A review by staciesbooks
The Best American Comics 2013 by Jeff Smith
3.0
This collection was pretty average. There were some that I loved and some that I detested, but most of them were sort of just "meh." I found myself gravitating towards the tremendously dark, cryptic, and weird ones.
My favorites were:
The Divine Manifestation of a Singular Impulse by Jesse Jacobs, Turn Back by Sam Alden, Manananggal by Michael DeForge, The Good Wife by Sophie Goldstein, and The Strange Boy by Derf Backderf.
I would love to check out more from those above. I already know I ADORE Michael DeForge's artwork, as I've read other things by him, but it's cool to have found some other people to research.
Everything else just seemed so bland and "safe," like some cartoonists were afraid to push the envelop with their art. There were a large amount of excerpts, so maybe in the context of the larger work the stories got better. However, if this is supposed to be a collection of the "best" and if you give me a plain, boring-ass excerpt then I'm going to have to pass on the main body of work the excerpt came from. I'm glad I found a few that I liked though, you never really know what to expect when diving into a big collection like this.
Not gonna bother with individual summaries, some didn't even really have much of a plot and were more there to evoke a feeling, but here's a breakdown of my scores for each section:
70 Nights of Pleasure- 2 stars
The Story of Gráinne Ní Mháille- 3.5 stars
American Elf- 1 star
You Lied to Us!- 2.75 stars
Story Time- 4 stars
Raiders- 3 stars
1912- 3.5 stars
A Husband and a Wife- 2.5 stars
Mirror- 2.5 stars
The Speaker- 4 stars
The Divine Manifestation of a Singular Impulse- 5 stars
Turn Back- 5 stars
Manananggal- 5 stars
The Good Wife- 4 stars
Four Comics- 3.5 stars
Nita Goes Home- 2 stars
Concrete Park- 3 stars
Top Five- 3 stars
The Strange Boy- 4.5 stars
A Killer Surprise- 4 stars
George- 4 stars
Velocipede- 3 stars
Fun Strips- 1.5 stars
Saints in the Store- 2 stars
Scary Bathtub Stories- 3.5 stars
Cody- 3 stars
In the Rough- 1 star
Love Me Forever! Oh! Oh! Oh!- 4 stars
Discipline- 3.75 stars
1969 2.5 stars
My favorites were:
The Divine Manifestation of a Singular Impulse by Jesse Jacobs, Turn Back by Sam Alden, Manananggal by Michael DeForge, The Good Wife by Sophie Goldstein, and The Strange Boy by Derf Backderf.
I would love to check out more from those above. I already know I ADORE Michael DeForge's artwork, as I've read other things by him, but it's cool to have found some other people to research.
Everything else just seemed so bland and "safe," like some cartoonists were afraid to push the envelop with their art. There were a large amount of excerpts, so maybe in the context of the larger work the stories got better. However, if this is supposed to be a collection of the "best" and if you give me a plain, boring-ass excerpt then I'm going to have to pass on the main body of work the excerpt came from. I'm glad I found a few that I liked though, you never really know what to expect when diving into a big collection like this.
Not gonna bother with individual summaries, some didn't even really have much of a plot and were more there to evoke a feeling, but here's a breakdown of my scores for each section:
70 Nights of Pleasure- 2 stars
The Story of Gráinne Ní Mháille- 3.5 stars
American Elf- 1 star
You Lied to Us!- 2.75 stars
Story Time- 4 stars
Raiders- 3 stars
1912- 3.5 stars
A Husband and a Wife- 2.5 stars
Mirror- 2.5 stars
The Speaker- 4 stars
The Divine Manifestation of a Singular Impulse- 5 stars
Turn Back- 5 stars
Manananggal- 5 stars
The Good Wife- 4 stars
Four Comics- 3.5 stars
Nita Goes Home- 2 stars
Concrete Park- 3 stars
Top Five- 3 stars
The Strange Boy- 4.5 stars
A Killer Surprise- 4 stars
George- 4 stars
Velocipede- 3 stars
Fun Strips- 1.5 stars
Saints in the Store- 2 stars
Scary Bathtub Stories- 3.5 stars
Cody- 3 stars
In the Rough- 1 star
Love Me Forever! Oh! Oh! Oh!- 4 stars
Discipline- 3.75 stars
1969 2.5 stars