The ACME Novelty Library #16 (Vol 16)
Alternative-comics artist Ware's new book is the latest volume of his long-running Acme Novelty Library, an elaborately produced hardcover that is a far cry from most (paperback) comics magazines. The strips in it depict the early years of nerdy, comic-book-obsessed Rusty Brown, an outcast at his elementary school who is well on the way to an ostracized adulthood. Rusty is hard to take a shine to, so it's fortunate that the supporting characters, including Rusty's schoolteacher father, sole friend Chalky White, and Chalky's alienated--adolescent sister Alison, whose stories unfold alongside Rusty's, are all more sympathetic and multidimensional. These strips aren't as formally daunting as much of Ware's other work, yet their parallel storytelling, precise compositions, and meticulous draftsmanship definitely demonstrate his mastery. Ware's occasional alternative-newspaper strip has forged on into Rusty's even more pathetic adulthood, and eventually, all the Rusty strips will be collected in a volume that may dwarf his acclaimed and plethoricJimmy Corrigan(2000). Meanwhile, there are the elegant Acmevolumes, each a delight by itself.Gordon FlaggCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved