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David Mazzucchelli




Title Creator Publisher Series Price
The Best American Comics 2010 Neil Gaiman, R. Crumb, David Mazzucchelli, Carol Tyler and more ... Houghton Mifflin Best American $20.00
($23.00 list)
Bestamercomics2010
Read more and comment... 		edited by Neil Gaiman This time around, editor Gaiman provides a selection that is heavy on excerpts of graphic novels rather than self-contained works.  His picks include, as one would expect, the most celebrated works of last year:  R. Crumb's Book of Genesis and David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp.; but there are some surprises, as well.  In fact, the book starts out with the biggest surprise of all:  and actual Marvel Comic!  But wait – hold on, it's not what you think.  It's an excerpt from the seventh issue of the Omega the Unknown limited series that was later collected in book form.  Written by Jonathan Lethem, this excerpt starts off with the sequence that was drawn by none other than Gary Panter.  One can readily see how irresistible this choice was:  how could you not include what may very well be the only Marvel comic ever drawn by Gary Panter?  Other excerpted works include: the completely necessary Acme Novelty  #19; the off-the-radar-for-many, Citizen Rex by Gilbert and Mario Hernandez; Lilli Carré's The Lagoon (Carré was also selected for this year's Best Non-Required Reading); Josh Neufeld's docu-comic, A.D: New Orleans after the Deluge; Carol Tyler's ongoing masterpiece, You'll Never Know; Derf's Punk Rock and Trailer Parks, which we've been trying to convince people to read since it came out; and several others.  Every reader of this volume is sure to pursue the purchase – or at least perusal – of at least one of these works in its entirety, and there are bound to be a few who will want them all.  In addition to these excerpts from these graphic novels, there are plenty of short pieces by the like of Ben Katchor, James Kochalka, Peter Kuper, Jesse Reklaw and Gabrielle Bell.  Worthy of singling out, is the excellent 14-page "Trinity," by the sorely under-appreciated Michael Cho (who also executed this volume's cover), that originally appeared in the relatively obscure Taddle Creek, and so ran the risk of being missed by most, and so is perhaps Gaiman's single best call.  And, finally, we can't go without mentioning that we are happy that a selection from Copacetic favorite, Capacity, by Theo Ellsworth, is also on hand in this volume, and, not only that, but Ellsworth was commissioned to produce original endpapers for this volume as well, providing a visual treat to its opening and closing.  This series continues to be a great way to introduce the uninitiated to the wide world of comics, and makes an excellent gift.
The Comics Journal #300 Kevin Huizenga, Art Spiegelman, Howrad Chaykin, Ho Che Anderson and more ... Fantagraphics The Comics Journal $12.75
($14.99 list)
Tcj300
Read more and comment... 		This is, reportedly, the last issue of the Journal in it's current format.  After this it will become a hybrid publication:  updated daily online with the news, reviews, and opinion pieces that have been Journal mainstays for many a decade now, and then, a semi-annually published deluxe book-like edition that sounds like it's taking its cue – at least somewhat – from Comic Art Magazine.  That said, this format is going out with a real BANG!  Its 286 pages are packed with some of the greatest comics conversations you are likely to find under one cover anywhere!  Check it out:  The ball starts rolling with a whopping 32-page exchange between none other than Art Spiegelman and Kevin Huizenga – this one alone is worth the price of admission; this is then folowed in due course by conversations between Jean-Christophe Menu and Sammy Harkham; Frank Quitely and Dave Gibbons; David Mazzucchelli and Dash Shaw; Alison Bechdel and Danica Novgorodoff; Howard Chaykin and Ho Che Anderson; Denny O'Neil and Matt Fraction; Jaime Hernandez and Zak Sally (!); Ted Rall and Matt Bors; Jim Borgman and Keith Knight; and Stan Sakai and Chris Schweizer... whew!  So what are you waiting for?  You know you can't pass this one up!
Asterios Polyp David Mazzucchelli Pantheon $26.95
($29.95 list)
Asteriospolyp
Read more and comment... 		This is perhaps the longest awaited work in the history of comics (No?  Let us know what, in your estimation, beats it.).  Over ten years in the making, Mazzucchelli's first ever solo graphic novel is also his first major work since his 1994 graphic adaptation of Paul Auster's City of Glass, a trailblazing, highly influential work which put him at the forefront of the then nascent "serious" graphic novel movement.  David Mazzucchelli's work with Frank Miller in the mid-80s -- Daredevil: Born Again and Batman: Year One -- made him a mainstream comics superstar, but then he walked away from it all to pursue his own calling of an independent, more thoughtful form of comics and became a legend in the process.  And now here we are, over twenty years later with his most important work.  Talk about anticipation!  Mazzucchelli has spent the last decade pondering the possibilities and potentials of comics and Asterios Polyp embodies his findings.  Metaphysical speculations that exploit the uniquely communicative linguistic capabilities that inhere specifically to the comics form combine with Mazzucchelli's own idiosyncracies, Eisnerian pathos, and a notable Japanese aesthetic, as well as explorations and deconstructions of the printing and production process that shows commonality with contemporaries Paul Hornschemeier (specifically The Three Paradoxes), Dash Shaw (particularly Bodyworld), and, especially, Frank Santoro (pretty much everything), all of which is woven together in a tale clearly inspired by classical Greek mythology, dramatics, and philosopohy that commands the reader's full attention, forcing perceptual and conceptual apparatuses into overdrive and demanding multiple readings. 
City of Glass: The Graphic Novel Paul Auster, David Mazzucchelli $12.60
($14.00 list)

Read more and comment... 		back in print, at last!  Originally published in 1994, the most requested out-of-print volume in the history of the Copacetic Comics Company -- and for good reason:  it's a classic -- is now back in print:  in a nice new edition (with a nice new cover, to boot) that is superior to the original; and that includes a new introduction by Art Spiegelman (see above) that lays out the genesis of this particular work, helping to place it in the proper historical context.  Recommended!