Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Ivan Brunetti returns with a new selection of 20th and 21st-century comic creations by some of the most original artists in the medium



Comic art is a vital, highly personal art form in which change--rapid and unpredictable--is the norm. In this exciting new anthology, comic artist Ivan Brunetti focuses on very recent works by contemporary artists engaged in this world of change. These outstanding cartoonists, selected by Brunetti for their graphic sophistication and literary style, are both expanding and transforming the vocabulary of their genre.

The book presents contemporary art comics produced by 75 artists, along with some classic comic strips and other related fine art and historical materials. Brunetti arranges the book to reflect the creative process itself, connecting stories and art to each other in surprising ways: nonlinear, elliptical, sometimes whimsical, even poetic. He emphasizes continuity from piece to piece, weaving themes and motifs throughout the volume.

As gorgeously produced as Brunetti's previous anthology of graphic fiction, this book does full justice to the creative work of Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Charles Burns, Gary Panter, and the other prominent or emerging comic artists who are currently at work at the cutting edge of their medium.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Brunetti's second collection of his favorite cartoonists' work is even better than the first--more far-ranging, more personal and eccentric. Clearly a tour of one person's singular tastes, it's arranged in a stream-of-consciousness "oh, and you have to see this one" sort of way: work by 80-odd cartoonists, mostly from the past few decades, but also incorporating some early-1900s comic strips, a 1940s-vintage Fletcher Hanks story and several circa 1950 Harvey Kurtzman pieces as well as a smattering of previously unpublished gems. It's possible to quibble with some of Brunetti's aesthetic biases (or with his clustering most of the book's women cartoonists together in a block), but not with his selections. Nearly every piece is a killer, from big names like Chris Ware and Daniel Clowes as well as lesser-knowns like Laura Park and Matthew Thurber, and there's an enormous range of expressive styles and narrative approaches on display. The effect is something like Jerome Rothenberg's poetry anthologies: an investigation of unsettling, mind-opening places where only comics can travel. It's a pleasure to read straight through, and all but the most experienced art-comics enthusiasts are likely to discover a few new favorites. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

Brunetti expands his "personal" compilation of North American art comics in volume 2 of this anthology. Some of the artists represented in the first volume are present again here, with new or different examples of work. Many of the more than 80 artists are new to volume 2. Brunetti includes an introductory essay that attempts to explain his selections of comics, choosing works "pointing and pushing the medium in new and interesting directions, whether through formal experimentation, uncompromised subject matter, uniquely expressed mood, deeply felt theme, inventive drawing, or sheer craft." Unlike volume 1, volume 2 includes a helpful contents page, with each artist and work(s) listed. Volume 2 uses much more color. For longer comics, the examples are a generous sampling, giving readers a real sense of the work. As in the first volume, brief artist biographies are included. This beautifully designed book is a showcase of some the most innovative, startling, and imaginative modern comics in North America. The book is destined to be much browsed. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers. C. Larry Northern Illinois University

Booklist Review

While Brunetti's 2006 Anthology was a thoughtfully selected, impressively inclusive compilation of contemporary art comics, it didn't purport to be the final word on the subject but left plenty of room for this volume, which overlaps its predecessor mostly by presenting second helpings of work by the usual suspects, such eminent veterans as R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, and the Hernandez brothers, who invariably and rightfully show up in such anthologies. The book's greatest value lies in the less-well-known, younger talents on view, some of whom, like Kevin Huizenga, John Porcellino, and David Heatley, appeared in the earlier volume, while others Megan Kelso, Renee French, Carrie Golus did not. The only cavil to make is that this collection, like the first, ignores mainstream cartoonists other than a handful of pioneers who influenced the current generation. One such legend, MAD creator Harvey Kurtzman, receives affectionate tributes from Crumb and Spiegelman. Once again, the selection comes down to a matter of Brunetti's tastes, which, fortunately, are well informed, eclectic, and occasionally cockeyed enough to shape an engaging, provocative, and valuable survey.--Flagg, Gordon Copyright 2008 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Don't be fooled by the prosaic title or the whiff of pedagogy in the introduction; this is the world of comicsor at least the North American, English-speaking part of that worldat its liveliest. The second anthology edited by Brunetti (volume one was published in 2006) showcases some of the form's history and development, highlights some of the best and better-known contemporary artists and introduces some cutting-edge innovators working at the vanguard of form and collage. The thematic organization by the editor (a Chicago-based professor and cartoonist) is compellingly idiosyncratic, juxtaposing Chris Ware's one-pager of a superhero named "God" with R. Sikoryak's series of covers for the fictional Action Camus seriesa takeoff on Action Comics with a superhero who is part Superman, part Albert Camus's The Stranger. The work included addresses plenty of psycho-philosophical issuesdeath, identity, dreams, memory, death and the possibility of an afterlifewhile also including a tribute to MAD magazine's creator Harvey Kurtzman, with his work followed by extended graphic celebrations by such leading acolytes as Robert Crumb and Art Spiegelman. The latter stresses how far Kurtzman's influence extended beyond fellow artists to the culture at large: "I think Harvey's MAD was more important than pot and LSD in shaping the generation that protested the Vietnam War." The obsessions probed throughout the anthology are as personal as the artistry, with Crumb offering a series of strips on record collecting (the first in collaboration with Harvey Pekar) and the exotic lure of what were once known as "race records"; Joe Matt on porn addiction; and Lynda Barry on dancing (and "keepers of the groove"). In David Heatley's closing " Portrait of My Mom" and "Portrait of My Dad," it's plain that what he's really offering is a portrait of himself. Explains Brunetti, "I have tried to represent a variety of approaches while retaining a sense of wholeness and interconnectedness among the stories. If the first volume viewed comics as a developing human being, then this volume treats them as an extended family." The anthology suggests that, thankfully, this extended family isn't close to exhausting its creative potential. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.