NOW: THE NEW COMICS ANTHOLOGY #13
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
CARTOONISTS: Roman Muradov; Nathan Gelgud; Caitlin Skaalrud; Stacy Gougoulis; Cyntha Alfonso; Josh Pettinger; Ross Murray; Steven Weissman; Emil Friis Ernst; Kayla E.
DESIGN: Kayla E.
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Kayla E.
BACKCOVER: Kayla E.
ISBN: 978-1-68396-963-1; paperback (May 2024)
112pp, Color, $12.99 U.S.
NOW: The New Comics Anthology is an alternative-comics anthology series launched in 2017 and edited by Eric Reynolds. Now is published by alt-comix and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books. Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books. That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.
NOW: The New Comics Anthology #13 offers a selection of works from ten cartoonists and comics creators, as well as a back cover “comics strip” from one of its contributors, Kayla E. Now #13, as usual, holds to editor Eric Reynolds' creed (from NOW #1) that this anthology showcase “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”
The current contributors list also includes a Leroy favorite, the great Steven Weissman. But let's take a look at each of Now #13's cartoonists' contributions individually:
THE LOWDOWN: The illustration that acts as Now #13's cover art is entitled “There is a Great Void,” and is produced by Kayla E. Kayla is all over this issue.
“Conceptual Illustration” by Roman Muradov:
This is a funny one-pager about a particular moment in an art/illustration class. It reminds me of the stories friends of mine told me about disputes between instructors and professors and students in college art classes.
“Paul Schrader on Big Decisions and Pauline Kael” and “Paul Schrader: Man of His Word” by Nathan Gelgud”:
Cartoonist Nathan Gelgud's comics are sometimes about the movies and movie stars, and he offers two such entries in Now #13. The first is this volume's second story, “Paul Schrader on Big Decisions and Pauline Kael.” The second is this volume's fourth story, “Paul Schrader: Man of His Word.” Both of them focus on real-life screenwriter and film director, Paul Schrader, who is best known for his collaborations with director Martin Scorsese. Schrader wrote Scorsese's 1976 film, Taxi Driver, and co-wrote his 1980 film, Raging Bull.
These two stories portray Schrader, who can be both outspoken and an outspoken asshole, as the put-upon one. That gives the “adversaries” in both stories a target for their ire, which in turn creates humorous scenarios. I find these two stories entertaining because I am a fan of American films and of its history, but both stories would be funny even if the characters had different professions. I could read a rather large collection of these humorous American cinema-related stories, or I'm sure I could enjoy more of Gelgud's work in general.
“How to Make Comics” by Caitlin Skaalrud”
If someone were to describe making comics, Skaalrud's contributions to Now #13 perfectly captures what it can be like trying to make comics. Sometimes, it is a vain attempt to orchestrate chaos and then, attempt to make chaos friends with madness and disorder. Also, “How to Make Comics” is a beautiful and lyrical narrative work.
“Pig” by Stacy Gougoulis:
Told in pages of three-color, with the third color shifting at varying intervals, “Pig” is about love and mortality. Centering on an elderly woman in need of a heart and on the pig that might provide that heart, Gougoulis' story challenges the reader's perception of how the story should, could, or would end. I'm not crazy about “choose your adventure” stories because I want to read the author's story even if I don't like the ending (see Anthony Horowitz's Moriarity: A Novel). “Pig” exemplifies why we should almost always choose the author's adventure.
“Escape from the Center” by Cynthia Alfonso:
This is like an exhibit at a college art show, and that's okay. I like it.
“Laird Bell” by Josh Pettinger:
This is a very sharp short, short story that uncomfortably made me think of the recent fatal shooting attack on a CEO of a repulsive health insurance conglomerate. With “Laird Bell,” Pettinger deftly manages to make what is scary seem sweet, quaint, and humorous. Sadly, fiction is the only place where scenarios involving stalking and homicidal intent are sweet.
“Anything Sinister” by Ross Murray:
If there is an entry here that could launch a television series on a streaming network, it is New Zealander Ross Murray's “Anything Sinister.” Focusing on a woman beset by a mysterious and debilitating back injury, it encapsulates how an unexpected event, especially a lingering medical condition can leave a person without any resources or without enough resources to make his or her life not fall apart. Considering the events of my life these past years, I felt “Anything Sinister” in my heart. It made me tear-up.
“The Vals Vs. Fresh Gurls” by Steven Weissman:
This story is a lot funnier and more playful than Weissman's usual Now contributions.
“Lizard Person” by Emil Fries Ernst:
The Danish cartoonist offers a story that is impressively metaphorical. You won't see the ending coming, although it seems obvious once you get there.
“You Cannot Live on Bread Alone” and “L'il Kayla Takes a Tumble” (back cover) by Kayla E.:
Kayla E. takes old comics and re-purposes them for her dark tales of domesticity and modern life. If the classic TV series, “I Love Lucy,” were created today, it would be closer to Kayla E.'s vision than it would be to the original 1950s series.
I usually pick a “best of” entry after each edition of Now that I review. My favorite Now #13 entry is “Anything Sinister” by Ross Murray. The truth is that I could have picked any of several stories as my Now #13 favorite. This edition of the series really emphasizes something that can get lost in the focus on the art comics aspects of Now, and that is the fact that this anthology has featured and continues to feature some excellent storytelling in the form of the comics medium. Also, there is a nice international flavor to Now #13.
If Now were a prose anthology, critics would call it “literary.”
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies and of The New Yorker will want to discover NOW: The New Comics Anthology.
A+
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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Now #13 contributors on the Web. Please, visit them and maybe buy something:
Cynthia Alfonso: https://www.instagram.com/zyn_vaites/
https://www.kaylaework.com/
Emil Friis Ernst: https://www.beingernst.com/
https://nathangelgud.com/
https://www.stacygougoulis.com/
Roman Muradov: https://bluebed.net/
https://www.rossmurray.com/
https://www.instagram.com/josh_pettinger/?hl=en
Caitlin Skaalrud: https://www.talkweirdpress.org/
https://www.instagram.com/wei_ss_man/?hl=en
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