Eric Reynolds (1)

The eleventh installment of Mome is further evidence that the series has really matured, and is now regularly featuring contributions from first-rate artists who are stretching the boundaries of the graphic narrative form. Now-familiar names such as Al Columbia, Eleanor Davis, Dash Shaw, and Emile Bravo do not disappoint, and Tom Kaczynski's "Million Year Boom" is a revelation and a joy to read. Contributions from new names Nate Neal, Conor O'Keefe, and Killoffer are intriguing and show more worthwhile as well.

Admittedly, there are a couple of clunkers herein, including a dull prose piece from Paul Hornschemeier and idiosyncratic oddities from Ray Fenwick and Andrice Arp that don't really amount to much, either visually or conceptually. But the weak pieces in the eleventh volume of Mome are heavily outweighed by the unique visions and considerable talent of Davis, Shaw, and particularly Kaczynski, and those items alone are more than enough reason to look forward to the next edition of Mome. show less

The Spring 2007 issue of Mome is one of the best yet, and that is largely due to the contributions of two new members of the fold, Eleanor Davis and Tom Kaczynski. Davis' Seven Sacks is wonderfully cute, mysterious, and creepy in equal measures, and bodes well for the future of Mome (assuming that she can maintain the pace required of a regular contributor).

The second part of Lewis Trondheim's "At Loose Ends" is a fun ride, and I certainly hope that Trondheim will appear in future editions show more of Mome. Al Columbia is new to me, but his Chopped-Up People is pretty amazing stuff, both beautiful and horrific at the same time. It's pieces like this that have kept me on board with Mome since the beginning - although Mome is horribly uneven all around, it manages to keep my interest up with surprising and rewarding items such as this piece from Columbia.

Lastly, although it may seem like gloating, I'm glad to read in the Editors' Notes for this issue that Gabrielle Bell and Jeffrey Brown will no longer be contributing to Mome. My comment above about Mome being uneven is driven largely by the inclusion of pieces from mediocre creators such as Bell, Brown, and Sophie Crumb. With Eleanor Davis and Tom Kaczynski as the heirs apparent for Bell and Brown, the future of Mome looks bright indeed. show less

I think it's amusing that two of the better stories I ever read in this anthology of nonsensical alternative comics gibberish are about athletic events.

Kudos to Jacob Weinstein for his piece on table tennis in India -- which I truly hope is the opening chapter of a longer work -- and to M.S. Harkness for her peek behind the scenes at a powerlifting competition in the early days of COVID shutdowns.

The rest of the book consists of the disposable gobbledygook that edgy cartoonists are show more constantly trying to pass off as art.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Feminist Mountain Man [Front Cover] / Rebecca Morgan -- The Counterweight / Julia Gfrörer -- Steve McQueen in The Mobbing Birds / Tim Lane -- T.D. Ramanujan / Jacob Weinstein -- No More Or Less Alive / Steven Weissman -- Go Big, Then Stay Home / M. S. Harkness -- I'm Trying to Sleep / Walt Holcombe -- You Wouldn't Think So But It Happens All the Time / Theo Ellsworth -- Miserable Mildrid / Joakim Drescher -- I Hate Parties / Silvia Rocchi -- Real Witches / Alex Nall, writer; Hartley Lin, artist -- Taffy / Chris Wright -- Mellow Mutt / Noah Van Sciver -- Free Cone Day! / Celia Vårhed -- Five Shorts [Blue Fear -- Magic Circle -- Mister Mystery -- Scenic Route -- Taking a Walk] / Richard Sala -- In This Short Life / Karl Stevens -- Then . . . But . . . NOW [Back Cover] / Nick Thornburn show less

Faint praise time: This is probably the issue of Now: The New Comics Anthology that I have disliked the least.

Sure, the first 44 pages are given over to a scribbly, icky autobiographical story about an age-gap sexual relationship with barely legible lettering that almost made me give up on reading this book, and yeah, the next 16 pages are more legible but barely any more readable.

But then Noah Van Sciver delivers a dumb but loving little tribute to Basil Wolverton's Spacehawk, Emil Friis show more Ernst contributes a bizarrely enthralling bit of nonsense about a mysterious motorcyclist, Ben Nadler delves into a sci-fi take on a family trauma that spans decades, Ethel Wolfe offers up a skeevy YouTuber with a face you just want to punch, and finally John Ohannesian prods the limits of freedom of expression in just three panels on the back cover. I'm not in love with any of these stories, but after the wasted first half of the book, they were certainly a welcome relief.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Nine [Front Cover] / Raquelle Jac -- The Real Me / Theo Ellsworth -- Misguided Love / Raquelle Jac -- The 'Raindrop' Prelude / Keren Katz -- Spacehawk / Noah Van Sciver -- Zoom / Emil Friis Ernst -- Quarryhouse / Ben Nadler -- How Mums Annoy You / Ethel Wolfe -- Art [Back Cover] / John Ohannesian show less