From Fantagraphics Books, the company that has mastered the art of publishing alt-comics anthologies (in terms of aesthetics if not in terms of sales success), comes MOME. The “Summer 2005” volume is the first issue of this new anthology that promises (according to the press release) to tap into the zeitgeist and to foreshadow a generation of cartoonists, the way such legendary anthologies as Zap in the 60’s and both RAW and Weirdo in the 80’s did. (I’m not at all familiar with the influential and acclaimed 70’s anthology Arcade). In other words, they trying to educate you ignorant muthas about the new blood in alt comics.
Yeah, yo mama, too!
With their attention to design and printing details and a demanding requirement of their cartoonists for engaging and challenging stories that focus more on drama and less on genre, Fantagraphics has often stood alone in their quest to prove that comics can be as artful, as serious, and as profound as the best literature, film, and drama – the three cousins of comics. As it stands now, most people treat comics like cheap (no longer cheap in terms of price) entertainment or food for people with a (Marvel and/or DC) superhero fetish. I wish good luck to the series editors, Fanta co-publisher Gary Groth and Fanta PR king Eric Reynolds. Cheers, suckas… I mean break a leg, fellas.
Reynolds and Groth have conceived Mome to be a reasonably priced anthology ($14.95 – people have paid more for less – The Absolute Danger Girl or any number of DC and Marvel hard cover books) that will find a place in the book store/fiction market. They probably see it as a cartoon equivalent of such nouveau literary journals as McSweeney’s or The Believer; in fact, they want Mome to have a seat next to these publications and other publications like Granta and The Baffler. Ambitions aside, is this a good (art) comic book?
Simply stated, the answer is yes; there were only two stories for which I didn’t care: “221 Sycamore Ave., part 1” by John Pham and David Heatley’s “Overpeck.” Other than that, I found the stories to be witty, engaging, thoughtful, and some damn good comix. The book even starts with a bang: Gabrielle Bell’s “I Feel Nothing.” I’m stuck trying to find words to describe it, but basically it’s one of those stories where the lead character dreams of a possible future if she makes a certain choice about a personal matter. Remember Gilligan used to do it all the time on “Gilligan’s Island?” (I actually wrote that last line about seven hours before learning that he’d died four days ago, 9/02/2005). In this case, the personal choice involves casual sex. “I Feel Nothing” is such a challenging story, and the inclusion of it, particularly as the lead tale, is likely Gary and Eric’s way of saying, “We meant it when we said that this book was going to introduce the new generation of cartoonists.” It’s also as if to say, “We gonna tap this zeitgeist the way Colin Farrell likes to tap that ass!”
Seriously, the story has a realness, a sense of uncannily accurate verisimilitude, and a sort of documentary feel to it. The story breathes and reaches into the things that a reader realizes as being genuine. Although a quiet story in one sense, “I Feel Nothing” is a confrontational bitch in another. Ultimately, the protagonist’s choice is comforting to the conservative in me, but bittersweet in that it seems to put her back into a reliable rut. That’s life, huh?
Kurt Wolfgang’s “Passing Before Life’s Very Eyes” is a comic rumination on death and therefore the afterlife. The story is the kind of broad tale that moves comics out of the cultic realm of genre into the real mainstream of comic art. Jeffrey Brown also has an entry, “Part Time,” about writer’s block or rather writer’s laziness. It’s fun and intimate in the way that makes Brown the most interesting (and laughable, if you get my drift) autobiographical cartoonist since Joe Matt.
In an interview sometime ago, Sophie Crumb told me that she wasn’t sure if she’d stay in comix. Her two entries here reveal how sad it would be if she left comics entirely. Her life-on-the-fringes tales make her comics’ Gregg Araki. My favorite Mome article may be the Neil Gaiman/Sandman-like “The Jewels of the Sea” by Andrice Arp. It’s a comix version of a Japanese folk history story, and the quality puts this San Francisco-based Ms. Arp’s work on my must-find list.
The final bit of candy for me are three Martin Cendreda one-page gag cartoons or “incidental drawings.” All in color, they’d fit in with any literature/culture magazine, say The New Yorker. The first, “It’s 3 a.m.,” is poignant. “It’s Okay” is straight gag comedy, and the last of the trio, “The Toys of My Childhood,” is a bit of both. Many will also find delight in a Paul Hornschemeier tale, “Life with Mr. Dangerous, part 1” and Gary Groth’s seven-page revealing interview of Hornschemeier.
I’m quite happy with Mome. The combination of design, print and binding quality, and, of course, contents theoretically make it durable for competition in the book market. Now, word needs to get out, and I think that people who like art comix and alt-comics will like this. It’s also not hard on the wallet because $14.95 every three months is a low price to pay for one of the few games in town when it comes to quality alt comics anthologies, and this is a damn good game at that.
Mome FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
ISBN: 156097650-0; Paperback original
128 pages, Color and B&W, $14.95
7” x 9” Graphic Novels/Fiction
COVER: Gabrielle Bell
CARTOONISTS: Andrice Arp, Gabrielle Bell, Jonathan Bennett, Jeffrey Brown, Martin Cendreda, Sophie Crumb, David Heatley, Paul Hornschemeier, Anders Nilsen, John Pham, and Kurt Wolfgang
DESIGNER: Jordan Crane
EDITORS: Gary Groth & Eric Reynolds
This book is available at your local comics shop (Yeah, right), local book store, or directly from the publisher through mail order or at the above link.
