Comics Anthologies Return as Graphic Novels
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on August 29, 2006 Sign up now!
by Ian Brill, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 8/29/2006
At one time you could regularly purchase a comics magazine, open it up and read short stories by a mix of writers and artists, many getting their first jobs in the industry. As far as periodical comics go, those days are long gone—but the anthology hasn't quite died.
Though publishers have attempted to revive the anthology, sales have faltered. DC Comics received acclaim and awards for the artist-based Solo but the book was cancelled after 12 issues. "Most anthology comics are less successful commercially than single-feature comics," says Bob Wayne, v-p of sales at DC Comics. "It certainly looks like the average American comic book reader prefers a single, longer story spread over several issues, not more stories per issue."
Although periodical anthologies are still a sales risk, a new generation of book-format anthologies has found an audience. Chris Pitzer of AdHouse books has produced two well-received anthology collections. Project: Telstar and Project: Superior presented the tropes of robots and superheroes as envisioned by alternative cartoonists. A third book, Project: Romantic, arrives in September. Pitzer notes that that a graphic novel with many contributors can be more attractive to readers. "One view is that you'll be getting more for your money, and hopefully people will like more of the stories," Pitzer says. "There's that hit/miss ratio that is linked with anthologies."
The anthology also sustains the tradition of comics short stories, which sometimes seem like an endangered species in a world of multi-issue crossover epics. Kazu Kibuishi's Flight is one of the most recognizable examples. Originally published by Image, the third volume of the series was published by Ballantine. The anthology format came out of frustration on Kibuishi's part. "In Flight's earliest stages, I was simply looking for a place to put my short comics, and I found it difficult to find a venue (most likely a magazine or newspaper) that worked well with the type of content I was creating." Kibuishi says. "Flight is basically that venue I was looking for, but with the comics as the central focus."
Giving new voices a chance to be heard is another function that anthologies fill. Flight introduced a whole generation of new cartoonists who are gaining acclaim in many venues, among them Kibuishi, Kean Soo, Jen Wang and Johanne Matte.
Ivan Brandon was already familiar with the world of serialized comics as one of the creators of NYC Mech, the gritty science fiction book about a New York inhabited completely by robots, published by Image. When Brandon decided to turn that concept into the anthology 24seven, also published by Image, he found a book collection to be the best format. "I love the serial format and I'd have loved to create something in that vein, but unfortunately the market has sort of chased that option away," Brandon said. "The modern reader for this type of material seems to lean towards a bookshelf edition, so that's what I went at, " explains Brandon. 24seven featured new talents alongside established artists such as Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets) and Alex Maleev (Daredevil), who were trying something a little different and challenging themselves to tell a story with fewer pages.
"Anthologies are one of the few ways to find your own tastes," says Rory Root of the comics shop Comic Relief, noting that finding artists you don't like is as important as finding those you do. A display near the entrance of Root's store, only a few blocks from the UC Berkeley campus, has many anthologies laid out to appeal to both new comics readers and those already entrenched in the medium. Sales continue to be strong; Fantagraphics's Mome #4 was one of the store's biggest sellers in June.
Root points out how important anthologies can be for new comics readers, specifically books like the 13th issue of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. That issue was guest-edited by Chris Ware and featured short stories or excerpts of many art comics, such as the Hernandez Brothers, Adrian Tomine and Dan Clowes. Published in 2004, it's still a big seller for the store. Instead of being a place for new voices, an anthology like McSweeney's No. 13 creates a snapshot of a certain era in comics, says Root. When he hands it to new readers, they get an immediate sense of what that corner of the comic book world is like, and if it's for them or not.
