Kramers Ergot #1

Kramers Ergot #1

by Sammy Harkham (Editor)

Includes work by Sammy Harkham, Justin Howe, David Brook, and Luke Quigley.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Anthologies, Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

The very humble beginnings of Sammy Harkham's anthology series Kramers Ergot - now a very occasional but deluxe anthology of alternative cartoonists more ambitious in scope and packaging than Raw, Weirdo, etc.

Here it's just a little comic with contributions from Sammy Harkham, Justin Howe, David Brook, and Luke Quigley.

Harkham seems to be channelling some Al Columbia with his dark, moody artwork. The other guys are pretty rough sketchy styles just telling some silly comic strips. Nothing really special.

[Jesús · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up a couple of days ago, along with numbers 2 and 3. Interesting as a historical record of how this anthology began (a small coterie of men putting out a small comics anthology). The big hits here are entirely Sammy Harkham’s; the rest are forgettable.

[Rick Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite as impactful as later volumes would be, the initial few entries in Sammy Harkham's Kramers Ergot demonstrate a few growing pains in the delivery of a quality comics anthology. That isn't to say that Kramers Ergot #1 isn't good - it's perfectly acceptable and delivers on some decent pieces throughout. It is clear though that once some variety in pieces and bigger names begin to pass through that this series really takes off.

This first volume only has a small handful of names: Sammy Harkham, Justin Howe, David Brook, and Luke Quigley, with Harkham himself taking on the bulk of the pages. Harkham's own cartooning prowess is more raw here, with his style very evocative of Al Columbia both from the linework to the types of stories being told. While there are decent strips in here, most are unfortunately quite forgettable pieces.

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly one page squibs, too short to be non sequiturs. At least it doesn’t look like anything else.