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Tag: Brad Mackay
Favourite Books 2010: Brad Mackay
by Dan
Graphica + News / December 16, 2010
Acme Novelty Library #20 (AKA “Lint”)
Chris Ware
Drawn & Quarterly ISBN 9781770460201
$24.95
The past year has seen a superb bumper crop of new books come forth from Montreal’s Drawn and Quarterly, and Ware’s is among the best-of-the-best. Chris is such a reliably excellent cartoonist that he is almost taken for granted in the comics community. This is a shame, since the latest instalment of his long-running showcase comic is a revelation. Telling the cradle-to-almost-grave story of Jordan Lint, Ware delivers a warm and searing portrayal of human weakness while still flexing his considerable formalist chops.
Palookaville #20
Seth
Drawn & Quarterly ISBN 9781770460188
$20.95
Ware’s colleague in comics, Seth, also hit a landmark in 2010 with the 20th issue of his long-running series Palookaville. As expected, Seth comes out swinging here with the latest instalment of his epic Clyde Fans serialized story. But that’s not all! Here he also offers a folio of his travelling “Dominion City” exhibition, an autobiographical strip that harkens back to the early issues of his comic and a touching eulogy of sorts to the humble comic book format, which is being eclipsed by the current graphic novel boom. An exquisite package from a Canadian treasure.
Wilson
Dan Clowes
Drawn & Quarterly ISBN 9781770460072
$23.95
As if the above wasn’t enough, 2010 also gave us Dan Clowes’ first-ever all-original graphic novel. Wilson received a mixed critical reception (some disparaged the main character for being “unlikable”) but lucky for me, I don’t expect made-up characters to always make the right choices or say the right things. As I have already said elsewhere, “Clowes shines in depicting self-loathing, cynical characters who eventually succumb to their human frailties.” Go buy this book now.
Brad Mackay is a writer and co-editor of The Collected Doug Wright: Canada's Master Cartoonist, to which he contributed a biographical essay. He is also the director and co-founder of the Doug Wright Awards for Canadian cartooning.
