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The Best American Comics #1
The Best American Comics 2006
The popularity of the graphic genre continues to rage, and The Best American Comics is a diverse, exciting annual selection for fans and newcomers alike. The inaugural volume includes stories culled from graphic novels, pamphlet comics, newspapers, magazines, mini-comics, and the Web.
Contributors include Robert Crumb, Chris Ware, Kim Deitch, Jaime Hernandez, Alison Bechdel, Joe Sacco, and Lynda Barry—and unique discoveries such as Justin Hall, Esther Pearl Watson, and Lilli Carré.
Contributors include Robert Crumb, Chris Ware, Kim Deitch, Jaime Hernandez, Alison Bechdel, Joe Sacco, and Lynda Barry—and unique discoveries such as Justin Hall, Esther Pearl Watson, and Lilli Carré.
293 pages, Hardcover
First published October 11, 2006
16 people are currently reading
845 people want to read
About the author
Harvey Pekar
118 books257 followersHarvey Pekar was an American writer and comics creator whose groundbreaking autobiographical series American Splendor helped redefine the possibilities of graphic storytelling. Frequently called the poet laureate of Cleveland, he developed a body of work that approached everyday life with candor, humor, frustration, and philosophical reflection. Pekar’s voice became central to the evolution of comics into a medium capable of serious literary expression, and his influence extended to criticism, journalism, and popular culture through his essays, radio work, and memorable television appearances.
Pekar grew up in Cleveland, where his parents operated a small grocery store, and his early experiences shaped much of the sensibility that later defined his writing. His deep love of jazz led him into criticism, and through that world he befriended artist Robert Crumb. Their shared interest in music eventually led him to try writing comics. Pekar wrote his first scripts in the early seventies, sketching out stories with simple figures before passing them to Crumb and other underground artists who encouraged him to continue. With the first issue of American Splendor in 1976, Pekar began chronicling the small battles, anxieties, and fleeting moments that made up his daily life in Cleveland. His day job as a file clerk, his marriages, conversations with coworkers, frustrations with bureaucracy, and the struggle to make ends meet all became material for a series that often blurred the line between observation and confession. Over the years, he worked with a wide range of artists who interpreted his scripts in styles that mirrored the emotional tone of each story.
The success of American Splendor brought Pekar national attention. Collections such as The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar received strong critical praise, and his unpredictable, often confrontational appearances on late-night television became a defining part of his public persona. The 2003 film adaptation of American Splendor, in which Paul Giamatti portrayed him, earned major festival awards and introduced Pekar’s work to a wider audience. He continued to write graphic memoirs, biographies, collaborations, and cultural commentary, expanding his range while maintaining the blunt honesty that characterized his voice. Pekar’s work remains central to the development of literary comics, influencing generations of writers and artists who followed his example.
Pekar grew up in Cleveland, where his parents operated a small grocery store, and his early experiences shaped much of the sensibility that later defined his writing. His deep love of jazz led him into criticism, and through that world he befriended artist Robert Crumb. Their shared interest in music eventually led him to try writing comics. Pekar wrote his first scripts in the early seventies, sketching out stories with simple figures before passing them to Crumb and other underground artists who encouraged him to continue. With the first issue of American Splendor in 1976, Pekar began chronicling the small battles, anxieties, and fleeting moments that made up his daily life in Cleveland. His day job as a file clerk, his marriages, conversations with coworkers, frustrations with bureaucracy, and the struggle to make ends meet all became material for a series that often blurred the line between observation and confession. Over the years, he worked with a wide range of artists who interpreted his scripts in styles that mirrored the emotional tone of each story.
The success of American Splendor brought Pekar national attention. Collections such as The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar received strong critical praise, and his unpredictable, often confrontational appearances on late-night television became a defining part of his public persona. The 2003 film adaptation of American Splendor, in which Paul Giamatti portrayed him, earned major festival awards and introduced Pekar’s work to a wider audience. He continued to write graphic memoirs, biographies, collaborations, and cultural commentary, expanding his range while maintaining the blunt honesty that characterized his voice. Pekar’s work remains central to the development of literary comics, influencing generations of writers and artists who followed his example.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
April 22, 2020
Primera de las antologias que sigue haciendo cada año una editorial que no se dedica a los cómics, Houghton Mifflin, donde la premisa es tener un editor y ayudante para seleccionar creadores desconocidos, distintos, por fuera de todo convencionalismo. El resultado es dispar y poco premonitorio teniendo en cuenta que doce años después sigue siendo poco lo que se sabe de casi todos estos artistas. El compilador es ni mas ni menos que Harvey Pekar, una gloria de los bajos mundos del noveno arte, tan costilla como corazón del depravado fantástico Robert Crumb. Se destacan ideas más que estilos y no siempre se llega a contar algo bueno por más original la forma que se lo presente. Para destacar por sobre todo a quien ya era conocido por entonces, Joe Sacco que fue soldado yanqui en Iraq y combina de forma maravillosa la crónica de denuncia con su arte. Está también Kim Deitch, el ya consagrado por entonces Jaime Hernandez, el genial Chris Ware siempre tan original y atractivo y hasta Robert Crumb dice presente en varias páginas. Hay mucho material y refresca la búsqueda de nuevos horizontes, no siempre pueden sustentar una carrera pero pueden mantenerlos en boca de los submundos editoriales independientes. Es una lectura muy interesante en general así como algunas obras puedan resultar malas al menos se rescata la puesta en escena de la mayoría.
PD 2da lectura,,, es muy refrescante la variedad de estilos y apuestas que se aprecian en la colección. Algunos maravillosos otros casi no cumplen con la premisa de historieta al no presentar siquiera narración secuencial.
PD 2da lectura,,, es muy refrescante la variedad de estilos y apuestas que se aprecian en la colección. Algunos maravillosos otros casi no cumplen con la premisa de historieta al no presentar siquiera narración secuencial.
October 23, 2012
As a collection, I give this an even lower rating. Because of its heavy emphasis on the dreary, the depressing, and the angry hippies, I think it's a pretty terrible sampling of all of the wonderful things we call "comics." Then again editor Pekar as much as admits that he's really into dreary, depressing, and angry hippie comics.
As a collection, I must protest the placement of the artist bios and comments at the back of the book. While the comics themselves are presented in random (?) order in the book, the bios and comments by the artists which accompany them are in alphabetical order at the very end. Clearly these should have been placed either before or after each piece (my vote is for after so that I could make up my own mind about each comic before reading about it.
As comics, I give this collection a 3/5 star rating because I loved some of it and I hated some of it. Since I have no problem enjoying the stuff I loved and ignoring the stuff I hated, I 'liked' the lot of 'em.
I really enjoyed a lot of the art. I also really enjoyed (more than I expected) a lot of the stories. Brief rundown of each for an idea of what I thought while reading this:
1. Onion Jack by Joel Priddy - clean, simple, funny. I liked it.
2. Ready to Die by Kim Deitch - thankfully not preachy and therefore effective.
3. Dogs and Water by Anders Nilsen - sparse and bleak like Edward Gorey but without the humor. Meh.
4. Adventures of Paul Bunyan(...) by Lilli Carre - I liked the art.
5. Diary of a Bread Delivery Guy by David Lasky - one page, entertaining.
6. Goner Pillow Company by Ben Katchor - short with interesting art and interesting theme.
7. Only Disconnect by Alison Bechdel - slice of lesbian life.
8. Complacency Kills by Joe Sacco - great illustrations and good reporting/storytelling.
9. La Rubia Loca by Justin Hall - a rather long story, but engrossing. Art okay, but a little sloppy for my tastes.
10. Comics: A History by Chris Ware - I'll admit, I'm not sure I get Chris Ware. I love his style, but this pair of dense panels left me cold.
11. RabbitHead by Rebecca Dart - damned hard to follow wordless story in an experimental timeline format. Absolutely loved the art and all of the inventive creatures and such!
12. Untitled by Ivan Brunetti - absolutely amazing single page shows how much you can tell with so little. Loved it.
13. Dance with the Ventures by Jonathan Bennett - quirky hipster story. Really enjoyed the humor and art.
14. Day by Day with Hopey by Jaime Hernandez - I've only seen bits and pieces of Love and Rockets but I don't think this short snippet does the series much favor because this feels very incomplete.
15. Busted by Esther Pearl Watson - Okay, seriously. What the hell? Worst comic ever made. Including my own vomit and farting comics I made when I was eight years old.
16. Chemical Plant by John Porcellino - kinda fun little vignette with the art of an exceptionally neat sixth grade girl.
17. Portrait of my Dad by David Heatley - probably the highlight of the book for me. I really enjoyed the hell out of this. Packed with funny little mini-comics.
18. Street-Level View...Republican...Convention by Lloyd Dangle - so childish. Shitty art. Can anybody defend this piece as adult thinking on any level? Fuck this uninsightful drivel. I'm not a Republican, nor am I defending them. Trust me, I would say the same about a conservative comic that was just as bad.
19. The Supervisor by Hob - funny little thingy.
20. Wonder Warthog by Gilbert Shelton - what year is this again? I can't imagine anyone enjoying this except out of a sense of nostalgia. Did like some of the art, though.
21. Solidarity Forever by Olivia Schanzer - crudely drawn nonsense.
22. Thirty-Three by Alex Robinson - one of those little slice-of-life relationship type stories. Love the clean line-work and solid blacks and whites (think Bone).
23. Missing by Jessica Abel - I assume this is part of a greater whole. Good storytelling, but not much of a story, if that makes sense.
24. Nakedness and Power by Seth Tobocman et al - after a while, you just kinda get numb to the hippie nonsense in this collection. Interesting bold art style reminds me of wood block printing.
25. Recollection of Seduction by Rick Geary - I love Geary. This is a hilarious little one-pager.
26. The Executive Hour by Tom Hart - hippie nonsense, but it's all in good fun and the art style doesn't make it seem like its taking itself too seriously.
27. Passing Before Life's Very Eyes by Kurt Wolfgang - funny and interesting, love the bold yellow, white, and orange art.
28. Thirteen Cats of my Childhood by Jesse Reklaw - good art and an interesting way to tell a story about a childhood, but it's still hard to like if you pause to think about all of the stray/dead animals this family produced.
29. Two Questions by Lynda Barry - sloppy/shitty art that still manages to pack in some clever visuals and has a tale with which any creative person can identify.
30. Walkin' the Streets by Robert Crumb - ah, Crumb. I love ya, man. The art alone is worth it, but I also felt this was a pretty good short autobiography. There's not much of a conclusion, but oh well, right?
That's it. Call this thing Best American Hippie Comics.
As a collection, I must protest the placement of the artist bios and comments at the back of the book. While the comics themselves are presented in random (?) order in the book, the bios and comments by the artists which accompany them are in alphabetical order at the very end. Clearly these should have been placed either before or after each piece (my vote is for after so that I could make up my own mind about each comic before reading about it.
As comics, I give this collection a 3/5 star rating because I loved some of it and I hated some of it. Since I have no problem enjoying the stuff I loved and ignoring the stuff I hated, I 'liked' the lot of 'em.
I really enjoyed a lot of the art. I also really enjoyed (more than I expected) a lot of the stories. Brief rundown of each for an idea of what I thought while reading this:
1. Onion Jack by Joel Priddy - clean, simple, funny. I liked it.
2. Ready to Die by Kim Deitch - thankfully not preachy and therefore effective.
3. Dogs and Water by Anders Nilsen - sparse and bleak like Edward Gorey but without the humor. Meh.
4. Adventures of Paul Bunyan(...) by Lilli Carre - I liked the art.
5. Diary of a Bread Delivery Guy by David Lasky - one page, entertaining.
6. Goner Pillow Company by Ben Katchor - short with interesting art and interesting theme.
7. Only Disconnect by Alison Bechdel - slice of lesbian life.
8. Complacency Kills by Joe Sacco - great illustrations and good reporting/storytelling.
9. La Rubia Loca by Justin Hall - a rather long story, but engrossing. Art okay, but a little sloppy for my tastes.
10. Comics: A History by Chris Ware - I'll admit, I'm not sure I get Chris Ware. I love his style, but this pair of dense panels left me cold.
11. RabbitHead by Rebecca Dart - damned hard to follow wordless story in an experimental timeline format. Absolutely loved the art and all of the inventive creatures and such!
12. Untitled by Ivan Brunetti - absolutely amazing single page shows how much you can tell with so little. Loved it.
13. Dance with the Ventures by Jonathan Bennett - quirky hipster story. Really enjoyed the humor and art.
14. Day by Day with Hopey by Jaime Hernandez - I've only seen bits and pieces of Love and Rockets but I don't think this short snippet does the series much favor because this feels very incomplete.
15. Busted by Esther Pearl Watson - Okay, seriously. What the hell? Worst comic ever made. Including my own vomit and farting comics I made when I was eight years old.
16. Chemical Plant by John Porcellino - kinda fun little vignette with the art of an exceptionally neat sixth grade girl.
17. Portrait of my Dad by David Heatley - probably the highlight of the book for me. I really enjoyed the hell out of this. Packed with funny little mini-comics.
18. Street-Level View...Republican...Convention by Lloyd Dangle - so childish. Shitty art. Can anybody defend this piece as adult thinking on any level? Fuck this uninsightful drivel. I'm not a Republican, nor am I defending them. Trust me, I would say the same about a conservative comic that was just as bad.
19. The Supervisor by Hob - funny little thingy.
20. Wonder Warthog by Gilbert Shelton - what year is this again? I can't imagine anyone enjoying this except out of a sense of nostalgia. Did like some of the art, though.
21. Solidarity Forever by Olivia Schanzer - crudely drawn nonsense.
22. Thirty-Three by Alex Robinson - one of those little slice-of-life relationship type stories. Love the clean line-work and solid blacks and whites (think Bone).
23. Missing by Jessica Abel - I assume this is part of a greater whole. Good storytelling, but not much of a story, if that makes sense.
24. Nakedness and Power by Seth Tobocman et al - after a while, you just kinda get numb to the hippie nonsense in this collection. Interesting bold art style reminds me of wood block printing.
25. Recollection of Seduction by Rick Geary - I love Geary. This is a hilarious little one-pager.
26. The Executive Hour by Tom Hart - hippie nonsense, but it's all in good fun and the art style doesn't make it seem like its taking itself too seriously.
27. Passing Before Life's Very Eyes by Kurt Wolfgang - funny and interesting, love the bold yellow, white, and orange art.
28. Thirteen Cats of my Childhood by Jesse Reklaw - good art and an interesting way to tell a story about a childhood, but it's still hard to like if you pause to think about all of the stray/dead animals this family produced.
29. Two Questions by Lynda Barry - sloppy/shitty art that still manages to pack in some clever visuals and has a tale with which any creative person can identify.
30. Walkin' the Streets by Robert Crumb - ah, Crumb. I love ya, man. The art alone is worth it, but I also felt this was a pretty good short autobiography. There's not much of a conclusion, but oh well, right?
That's it. Call this thing Best American Hippie Comics.
June 9, 2015
Rebecca Dart's RabbitHead had a very interesting layout and story, and the very first comic made me laugh (Joel Priddy's Superior Showcase/Onion Jack). However, most were mediocre, sad to say.
June 21, 2018
An interesting collection that recopilates the best comics that have ever existed in the human kind.
September 25, 2018
(3.5 stars)
A solid collection of comics from 2006. Not sure why some artists get just one page while others get 20-30 pages, but I enjoyed all.
A solid collection of comics from 2006. Not sure why some artists get just one page while others get 20-30 pages, but I enjoyed all.
June 20, 2008
Houghton Mifflin don't know comics almost like Bo don't know diddley. There are a ton of great artists and neat little vignettes in here, but there are also some really token-ized appearances by The Great Ones that don't make a whole lot of sense outside of their broader storylines.
For example, there's an excerpt from Jessica Abel's La Perdida, from maybe one-half or two-thirds of the way through the story. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't imagine that a collection of great fiction writing would reprint, say, Chapter 13 of Jonathan Franzen's latest novel. What kind of sense would it make to include a snippet of a novel with stretches of dialogue about characters you could have only met in previous chapters, with references to major plot points that have already taken place, and with tense discussions over incidents that have already occurred, but that the reader of the collection could not have read yet BECAUSE IT'S AN EXCERPT FROM THE MIDDLE OF A LONG STORY?
Same thing goes for the mid-story chapters taken from Dogs and Water by Anders Nilsen, and Tricked by Alex Robinson. Even the Alison Bechdel one-pager is a page from a long serial saga that has no context in which to place it!
You can almost hear a condescending editor looking at those and saying, "Oh well, that doesn't make much sense out of context, but who really cares? They're just comics. Only the feeling of the thing really matters."
Naturally, I could be guilty of pretentious hipsterism here, pontificating from on high: "This collection is not up to the standard of the true connoisseur of the almighty art form of graphic narrative. Also, I hated Pearl Jam long before it was cool to hate Pearl Jam, man."
Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the entire The Best American Series is just a hodge-podge of opportunistically slapped-together chunks of stories, essays, mystery, fiction, spiritual, or travel writing and "nonrequired reading," whatever the hell that means. Maybe they don't only butcher comics, but also every genre they think they can make a quick publishing buck off of.
That said, Rebecca Dart's "Rabbithead" is amazing and creepy, Kim Deitch has a nice little piece of death row journalism, "La Rubia Loca" by Justin Hall was a really strong, complete story, and I thought Joel Priddy's "The Amazing Life of Onion Jack" was a lot of fun.
But then I'd also seen a lot of these pieces before in the publications they first published in: Joe Sacco's Iraq occupation piece from The Guardian, the pieces by Chris Ware and Tom Hart and Jaime Hernandez, and of course I'd already read La Perdida. So I'm glad I got this from the library, it'd be kind of stupid to pay money for it. Of course, if it means that the artists got paid twice for the same comic, I'm always in favor of that. (If they didn't pay the artists, then fuck Houghton Mifflin in the ass with a red-hot iron spike.)
Also, reading the introduction by Harvey Pekar-- who co-edited and co-compiled the thing -- reminded me of a question that frequently comes up in my mind when I read many (but not all) of the things he writes: how is it that this guy is regarded as a writer? Sweet God, his earlessness can be painful and his boring, utilitarian descriptions of what he does really don't work for me about, let's say, half of the time. Maybe there was something attractive about a no-frills, nearly artless description of mundane Cleveland existence, but adding a little poetic phrasing once in a while can really make your writing worth reading, Harv.
For example, there's an excerpt from Jessica Abel's La Perdida, from maybe one-half or two-thirds of the way through the story. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't imagine that a collection of great fiction writing would reprint, say, Chapter 13 of Jonathan Franzen's latest novel. What kind of sense would it make to include a snippet of a novel with stretches of dialogue about characters you could have only met in previous chapters, with references to major plot points that have already taken place, and with tense discussions over incidents that have already occurred, but that the reader of the collection could not have read yet BECAUSE IT'S AN EXCERPT FROM THE MIDDLE OF A LONG STORY?
Same thing goes for the mid-story chapters taken from Dogs and Water by Anders Nilsen, and Tricked by Alex Robinson. Even the Alison Bechdel one-pager is a page from a long serial saga that has no context in which to place it!
You can almost hear a condescending editor looking at those and saying, "Oh well, that doesn't make much sense out of context, but who really cares? They're just comics. Only the feeling of the thing really matters."
Naturally, I could be guilty of pretentious hipsterism here, pontificating from on high: "This collection is not up to the standard of the true connoisseur of the almighty art form of graphic narrative. Also, I hated Pearl Jam long before it was cool to hate Pearl Jam, man."
Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the entire The Best American Series is just a hodge-podge of opportunistically slapped-together chunks of stories, essays, mystery, fiction, spiritual, or travel writing and "nonrequired reading," whatever the hell that means. Maybe they don't only butcher comics, but also every genre they think they can make a quick publishing buck off of.
That said, Rebecca Dart's "Rabbithead" is amazing and creepy, Kim Deitch has a nice little piece of death row journalism, "La Rubia Loca" by Justin Hall was a really strong, complete story, and I thought Joel Priddy's "The Amazing Life of Onion Jack" was a lot of fun.
But then I'd also seen a lot of these pieces before in the publications they first published in: Joe Sacco's Iraq occupation piece from The Guardian, the pieces by Chris Ware and Tom Hart and Jaime Hernandez, and of course I'd already read La Perdida. So I'm glad I got this from the library, it'd be kind of stupid to pay money for it. Of course, if it means that the artists got paid twice for the same comic, I'm always in favor of that. (If they didn't pay the artists, then fuck Houghton Mifflin in the ass with a red-hot iron spike.)
Also, reading the introduction by Harvey Pekar-- who co-edited and co-compiled the thing -- reminded me of a question that frequently comes up in my mind when I read many (but not all) of the things he writes: how is it that this guy is regarded as a writer? Sweet God, his earlessness can be painful and his boring, utilitarian descriptions of what he does really don't work for me about, let's say, half of the time. Maybe there was something attractive about a no-frills, nearly artless description of mundane Cleveland existence, but adding a little poetic phrasing once in a while can really make your writing worth reading, Harv.
August 6, 2012
There is a lot that can be said about "the best American comics". Some words that come to mind are humorous, ironic, weird, sad, angry, painfully truthful, informational and above all, creative. Let me repeat myself, these comics were exceptionally creative from their stories to their artwork. For a long time I have wanted to experience some of Robert Crumb's work and this book gave me a small taste and I do want to read more. This is the perfect venue for someone who hasn't read many comics or graphic novels. My biggest complaint is the writing was too small for me to read on some of them. Does this mean I am too old for this kind of reading? I sure hope not, lol.
August 2, 2010
Like all collections, this one has its moments. Overall, I liked it, but there were few comics that really blew me away. However, those nuggets o' gold would be worth the read--as long as you can pick it up from a library or a friend, or buy it used, for cheap. Mayhap I'm just not too savvy on the the indie comic scene or perhaps I'm an elitist, but I felt like I've read many better comics online in past few years. Regardless, I think it's awesome that comics are starting to get the cred they've deserved for a long, long time.
April 9, 2020
This book is specifically for readers like me. Like many other literary-minded people, I've already read Maus and Persepolis. But other than the random time I discovered one of my favorite books, Asterios Polyp, on a friend's recommendation, and the time I read an issue of Mome, I don't have much comic book experience.
Well, I also read the "funnies" in the newspaper, but I'm digressing too far.
In the forward, the editors mention the hope that this collection will be part of ground swell of long overdue recognition from literary folks, and, at least for my personal experience, this definitely succeeds. The featured artists and stories are wide-ranging: in length, tone, experience, and style. I've already lent this book to a friend, so I don't have a list of stories in front of me. but I'll never forget the incredible, experimental, non-verbal story Rabbithead. Post-modern in its approach, the story emphatically illustrates how a comic can be a superior storytelling medium to any other by showing, in real time, several storylines interwoven simultaneously. I read it, and then immediately read it again, and then showed it immediately to a companion.
In any case, I don't think it's necessary to detail every story. I suspect there is something here for everyone's personal tastes, even if not all of them will be suitable for everyone.
So why 5 stars? Not only did I read the comics, I read the artist declarations and explanations in the back. I've sought out works by my favorites. I did deep dives on the works of some of the lesser artists. In other words, this book did exactly what it set out to do: grab a literary reader like me and draw me into this immersive medium.
P.S. Reading many of the other reviews of this book has reinforced my preexisting prejudice that comic book enthusiasts confuse being negative with being discerning. I understand this impulse as a metalhead, another subculture with a lot of gatekeeping on what is good enough to be "legit". Maybe I too will become yet another curmudgeon as I expand my exposure to comics. I hope not.
Well, I also read the "funnies" in the newspaper, but I'm digressing too far.
In the forward, the editors mention the hope that this collection will be part of ground swell of long overdue recognition from literary folks, and, at least for my personal experience, this definitely succeeds. The featured artists and stories are wide-ranging: in length, tone, experience, and style. I've already lent this book to a friend, so I don't have a list of stories in front of me. but I'll never forget the incredible, experimental, non-verbal story Rabbithead. Post-modern in its approach, the story emphatically illustrates how a comic can be a superior storytelling medium to any other by showing, in real time, several storylines interwoven simultaneously. I read it, and then immediately read it again, and then showed it immediately to a companion.
In any case, I don't think it's necessary to detail every story. I suspect there is something here for everyone's personal tastes, even if not all of them will be suitable for everyone.
So why 5 stars? Not only did I read the comics, I read the artist declarations and explanations in the back. I've sought out works by my favorites. I did deep dives on the works of some of the lesser artists. In other words, this book did exactly what it set out to do: grab a literary reader like me and draw me into this immersive medium.
P.S. Reading many of the other reviews of this book has reinforced my preexisting prejudice that comic book enthusiasts confuse being negative with being discerning. I understand this impulse as a metalhead, another subculture with a lot of gatekeeping on what is good enough to be "legit". Maybe I too will become yet another curmudgeon as I expand my exposure to comics. I hope not.
May 31, 2024
My wife got me this for Christmas in 2006, and for whatever reason, I didn’t read more than a story or two before the book got lost in the literal and metaphorical pile of other books in my life. I recently decided (gleefully, illogically, unexpectedly—for a myriad of reasons) to apply to an MFA program in Comics. Needing to pad the four pages of ballpoint comics that I created 30 years ago with new work, I perused my bookshelves for inspiration. I found this, randomly opened it up to a spread, and realized I was looking at work from the chair of the MFA program I was applying to (Justin Hall). This was just one of the many kismety signs I encountered in the week or two I pondered going back to school. Who am I to argue with Kismet? I applied and got in.
Feel free to argue with me or anybody else that these aren’t the best comics of 2006—they may or might not be. It's a great collection though. I'm not sure how established or not most of these writers were in 2006, but today the Table of Contents reads like a who's-who of comic greats.
One thing that stuck out to me as I read the two included essays was the repeated assertion that comics were, in 2006, still considered kid-stuff, or at least not on par with other arts, by the general public. I wonder if 18 years later that’s true anymore.
Feel free to argue with me or anybody else that these aren’t the best comics of 2006—they may or might not be. It's a great collection though. I'm not sure how established or not most of these writers were in 2006, but today the Table of Contents reads like a who's-who of comic greats.
One thing that stuck out to me as I read the two included essays was the repeated assertion that comics were, in 2006, still considered kid-stuff, or at least not on par with other arts, by the general public. I wonder if 18 years later that’s true anymore.
May 18, 2017
Tüm seçki için güzel şeyler söylemek mümkün değil ama aralarda çok güzel hikayeler vardı. Bazı çizimlerin yazılarını okumak için okuma gözlüğüm bile çok yetersiz kaldı, ancak hacimli bir büyüteç ile okunabilirdi, o derece miniminnacık yazılar, kime neye nasıl hitap ettiği anlaşılmaz işler.
Ama 2 hikaye beni benden aldı: ilki "rubia loca" ki uzun yıllar boyunca unutamayacağım bu hikayeyi. çizimler ilkel olsa da anlatılan hikaye -ki muhtemelen gerçek- öylesine çarpıcı ki kendinizi kaptırmamanız mümkün değil. Diğeri ise çok sağlam politik söylemi olan çok çarpıcı bir halk mücadelesini anlatan Nakedness and Power idi. Seth Tobocman'ın çok sıradışı çizgileri ve Terisa Turner ve Leigh Brownhill'in öyküleştirdiği hikayesi ile her bir karesi çok değerli bir eser benim açımdan.
Bunun haricinde kareleri kaplayan devasa yazı balonları ve lakırdıdan çizgiye pek yer kalmayan hikayeler ve aşırı giriftleşmiş, çamura dönmüş çizimler ilgi alanımdan çok uzak.
Ama 2 hikaye beni benden aldı: ilki "rubia loca" ki uzun yıllar boyunca unutamayacağım bu hikayeyi. çizimler ilkel olsa da anlatılan hikaye -ki muhtemelen gerçek- öylesine çarpıcı ki kendinizi kaptırmamanız mümkün değil. Diğeri ise çok sağlam politik söylemi olan çok çarpıcı bir halk mücadelesini anlatan Nakedness and Power idi. Seth Tobocman'ın çok sıradışı çizgileri ve Terisa Turner ve Leigh Brownhill'in öyküleştirdiği hikayesi ile her bir karesi çok değerli bir eser benim açımdan.
Bunun haricinde kareleri kaplayan devasa yazı balonları ve lakırdıdan çizgiye pek yer kalmayan hikayeler ve aşırı giriftleşmiş, çamura dönmüş çizimler ilgi alanımdan çok uzak.
March 27, 2020
I love this series, although I lean towards the fiction side, I've read nearly all the Best American Fiction for the past 15+ years. I've also done Best American Non-Essential Reading and Lance has read the Best American Essays and I think also the Science one.
So. I was REALLY thrilled when I saw that they were doing a comics version. I got my hands on 2007 first and enjoyed that, so I found a copy of 2006. It was good. These samplers always remind me that I need to explore more comics. I just checked on amazon.com and the 2008 version is out. I'm looking forward to reading it asap!
These are a great way to test the waters of comics without committing to a full graphic novel or series. Not EVERYONE is included, obviously, and sometimes there's a bias to certain authors, but it's still a nice cross section and way to taste many before you choose your next main course, ya know?
So. I was REALLY thrilled when I saw that they were doing a comics version. I got my hands on 2007 first and enjoyed that, so I found a copy of 2006. It was good. These samplers always remind me that I need to explore more comics. I just checked on amazon.com and the 2008 version is out. I'm looking forward to reading it asap!
These are a great way to test the waters of comics without committing to a full graphic novel or series. Not EVERYONE is included, obviously, and sometimes there's a bias to certain authors, but it's still a nice cross section and way to taste many before you choose your next main course, ya know?
Read
January 29, 2025Found this in my apartment on an old shelf with a huge built in cd / radio / cassette stereo system. Someone was into comics and Zen Buddhism (maybe I’ll read those later…). Dates are best guess.
Some gems like the Joel Priddy’s amazing life of onion jack, Kurt Wolfgang’s passing before life’s very eyes and jesse reklaw’s 13 cats of my childhood. Didn’t love that some were excerpts but I guess it made me want more. Didn’t read intro or ending. Notable the political stuff was all about US war in Iraq and the military/oil and gas. I know very little about it but anti-war movement threads were interesting. Makes me wonder how people are making political comics now. In my head it’s less empathetic towards military personnel now but I don’t know. Comics today post-internet being shiny and new are different and that was obvious to me in this book.
Some gems like the Joel Priddy’s amazing life of onion jack, Kurt Wolfgang’s passing before life’s very eyes and jesse reklaw’s 13 cats of my childhood. Didn’t love that some were excerpts but I guess it made me want more. Didn’t read intro or ending. Notable the political stuff was all about US war in Iraq and the military/oil and gas. I know very little about it but anti-war movement threads were interesting. Makes me wonder how people are making political comics now. In my head it’s less empathetic towards military personnel now but I don’t know. Comics today post-internet being shiny and new are different and that was obvious to me in this book.
March 26, 2018
Uh..., the content definitely doesn't live up to the title. You can see guest editor Harvey Pekar's preference for autobio material stamped all over the book, but few stories that capture the wit or the humanity of his work.
The standards - Bob Crumb, Jamie Hernandez, Chris Ware, Joe Sacco, and Kim Deitch turn in pretty enjoyable work, but there are too many "here's something that happened to me, which is neither funny nor enlightening" indulgences.
Some winners, but not enough to make it pay off.
The standards - Bob Crumb, Jamie Hernandez, Chris Ware, Joe Sacco, and Kim Deitch turn in pretty enjoyable work, but there are too many "here's something that happened to me, which is neither funny nor enlightening" indulgences.
Some winners, but not enough to make it pay off.
November 6, 2025
I liked this year's collection. You've got stuff from Joe Sacco, Chris Ware, Jaime Hernandez, Lynda Barry and R. Crump. In addition to the usual suspects were stories by Alex Robinson and Justin Hall that I really liked. That Justin Hall one was pretty crazy, about a woman on a trip to Mexico who has mental problems and other people thereon the trip have to get her back to the U.S. so she's not committed to a psychiatric hospital in Mexico.
July 3, 2018
There's a copy of this laying around in the cafe connected to the Russian embassy in Guyana. I read it whenever I eat there and have made my way through most of it. I'm not a connoisseur of this type of literature so can't really comment on the quality of the anthology. But I did like a lot of it and the Robert Crumb selection is my favorite.
August 3, 2025
Yeah, these are good stories. I found only one that didn't feel like a best. That might be me though. I recognize a lot of the names. It is definitely a good way to get introduced to folks that are working and doing good stuff. A really sampler to find someone to read.
There is even a larger reading list at the end. So, you want to get into comics... this is a start.
There is even a larger reading list at the end. So, you want to get into comics... this is a start.
November 20, 2017
I smiled a few times while reading this but most of the comics included were very depressing and dark. I guess I like my comics with talking animals, little kids, and superheroes, exactly what the intro to this book said wasn't good.
November 22, 2017
This one was especially good.
Some favorites:
La Rubia Loca by Justin Hall
Portraits of My Dad by David Heatley
Nakedness and Power by Seth Tobocman, Terisa Turner, and Leigh Brownhill
Thirteen Cats of my Childhood by Jesse Reklaw
Walkin' the Streets by Robert Crumb
Some favorites:
La Rubia Loca by Justin Hall
Portraits of My Dad by David Heatley
Nakedness and Power by Seth Tobocman, Terisa Turner, and Leigh Brownhill
Thirteen Cats of my Childhood by Jesse Reklaw
Walkin' the Streets by Robert Crumb
May 30, 2021
I remember reading this when I first began to really get into comics but didn't really care for it because most of these were too adult for me. Still, I remember some were enjoyable enough so it may be worth rereading.
March 21, 2018
This whole series is so well done. Love the presentation, the scope of contributors, and guest editor forwards. Now to hunt down all the years ;)
November 20, 2019
DISCARDED
R Crumb piece herein is worth the price of the book.
R Crumb piece herein is worth the price of the book.
December 21, 2020
Funny, touching, short and sweet, Pekar's introduction is one of the best pieces.
March 17, 2021
Best of this edition: "La Rubia Loca" by Justin Hall
May 26, 2021
I'm really not impressed. There were a couple I loved and I'm going to check out further but most of them just left me thinking, "meh."
July 27, 2023
A stellar first section to kick off the Best American Comics series
September 11, 2023
Great stuff in here.
September 5, 2024
Not worth the candle
May 21, 2025
I enjoyed the variety of comics in this collection. I was familiar with some of the artists (Crumb, Barry, Hernandez) and was pleasantly introduced to several of the artists that were new to me.
November 23, 2018
This content brings back many memories.
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