cover image Chris Ware

Chris Ware

Daniel Raeburn. Yale University Press, $22.5 (112pp) ISBN 978-0-300-10291-8

This volume, the fourth in the Monographics series of design books, begins with a lengthy introduction exploring the history of comics as a language, before bringing Ware into the foreground. Nicely caught up on Ware's vision of the medium, Raeburn, who self-publishes The Imp (a series of booklets about comics), treats readers to an insightful, chatty and precise explication of Ware's life and work. This includes the standard biographical information, but also covers Ware's working methods and source materials, the everyday life of a contemporary cartoonist, the ins and outs of comics publishing and, by way of Ware's love of ragtime, a fine comparison between the rhythms of ragtime and the structure of comics. The remaining pages consist of examples of Ware's work, encompassing graphics, comics, sketchbook work, paintings and even some wondrous sculptures. Ware's work is aesthetically gorgeous, but it's also thematically complex and layered enough to reward the kind of analytical skills Raeburn brings to the project. Raeburn's concise and informative captions sometimes describe Ware's thought processes, a particular source of inspiration or the work's place in Ware's oeuvre. Raeburn handles these captions, like the rest of the text, with dry wit and obvious affection for the artist. In just a handful of pages, Raeburn eloquently captures the essence of this important artist.