Best American Comics Criticism

Conventional wisdom states that cartooning and graphic novels exist ina golden age of creativity, popularity, and critical acceptance. Butwhy? Today, the signal is stronger than ever, but so is the noise. NewYork Times, Vanity Fair, and Bookforum critic Ben Schwartz assemblesthe greatest lineup of comics critics the world has yet seen totestify on behalf of this increasingly vital medium.The Best American Comics Writing is the first attempt to collate the bestcriticism to date of the graphic novel boom in a way thatcontextualizes and codifies one of the most important literarymovements of the last 60 years.This collection begins in 2000, the game changing year that Pantheonreleased the graphic novels Jimmy Corrigan and David Boring.Originally serialized as “alternative” comics, they went on to confirmthe critical and commercial viability of graphic literature. Via itsvarious authors, this collection functions as a valuable readers’guide for fans, academics, and librarians, tracing the current comicsrenaissance from its beginnings and creative growth to the cuttingedge of today’s artists.This volume includes Daniel Clowes (Ghost World) in conversation withnovelist Jonathan Lethem (Fortress of Solitude), Chris Ware, JonathanFranzen (The Corrections), John Hodgman (The Daily Show, The Areas ofMy Expertise, The New York Times Book Review), David Hajdu (The 10-Cent Plague), Douglas Wolk (Publishers Weekly, author of the Eisneraward-winning Reading Comics), Frank Miller (Sin City and The Spiritfilm director) in conversation with Will Eisner (The Spirit’screator), Gerard Jones’ (Men of Tomorrow), Brian Doherty (authorRadicals of Capitalism, This is Burning Man) and critics Ken Parille(Comic Art), Jeet Heer (The National Post), R.C. Harvey (biographer ofMilton Caniff), and Donald Phelps (author of the landmark book ofcomics criticism, Reading the Funnies). Best American Comics Writingalso features a cover by nationally known satirist Drew Friedman (TheNew York Observer, Old Jewish Comedians) in which Friedman asks,“tongue-in-cheek,” if cartoonists are the new literati, what musttheir critics look like?