Product Description

After four years of almost exclusively repackaging his sophomoric early work for the book trade, the children's entertainer and award-winning calligrapher F. C. Ware returns to his groundbreaking 1990s cartoon series "The ACME Novelty Library," a nearly decade-long publishing experiment which more or less single-handedly demonstrated the redemptive power a fancy paper stock or a little gold foil might exert over an otherwise dull, dry visual narrative.

This semi-annual periodical originally serialized his surprisingly undismissed "Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth," and now, with the 16th issue, Ware rejoins the proud, vital esthetic forum of the American comic book with his ongoing serial "Rusty Brown," a love story concerning the ambitions and mistakes of seven consciousnesses at a private school in Omaha, Nebraska, all revolving around a universally reviled child - and absolutely certain to be a favorite with readers of all tastes and biases. As told through the eyes of someone absentmindedly watching a television sitcom circa 1975, this first installment begins one January morning of that same year and describes everything of importance right up to and including the ring of the first period bell before eventually spiraling off into 1955, 2004, and toward the planet Mars, amongst other interesting and exotic time periods and locales. Riveting, fast-paced, and irresponsible, "Rusty Brown" distills the confusing and indulgent storytelling technique that led Mr. Ware's work to be referred to as "nearly impossible to read" by the Los Angeles Times Book Review. (In addition, Mr. Ware promises parallel serialization of his other work-in-progress, "Building Stories," which is actually a much better and more interesting project.)

Though originally released by alternative comics vanguard Fantagraphics Books, this new sixteenth issue is the first to be entirely produced, printed and published by Mr. Ware alone; limited to a single press run, once it is sold out, pulped, and/or burned, neither of these narratives will be available again until "Rusty Brown" and "Building Stories" are eventually edited, collected and remaindered as hardcover books. Thus, be the first in your mercantile district to own this first chapter of what years from now is sure to be a tart, possibly insincere reminder of the fragile economy and mental disposition of the early 21st century. 64 pages, full color, 9" x 7".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #660192 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-12
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 64 pages

From Booklist
Alternative-comics artist Ware's new book is the latest volume of his long-running Acme Novelty Library, an elaborately produced hardcover that is a far cry from most (paperback) comics magazines. The strips in it depict the early years of nerdy, comic-book-obsessed Rusty Brown, an outcast at his elementary school who is well on the way to an ostracized adulthood. Rusty is hard to take a shine to, so it's fortunate that the supporting characters, including Rusty's schoolteacher father, sole friend Chalky White, and Chalky's alienated--adolescent sister Alison, whose stories unfold alongside Rusty's, are all more sympathetic and multidimensional. These strips aren't as formally daunting as much of Ware's other work, yet their parallel storytelling, precise compositions, and meticulous draftsmanship definitely demonstrate his mastery. Ware's occasional alternative-newspaper strip has forged on into Rusty's even more pathetic adulthood, and eventually, all the Rusty strips will be collected in a volume that may dwarf his acclaimed and plethoric Jimmy Corrigan (2000). Meanwhile, there are the elegant Acmevolumes, each a delight by itself. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
There is such craft and beauty in this graphic novel—it deserves to be perused for hours. -- Soo Jin Oh, Bookslut.com

Ware is the most versatile and innovative artist the medium has known. -- Dave Eggers, The New York Times Book Review

About the Author
Chris Ware lives in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife, Marnie. He is the author of Jimmy Corrigan - the Smartest Kid on Earth, which received the Guardian First Book Award in 2001 and was also included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial of American Art. Yet another collection of his early, sophomoric ephemera, The ACME Novelty Library, will be released this summer, and he most recently edited the 13th issue of "McSweeney's Quarterly Concern." He contributes quite semi-irregularly to The New Yorker.

Customer Reviews

Another beautiful entry from Ware
I've been waiting for this one for awhile, so I was happy to finally get my hands on it a couple weeks after what was supposed to be the initial release date.

Overall, the ACME Novelty Library #16 delivers more of what you would expect from Ware. In this short hardback (64 pages), he delivers intertwining stories by pulling them together uniquely on the page for the first section, then intersecting the strips as the characters finally converge in the same place. As always, the drawing and design is amazing, and he gives us a small insight into his process (including what seems to be an ongoing, almost debilitating case of self-doubt) of creation.

I have just about everything that Ware has done to date, and the only reason that I'm giving this book 4 stars is because his always dreary stories are on the cusp of starting to get to me. Jimmy Corrigan was beautiful and sprawling masterwork that had a small sense of redemption at the end, but in the time since then (including The Acme Novelty Library and this new piece), his downer storylines have felt more and more claustrophobic. It's probably just a personal preference, and I know I'll keep buying his work since he's such a unique and talented artist, but I felt I had to explain my less than 5 star rating. As mentioned above, if you're a fan of his work, you're not going to go wrong with this one. You almost feel guilty getting such an exquisitely designed and printed book for such a cheap price (considering some of the poorly-conceived rags that are foisted upon the literary world).

Worth the Wait But Still a Bit Unsatisfying
Its been 4 years I believe since the last "issue" of ANL and the wait has been difficult. #16 is finally here and overall its worthwhile. The printing, binding, and colors are all top-notch and the full presentation is everything I expect from Ware plus more. One doesn't simply own an edition of ANL, one cherishes the package and makes room for it on the bookshelf. Again, bravo.

Rusty Brown's story is off to a slow start but it features all the Ware trademarks and then some. We see glimpses of what's to come, I think, but for me the "bang" wasn't fully present in the here-and-now. Rusty's father's dilemma unfolded, well, "glacially" as Ware himself puts it on the cover, and almost felt as if we got one word per page to make up a full sentence (I jest but the feeling is there...) Rusty's inner thoughts are much more interesting and his obsession with "Supergirl" is exactly what I expect from Ware: revealing, embarrassing, and oh-so-true, dammit. Our author-artist hits you between the eyes with his childhood foibles and though it often stings quite painfully you cannot look away. The truth is out there.

I appreciated the double storyline effect on the pages and immensely appreciated the overlapping of the storylines from different points of view (always loved that literary tool).

Again, I gave this 4 stars because I felt there could have been more meat here and still have fulfilled Ware's own slow approach to his points. I was done reading and observing much more quickly then I find is normal and comfortable with an ANL pamphlet.

Please, Mr. Ware, give us volume 17 in relatively short order.

A master at the peak of his powers.
The new Acme is finally here, and, lest I allow my excitement over its mere existence color my review, I let it sit for a little while after I bought it and then reread it. It is still amazing. The slow pace is the sign of someone who is not afraid of giving the story room to breathe. Any faster and this story would not have the same emotional impact that it already does after one all-too-brief installment. Ware's lines are wonderfully clear and his palette subdued and balanced, though the lower story does tend to strain the eyes somewhat with its nearly microscopic detail. Possibly his strongest work yet, although it seems a bit hasty to say, seeing as I'll be of retirement age by the time the damn thing's finished. But still, I am grateful that Mr. Ware is out there writing his pathetically beautiful comics.