The Acme Novelty Library No. 19

by Chris Ware

After finishing the brilliant Building Stories a couple of months ago, I felt a powerful need to read more Chris Ware, which is not an easy thing to do.  I'd read Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth years ago, but aside from that, it's very difficult to get ahold of the rest of Ware's work.  His slow-moving and sporadic Acme Novelty Library series is out of print, and often exceptionally expensive to buy on eBay (except that I got lucky with a reasonably-priced #19).

I'd originally avoided this book when it came out because I knew it continued the 'Rusty Brown' story, which I had not read the beginning of, and which I assumed would be collected one day, like Jimmy Corrigan.  It having been five years, with no further movement on this story taking place, I decided it was time to dive in.

This volume is split pretty evenly between two stories.  The first, 'The Seeing Eye Dogs of Mars', is a comics adaption of a science fiction story written by Rusty Brown, the protagonist of the second story.  It follows the story of a man (also named Rusty), who is part of a four-person expedition to Mars, in a tale modelled after the pulp sci-fi books of the fifties.  The four people are really two couples, who set up farmsteads on opposite sides of a special atmospheric field that allows them to walk around in a small bubble of atmosphere and warmth.  Their plans to farm and start a colony there are dashed by the lack of a relief ship, and by the bitter jealousy of Rusty.  This story is much more poetic than those it is taking after, as Ware uses the design of the page, and his usual minute attention to detail to create a pretty interesting tale.

After that, we are treated to a story about Rusty Brown, as we follow him through his first love, during his early days in the 'big city', through to his hasty second relationship and marriage.  This is pretty familiar footing for anyone who is used to Ware's work - the hapless protagonist can't relate well to other people, and constantly misreads his lover's cues, moods, and motivations.

Reading this book leaves me craving a little more Ware, because despite how depressing his work can be at times, it really is marvellous.

The Acme Novelty Library Vol. 20: Lint

by Chris Ware

It's pretty easy to understand why this latest entry in Ware's Acme Novelty series would end up on so many reviewers' "Best of 2010" lists, as it's an absolutely brilliant piece of work, but it's also a brutally sad read.

Lint tells the story of Jordan (Jason) Lint, from his birth to his death, in one page installments.  Jordan's mom died when he was young.  He was a pain in the ass at school.  He didn't get along with his dad.  He cheated on girlfriends and wives.  He failed at entering the music industry.  He got involved in some shady business practices at his father's company.  He cheated some more.  He got old.  With almost every new chapter, we start to think of this guy as more and more of a creep, but I found myself also hoping that he might finally turn himself around and become a nicer person.

What makes the book so interesting is the way in which Ware keeps surprising us in the selectivity of what he chooses to reveal.  We think that we are seeing Lint's whole story, but then something happens to make us realize that while we've seen some of his most intimate moments, we have no idea what this guy is capable of.  The scene where he starts to read from his son's memoir where it describes an incident when his son was small was a shock.

As usual with a piece of Ware's work, the page design in this book is stunning.  He has an ability to break pages into sections that, while they defy the usual flow and format of a comics page, are intuitively easy to follow.  I love the dissonance he sets up in this book, caused by portraying a person who is spiritually bereft and ugly with such beautiful art and design.  This is an amazing piece of work - go read it.

Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth

by Chris Ware

This is an incredible, and incredibly complicated, piece of work. On the surface, Ware's novel seems simple - a lonely and socially maladjusted guy, with a domineering mother, accepts an invitation to stay with the father he never met. Running parallel to this story is the story of Jimmy's grandfather, also a Jimmy, who had a difficult relationship with his own father in turn of the century Chicago.

Ware's characters all have trouble communicating, misread situations, and stumble through life. He is excellent at writing stilted, awkward dialogue, and there are many places where the reader cringes for these characters.

The structure of the book is complex; scenes jump around without a lot of exposition, and the page layouts are unconventional. Ware's art is quite simple, and for some reason he avoids portraying the faces of characters other than the Jimmys and their fathers. There are a lot of people who talk into their shoulders... The draftsmanship of the larger panels, especially the ones portraying the World's Fair or the small town where Jimmy's dad lives, are remarkable.

This is a highly eccentric piece of work, and a very rewarding one.