More from the life of Rusty Brown -- this new Ware edition is just gorgeous. His design is always top notch but this volume in particular is really spectacular. It's also a great fit for the Rusty story (W. K. Brown, a real life experimental/speculative fiction author) since it's very reminiscent of genre book design from the 1950s. The comic itself was what a Ware comic always is - sad, pathetic, heart-rending, meticulous, detailed, and sweeping. It did take me a bit longer than usual get into the Brown storyline, but now I'm beyond hooked. ( )

The brilliance of the Acme Novelty Library series continues unabated, with volume 19 introducing a tense science fiction prologue to the main narrative, featuring the repressed but fascinating protagonist Rusty Brown. Chris Ware is a master at exploring the lives of socially and culturally isolated people, and never succumbs to the easy temptations of sentimentality and pity that his subject matter wants so desperately to offer up. And that's all to the good - Ware is a true artist, and his explorations of the lonely modern spirit are rich, unexpected, and thoroughly believable. The Acme Novelty Library has already established itself as one of the major artworks of the early twenty-first century, and the nineteenth installment lives up to that well-deserved reputation. ( )