NOW #1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
CARTOONISTS: Gabrielle Bell; Sara Corbett; Antoine Cossé; Eleanor Davis; Kaela Graham; Sammy Harkham; Conxita Hererro; Malachi Ward and Matt Sheean; J.C. Menu; Rebecca Morgan; Tommi Parrish; Tobias Schalken; Dash Shaw; Noah Van Sciver; Daria Tessler; Nick Thorburn
DESIGN: Jacob Covey
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Rebecca Morgan
ISBN: 978-1-68396-052-2; paperback (September 2017)
128pp, Color, $9.99 U.S.
NOW is a comics anthology series launched in 2017 by alternative comics (alt-comix) and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books. Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books. That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.
NOW #1 proves that Fantagraphics has not lost a step with age when it comes to anthologies. I wish that everyone could read the introduction to the first issue written by NOW's editor, Eric Reynolds, even those who have not read this first issue. It seems as if everything Reynolds hopes NOW could achieve is in evidence in NOW #1. Reynolds wants to showcase “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”
NOW #1 does that, so let's take a look at each cartoonist's contribution.
THE LOWDOWN: The illustration that acts as NOW #1's cover art is entitled “Plan B on Easter Morning,” and it is produced by Rebecca Morgan. It is a stylish, colorful, full-color illustration that is surreal and kooky, and it reminds me of the work of Aline Kominsky-Crumb.
“Constitutional” by Sara Corbett:
This is a beautiful piece featuring an elderly woman and her wily cat that has vivid green eyes. This one-page comic has a striking graphical style, dazzling colors, and eye-catching patterns drawn on characters and objects. I could see “Constitutional” being a cover for The New Yorker.
“21 Positions/The Final Frontier” by Tobias Schalken:
This is a pantomime comic featuring two characters, one female and one male, each alone and each on the opposite side of the page. They are imitating the ways in which people hold and touch one another. I am impressed by the figure drawing, and every time I look at this story, I feel some raw emotions emanating from the page.
“Hurt or Fuck?” by Eleanor Davis:
This is a black and white comic, drawn apparently with a lead pencil. I like its composition, but I don't know what to make of it. I don't want to read too much into it... or read the wrong thing...
“Scorpio” by Dash Shaw:
The incomparable Dash Shaw (Cosplayers) offers this story of childbirth on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 (a.k.a. “The Day of the Clown”). The intimacy and familiarity between the expecting couple feels genuine, and the story is warm and humorous. I could read an entire graphic novel built around these characters.
“Dear Naked Guy In the Apartment Across from Mine Spread Eagle & Absent-mindedly Flicking his Penis While Watching TV,” by Gabrielle Bell:
This one-page comic is exactly what it says – a young woman sees her pudgy, naked neighbor lying in his bed and playing with himself every time she is in the kitchen of her (apparently) small apartment. I read the neighbor as being aggressively passive-aggressive, but I'm not sure about the young woman (whom I'm assuming is the cartoonist). Is she disgusted or distressed... “Dear Naked Guy...” is one of NOW #1's best entries.
“S.O.S. Suitcases” by J.C. Menu:
This 14-page, black and white, comic is a wild and woolly, surreal adventure tale that is alternative comics and neo-underground comix. I think this story would be a perfect fit in a certain kind of comics anthologies: from Zap Comix to Weirdo and from Zero Zero to... well, to NOW.
“Wall of Shame” by Noah Van Sciver:
This 15-page story is my NOW #1 favorite. In an autobiographical slash slice-of-life comics story, Noah returns to his hometown of Denver, Colorado because the Denver Art Museum is holding an exhibition of his comics and illustrations. Returning home, however, means a return to family... and a reunion with his younger brother, Jonah, a loud, shameless, womanizing, pussy-hound.
If I have encountered Van Sciver's work before, it could not have been much. After reading “Wall of Shame,” I definitely want to read more it, especially anything like this story. Once upon a time, I spent much of the 1990s reading the autobiographical, mock-auto-bio, and slice-of-life comics, comic books, and graphic novels produced by a number of alternative cartoonists and comic book creators, including Joe Matt, Seth, David Greenberger, and Julie Doucet, to name a few.
“Wall of Shame,” a very entertaining story, brings me back to those days. That aside, this is a thoroughly engaging story of family ties, with Jonah as the kind of scene-stealing character that captures the imagination. Noah leaves me wanting more.
“Untitled” by Tommi Parrish:
This lovely story is about two people talking about the struggles of understanding oneself when coming out as gay. Reading this is like listening in on an intimate conversation, and at seven pages, this story is over much too soon. After I read this, I could not stop thinking about the idea of “poisonous scripts,” which comes from the world of culture and pop culture and tells us what and how we should be, act, think, feel, live, etc.
“Pretend We're Orphans” by Kaela Graham:
This story has a delightful, picture book and fairy tale quality. It works as a self-contained tale of imagination, but it would still be quite good as a piece from a larger work.”
“Songs in the Key of Grief” by Daria Tessler:
I feel like this is about Kurt Cobain.
“Here I Am” by Conxita Hererro:
This story is apparently based on an earlier work by cartoonist Gabrielle Bell, a contributor to Now #1. I got nothing from it.
“Widening Horizon” by Malachi Ward (story/art) and Matt Sheean (story):
This is an intriguing science fiction comics short story. I won't call it “alternative history,” because it reads like a classic science fiction short story that imagines a different past, present, and future. Ward's beautiful clear-line drawing style perfectly captures the atmosphere of a story about spaceflight.
“Statue” by Antoine Cossé:
A stylish blend of landscape architecture, industrial design, Art Deco, and minimalism, “Statue” is a haunting tale that also manages to gleam with possibility. I found that Cossé engaged my imagination with a story that challenged me to unravel its mysteries. “Statue” is an example of a story that the reader can enjoy without having to know everything the cartoonist wants to convey. I look forward to seeing more of this creator's work.
“I, Marlon” by Sammy Harkham:
The only reason that I know that the “Marlon” in “I, Marlon” is the legendary American actor, Marlon Brando, is because I recently read Michael J. Mann's massive biography of the actor, The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando. Shockingly, Harkham's one-age comic (apparently produced in 2016) summarizes some key themes in Mann's 700+ page book, which was published in late 2019 (and took me several months to read).
“Untitled” by Nick Thorburn:
This is a comic strip that runs at the top of the back cover. I like Thorburn's drawing style.
So, the final verdict on NOW #1 is that it is one of the best first issues of a comics anthology that I have ever read. If the issues that follow NOW #1 are half as good as it is, then, NOW is a must-read series for serious comic book readers.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies will want to discover NOW.
9 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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