shifting shapes and colors, figures and patterns play across a set of equal-sized panels stacked into a grid, clicking through simple, whimsical stories like a filmstrip of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Jed McGowan's "Uninhabitable" explores the forces of change as well, old and new colliding in a science-fiction tale of terraforming, hive minds, action, reaction, and creation. The collection also includes an excerpt from the first graphic novel longlisted for the Booker Prize, Sabrina by Nick Drnaso, and new work by master of graphic journalism Joe Sacco on the topic of climate and economy. It's called "best" for a reason.

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October 1, 2019

In her introduction, guest series editor Tamaki (Boundless) admits to letting her taste and intuition guide her in assembling this anthology instead of "thinking about boxes to tick or some vague canonical discourse." The resulting volume features an eclectic mix of stories and excerpts drawn from sources ranging from self-published zines to internationally renowned graphic novels, largely unified by often intensely personal engagement with the issues and anxieties that permeate modern American life. In an excerpt from Grip. Vol. 1, Lale Westvind pays tribute to hardworking women in a wildly kinetic, wordless story. E.A. Bethea's (All Killer No Filler) illustrated stream of consciousness essay "Bit Rot" is a jagged exploration of legacy and authenticity in a digital world. Joe Sacco meditates on global warming during a road trip to Alberta in Bitumen or Bust! And John Porcellino's King-Cat #78 finds the cartoonist seeking comfort in pets, plant life, and Zen. An eerie selection from Nick Drnaso's Man Booker Prize long-listed Sabrina proves a highlight, as does Ben Passmore's Martin Luther King Jr. Was More Radical Than You Think and Hurt or Fuck, an examination of artistic inspiration by Eleanor Davis. VERDICT A terrific collection that perfectly captures the zeitgeist.

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