Chris Ware’s Followers (1,165)

Chris Ware

Born

in Omaha, Nebraska, The United States

December 28, 1967

Genre

Comics & Graphic Novels

Influences

Charles M. Schulz, Frank King, Winsor McCay ...more

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Chris Ware is an American cartoonist acclaimed for redefining the visual and narrative possibilities of the graphic novel, known especially for his long-running Acme Novelty Library series and major works including Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth, Building Stories, and Rusty Brown. His work is distinguished by its emotional depth, frequently exploring loneliness, memory, regret, and the quieter forms of pain that shape ordinary lives, rendered with extreme visual precision, intricate page designs, and a style that evokes early twentieth-century American illustration, advertising, and architecture. Raised in Omaha and later based in the Chicago area, Ware first attracted attention through his strips for The Daily Texan, where an in Chris Ware is an American cartoonist acclaimed for redefining the visual and narrative possibilities of the graphic novel, known especially for his long-running Acme Novelty Library series and major works including Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth, Building Stories, and Rusty Brown. His work is distinguished by its emotional depth, frequently exploring loneliness, memory, regret, and the quieter forms of pain that shape ordinary lives, rendered with extreme visual precision, intricate page designs, and a style that evokes early twentieth-century American illustration, advertising, and architecture. Raised in Omaha and later based in the Chicago area, Ware first attracted attention through his strips for The Daily Texan, where an invitation from Art Spiegelman to contribute to Raw helped encourage him toward an ambitious, self-publishing approach that would define his career. Acme Novelty Library disrupted conventions of comic book production in both format and tone, presenting characters such as Quimby the Mouse and later Rusty Brown in narratives that blend autobiography, satire, and psychological portraiture. Building Stories further expanded his formal experimentation, released as a boxed set of interconnected printed pieces that require the reader to assemble meaning from varied physical formats. Ware’s artistic influences range from early newspaper cartoonists like Winsor McCay and Frank King to the collage and narrative play of Joseph Cornell, and he has spoken about using typography-like logic in his drawing to mirror the fragmented, associative way memory works. His practice remains largely analog, relying on hand drawing and careful layout, though he uses computers for color preparation. Ware has also been active as an editor, designer, and curator, contributing to volumes reprinting historic comic strips, serving as editor of The Best American Comics 2007, and organizing exhibitions such as UnInked at the Phoenix Art Museum. His work has extended into multimedia collaborations, including illustrated documentary materials for This American Life and visual designs for film posters, book covers, and music projects. His later projects include The Last Saturday, serialized online for The Guardian, and Monograph, a retrospective volume combining autobiography with archival material. Widely recognized for his influence, Ware’s books have received numerous honors, including multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards, and Jimmy Corrigan became the first graphic novel to win the Guardian First Book Award. He has exhibited at major institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and his contributions to the medium have led many peers and critics to regard him as one of the most significant cartoonists of his generation. ...more

Combine Editions
Chris Ware’s books

Average rating: 4.14 · 63,283 ratings · 5,050 reviews · 138 distinct works • Similar authors

	Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth 4.08 avg rating — 24,675 ratings — published 2000 — 40 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Building Stories 4.33 avg rating — 7,377 ratings — published 2012 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rusty Brown 4.29 avg rating — 3,718 ratings — published 2019 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Acme Novelty Library Final Report to Shareholders and Rainy Day Saturday Afternoon Fun Book 4.31 avg rating — 2,971 ratings — published 2005 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Acme Novelty Library, Issue 20, 2010: Lint 4.29 avg rating — 2,143 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Quimby the Mouse 4.10 avg rating — 1,608 ratings — published 1994 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Acme Novelty Library, Issue 1, Winter 1993–1994: Jimmy Corrigan 4.22 avg rating — 1,320 ratings — published 1993	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Acme Novelty Library 16 4.31 avg rating — 1,175 ratings — published 2005	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	McSweeney's #13 by Chris Ware (Editor), Dave Eggers (Editor), Lawrence Weschler 4.20 avg rating — 1,055 ratings — published 2004 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Acme Novelty Library, Issue 19, 2008: Rusty Brown, Part 3 4.44 avg rating — 965 ratings — published 2008 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Chris Ware…

Series by Chris Ware

The Acme Novelty Library (21 books)
by

Chris Ware

4.29 avg rating — 14,021 ratings

Conway's Ship Types (1 book)
by

Chris Ware

liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings

His Favorite Concept Books: The cartoonist shares his favorite books that come in unique packages, not unlike his new graphic boxed set, Building...

Polls

Which of these books would you like to be our 9th Group Read Discussion (September 2012)?

The winning pick will be our official 9th Group Read Discussion. The 2nd place finisher will have an optional discussion thread.

The Underwater Welder by Jeff Lemire

21 votes, 22.1%

Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 1: Gifted by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday

14 votes, 14.7%

Tale of Sand by Jim Henson, Jerry Juhl and Ramon Pérez

9 votes, 9.5%

Domu: A Child's Dream by Katsuhiro Otomo

8 votes, 8.4%

Star Wars: Dark Empire Trilogy HC by Tom Veitch, Cam Kennedy and Jim Baikie

7 votes, 7.4%

Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle

6 votes, 6.3%

Midnight Nation by J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank

6 votes, 6.3%

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac: Director's Cut by Jhonen Vasquez

6 votes, 6.3%

Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware

4 votes, 4.2%

Superior by Mark Millar, Leinil Francis Yu

4 votes, 4.2%

The Guild by Felicia Day, Jim Rugg and Dan Jackson

4 votes, 4.2%

Liberty Meadows Volume 1: Eden by Frank Cho

4 votes, 4.2%

Athos in America by Jason

2 votes, 2.1%

Destination Moon by Hergé

0 votes, 0.0%

The Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists by Seth

0 votes, 0.0%

NonNonBa by Shigeru Mizuki

0 votes, 0.0%

The Moon Moth by Jack Vance and Humayoun Ibrahim

0 votes, 0.0%

95 total votes

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Chris Ware’s Followers (1,165)

Chris Ware

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Combine Editions
Chris Ware’s books