The Acme Novelty Library, Issue 19, 2008: Rusty Brown, Part 3

The Acme Novelty Library #19

by Chris Ware

The penultimate teen issue of the ACME Novelty Library appears this autumn with a new chapter from the electrifying experimental narrative “Rusty Brown,” which examines the life, work, and teaching techniques of one of its central real-life protagonists, W. K. Brown. A previously marginal figure in the world of speculative fiction, Brown’s widely anthologized first story, “The Seeing Eye Dogs of Mars,” garnered him instant acclaim and the coveted White Dwarf Award for Best New Writer when it first appeared in the pages of Nebulous in the late 1950s, but his star was quickly eclipsed by the rise of such talents as Anton Jones, J. Sterling Imbroglio, and others of the so-called psychovisionary movement. (Modern scholarship concedes, however, that they now owe a not inconsequential aesthetic debt to Brown.) New surprises and discoveries concerning the now legendarily reclusive and increasingly influential writer mark this nineteenth number of the ACME Novelty Library, itself a regular award-winning periodical, lauded for its clear lettering and agreeable coloring, which, as any cultured reader knows, are cornerstones of any genuinely serious literary effort. Full color, seventy-eight pages, with hardbound covers, full indicia, and glue, the ACME Novelty Library offers its readers a satisfying, if not thrilling, rocket ride into the world of unkempt imagination and pulse-pounding excitement.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Science Fiction, Comix, Graphic Novels Comics, The United States Of America

80 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2008

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Earline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing as always. I absolutely loved the first story in the collection. I'm still shocked by the back cover.. didn't know Chris Ware had it in him. way to tell it like it is.

[Neven · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story somewhat burdened by moments of discomfort and sheer misery. I'm sure Ware achieves exactly what he aims to, but I'm still wondering if his pervasive disappointment in humanity is worth drinking up in large quantities, no matter how beautifully he packages it.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Ware is the king of what he does, and this book lives up to any expectation. The usual absurdly-high level of detail in the art and the usual painfully depressing story lines, beautifully presented.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

God I love this.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single thing Chris Ware has done is moving and heartbreaking genre-defying and genius.

[Damian Mxyzptlk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a polarizing book for me. I loved the first part - really enjoyed the art and design, thought the story was interesting and engaging... I was enchanted. And then came Jimmy Corrigan #2. I really appreciate the brilliant way Ware uses the medium, and his sense of cinematographic narration. But when the first part of the book was over, it was suddenly just more of the exact things that made Jimmy Corrigan such a depressing slog of a read. To me it is the same character dealing with almost identical issues - self-doubt, complete lack of self-esteem, and unhealthy relationship. I realise that it's not the same character, but I just don't see enough of a difference to justify further exploration of these issues. I am willing to give Novelty Library another try (the graphic design is impeccable), but at this point I'm afraid that Ware will become another Murakami for me - doing the same thing over and over again without much innovation beyond what first put them in the spotlight. And honestly, I don't think we need another self-centered white guy with problems, there's already too many of them in pop culture. If Ware applied his skills to an original story it would be for the best. As it is, I want to look for another sample and then decide if I will read him again.

[Amy Gardiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Seeing Eye Dogs of Mars is jaw dropping horror as only Chris Ware can deliver. Your heart will sink as you read Youth, and Middle Age. By the time you read SYZYGY you will be numb.

I love a good story that is heavily depressing, leaving your heart gaping. It’s such an emotional drain that leaves you empty. 5 stars!

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just discovered Chri Ware.
I had seen images of his comics, but I had never read one of them.
Rusty Brown is really good.
He combines great visual narrative with an intricated script that tells us a story through three different scenarios.
At first, I thought these would be isolated stories, but they do connect and he wraps it up in the end.

Looking forward to read more from him.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good god this one was bleak and beautiful. You see a character that looks rather funny and laugh when other characters laugh at him, and then Ware takes you inside that character and you're just completely wrecked.

[Kroidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

dogs of mars is actually one of the best graphic novels of all time. changed my life (joking). (listen to red planet by alvvays)

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5.

[Chris]

Chris Ware is my favorite comic artist/author. It might be because he writes so often and so well about Chicago, my life-long home, but apart from this I love his grim narratives that emphasize the rare hopeful ray of light with the horror of the surrounding story. It probably goes without saying that his visual style is another huge component of his appeal as an artist, embracing everything from classic comic-strip composition to commercial design to unite the storytelling and purely visual elements of his pages in a way that heighten the emotional effect of and often constitute an ironic commentary on his story.

This volume of the ACME Novelty Library presents a story from his ongoing Rusty Brown tale. It's about Rusty's father's career as a journalist in the 1950s, which tanks as he becomes sexually obsessed with a co-worker. The upshot is that because of these dire circumstances he is inspired to write and get published a science fiction story, which forms a large part of the comic. Ware is completely in his element with this (literally) space-age story, which you will be unsurprised to learn is as grim as his usual fare. I really like the palette of colors that Ware uses here; he beautifully contrasts the barren planet of Mars with "real life" Nebraska in summer time, and makes masterful use of black space in depicting the cold isolation of life in a space colony.

The science fiction story is a classic Ware device, mirroring the events of its authors life both in theme and imagery. I remember it well from reading it when it was originally published in the Reader (or was it New City?); so far it's one of my favorite parts of the Rusty Brown saga. Isolation on a Martian colony is an obvious metaphor for Rusty's father's inability to relate to his peers and his lack of success at work, but it's the wealth of detail about life in the small colony that so effectively characterizes Rusty's dad as a social failure and makes the story (both stories, I guess) so tragic and convincing.

It might be disappointing to some that Ware is sticking to his guns when it comes to his style; he hasn't made any radical changes since his classic Jimmy Corrigan . But what he is doing is slowly refining his craft, and I really appreciate the mastery that he's achieved in this medium. This volume is an excellent example of his accomplishment.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A meticulous and anxious evocation of social dysfunction! Which *is* what Ware usually does, but I think this offering of his 'Acme Novelty Library' series is especially gratifying due to its structure, through which a 1970s sci-fi story is nested within a contemporaneous tale of Mr. William (Woody) Brown, young reporter in charge of the obituaries and author of the story within the story. This structure transforms the work into an exercise in selective memory and authorial bias, as we the readers catch the telling differences between sci-fi fantasy and the banal reality of its author. As ever, Ware is a formidable formalist, with an architectural skill for presenting the layouts of buildings and how they determine our social interactions. The colour in the comic is also gorgeous and Ware seems to be increasingly playing around with contrast and primary colours in a way unforeseen in his breakout work 'Jimmy Corrigan - The Smartest Kid on Earth'. I've read reviews critiquing the work for being "dour" and for once again focusing on a white, male, nebbish protagonist. Truthfully there is a familiarity about all this, but it would be wrong to accuse Ware of sticking to what he knows - previous editions of the Acme Novelty Library have dealt with childhood and #18 with the experienced of a young woman with a disability. The main departure in #19 is not in the characters that Ware is dealing with, but the genre and it is very exciting to see him tackle sci-fi in a way which is both parodic, affectionate and genuinely chilling. His interest in topography means that we get a real sense of the 'lie of the land' in the Mars sequences and this interest serves him well when the story becomes one of territory and borders crossed by an increasingly disturbing protagonist who seems to embody the shadow side of Mr. Brown. However, to continue would be to reveal too much. Needless to say, this is a remarkably work of fine and assured craftsmanship, clever panel transitions and a pessimistic, but not unsentimental humour. It is a remarkable thing.

[D.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I feel I take Chris Ware for granted. Though I can't see myself ever giving a book of his less than 4 stars here, just on the merits of craftsmanship and storytelling evident in everything he does, it's not often I'm completely awed by the totality of a single one of his books. This time out is clearly different.
From the start of book 19, it's clear we're in for something a little out of the ordinary of the more recent Acme books. We're launched straight into a space opera involving settlers on Mars, 'The Seeing-Eye Dogs of Mars.' On its own, this is a terrific story, full of the bleak outlook we've come to expect from Ware, but it's taken to another level with the continuation/explanation into Rusty Brown: Youth, and Middle Age. This is not exactly a chapter in the Rusty Brown story, but rather the story of his father 'Woody,' the authour of the Mars story.
This part of the book focuses mainly on Woody's early days in Omaha, and what would prove the inspiration for his sole published output, framed as reminiscence by his older self (as father to Rusty and teacher at a high school). Needless to say, it's not a nice story, and at times more than a little puzzling, but that's what we've come to expect from Ware.
The volume wraps up with the short prose 'Syzygy,' a 'lost' story from Brown, from a VERY small print-run magazine in the 70s. It's another brilliantly constructed science fiction, echoing the obsession that built the Mars story as well.
This is a beautifully made story, in the usual stunning Ware 'package.' If it has a single flaw, it's the uncharacteristically overt political statement made in a parodic ad on the back cover; it's out of place here, but an interesting look at what else Ware does with his time.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third chapter of Ware's ongoing novel Rusty Brown. After two slow introductory chapters, the narrative takes off, with Ware producing an ambitious and virtuosic work that takes on the Golden Age of Science Fiction in addition to Ware's customary explorations of loneliness and awkwardness.

The entire first half of the book is given over to a story in the style of 50s sci-fi magazines. A man is alone on Mars with his old dog, a decaying rocketship, and a house that he constantly visits, but never enters. The story unfolds with Ware's usual care, but what could be mere pastiche allows Ware to break out of his usual narrative tropes (loneliness, etc.) and tell a heartbreaking, disturbing story of alienation. The second half of the book reveals in detail how this story-within-a-story came to be, as the reader is taken back to the fifties to follow young Woody Brown, new to the "big city" of Omaha as he's in turn seduced and emotionally tortured by a woman in his office. Too emotionally immature to deal with his infatuation in a proper manner, Woody throws himself into his old science fiction magazines, managing to pen a story that could be the start of a promising career. But his life continues to fall apart, and before he even knows it, this young, overly sensitive young man has became the bitter, pathetic figure we saw in the first two chapters, a teacher who spends all of his time ruing his lost chances in life and as a result failing to be a good husband or an even adequate father to his son Rusty.

While treading familiar themes, this chapter still marks a significant step forward in Ware's career. I can't wait to see where he goes from here.

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Ware is one of, if not THE, master of the graphic novel genre. He is an incredibly gifted storyteller with a knack for pacing, composition, and intersecting plots. His seemingly simplistic style is revealed to be deeply complex and inimitable.

I think of all the clutter that some graphic novelists fill their pages with, and all the tiny sidebar notes and ephemera, but Ware gets so much more across with his careful drawings and sound effects. Take a page where it's covered with two dozen little squares. There's more going on with that one page than in some other books as a whole.

#19 is a continuation of the Rusty Brown storyline that explores his years as a young adult, intermingled with his fascination with the Sci-Fi universe in a way that only Ware can make enjoyable. Great read, highly recommended. And check out his other stuff.

[Lee Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Self-sufficient sci-fi layercake. First comes a pulpy outerspace adventure, then it's all about how the young Rusty Brown became interested in science fiction, finished with a sci-fi textual short story by Rusty Brown. Not quite at the level of #18 or #20 but still wholly worth reading. Surprising: occasional tiny, sexually explicit/suggestive images. I can see how some get tired of Ware's loveable losers. The girl in #18, young Rusty in this one, and Jimmy Corrigan are all sort of cut from the same Charlie Brownian cloth, except the girl in #18, young Rusty, and Lint all turn to art in response to a sense that the world's rejected them. The graphic approach, more than the characters, is what does it for me. This one seemed a bit more traditionally framed than the wholly Warean whole-page cycling schematics of association in Lint and #18. 4.1 stars maybe?

[Evan Kingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ware is one of the best and most singular graphic novelists, but I feel he always tells the same (depressing) story. It's a testament to his story-telling mastery and ability to push the boundaries of the art form that each volume of Acme provides new insight into the same old lives of lonely, awkward men.

This volume focuses on the connection between Rusty Brown's love-life and career as a sci-fi author. The meta-fictional elements blend together in a profound and believable way, but as usual, the overall arc doesn't reach much of a conclusion. It is gorgeous and intelligent, but all the surprises come through the technique; it would be perfect if Rusty surprised us and himself as well.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Ware delivers in a heart-rending way. I haven’t been following the other episodes of the novelty library, but I’m going to have to go back and check them out. This particular volume centers on a lonely little man who finds himself trapped between his obsession with 1950s pulp SF and a sexy lady at his office who only gives him the time of day when she swings by for a booty call. The heartbreak the poor little man goes through is just horrendous. We also have the dreary story of four astronauts sent to Mars to start the Earth colony there. They watch from afar as Earth destroys itself in civil war, then they turn on each other.

The poignancy with which Ware writes keeps pulling me back, as do his precise panels and meticulous plotting. Excellent stuff.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The brilliance of the Acme Novelty Library series continues unabated, with volume 19 introducing a tense science fiction prologue to the main narrative, featuring the repressed but fascinating protagonist Rusty Brown. Chris Ware is a master at exploring the lives of socially and culturally isolated people, and never succumbs to the easy temptations of sentimentality and pity that his subject matter wants so desperately to offer up. And that's all to the good - Ware is a true artist, and his explorations of the lonely modern spirit are rich, unexpected, and thoroughly believable. The Acme Novelty Library has already established itself as one of the major artworks of the early twenty-first century, and the nineteenth installment lives up to that well-deserved reputation.

[Andrew Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Chris Ware's Rusty Brown is finally finished and collected as a one-volume "graphic novel," it's going to be immediately hailed as the zenith of the medium. Though #19 is merely the latest installment, this is simply sequential narrative storytelling taken to its utmost, and it makes Jimmy Corrigan look practically like Peanuts by comparison. Outstanding.

[Jen Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

More from the life of Rusty Brown -- this new Ware edition is just gorgeous. His design is always top notch but this volume in particular is really spectacular. It's also a great fit for the Rusty story (W. K. Brown, a real life experimental/speculative fiction author) since it's very reminiscent of genre book design from the 1950s. The comic itself was what a Ware comic always is - sad, pathetic, heart-rending, meticulous, detailed, and sweeping. It did take me a bit longer than usual get into the Brown storyline, but now I'm beyond hooked.

[Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just when you think you've left all those ugly, awkward adolescent moments behind you, something like this comes along and BANG! it all comes floating back up like a bloated corpse. The best Rusty Brown episode so far. The corniness of his science fiction is heart-breakingly honest and seems to act as a metaphor for Mr. Ware's struggle to "write a powerful, deeply engaging, richly detailed epic with a series of limericks", as he once described cartooning. And Ware's masterful account of Brown's first sexual experiences are a reminder of the emotional richness of superficial crushes.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Chris Ware is my favourite comic maker of all time. I can't name any comic that is better written, and the drawings are fantastic, too. Such high quality in form OR content is rare, let alone combined. A bit close to home sometimes, and almost painful to read almost the entire time, but that's what makes it so brilliant, too. Rusty Brown is turning out even better than Jimmy Corrigan. More, please.

[Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing the upswing these last couple volumes have had for me. This issue adds some interesting vintage science fiction elements which parallel the central story, but also work as an effective diversion from the otherwise uniform look of the other episodes in this storyline. The characters are more fully-rounded and again more sensitively handled, though still pathetic and mundane. Good stuff - I'm actually excited for the next one.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the more recent of Chris Ware's books, Acme Novelty 19 is certainly one of his best. Astonishingly horrifying, and painfully awkward to read at times, the story really says a lot about living a life out of your own control, in a prison of regret and misery while only thinking of what life could have been had you made different decisions. This one rocked me to the core and then some, I could hardly put it down.

[Bert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each time I feel I've read my favorite Chris Ware comic, I read a new one that's even better... For now, the Acme Novelty Library #19 is my all time favorite! Wonderful storytelling, a quirky (I always wanted to use that word) science fiction story inside the story of Rusty Brown's awkward but strangely recognizable life makes for a very layered reading experience. Very exciting work from a storytelling genius!

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This issue of the ACME Novelty Library was particularly imaginative, heartbreaking, and beautiful. The introductory short was a spectacular sci-fi narrative about a doomed colonization of Mars, followed by another short of Ware's more typical subject matter. The illustrations are breathtaking, the characters are hilarious and ultra depressing. It's clear that this series is already genre defining and timeless. I can't stop thinking about the first short. Ware has a way, that's for sure.

[Nate D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Ware has really been at his best these last couple episodes. Here, rather than a straight character study, he approaches his latest subject through his own writing, in a blunt and not unkind investigation of life and art. That the "art" happens to be a dark, inventive science fiction story, probably an interest Ware has been wanting to indulge for quite some time, makes it all the better.

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ware gets more and more playful with form of comics as literature, and after reading a bit you feel the loneliness of his characters but also the visual beauty of everything broken down to simple geometric shapes. If it wasn't so depressing I'd be reading these constantly. As it is they are fantastic once every 6 months or so.