< comix/art >
THE ACME NOVELTY DATE BOOK
($39.95,
Drawn & Quarterly,
Oog & Blik)
This has been out a while but have you seen it yet? Believe it or not (perhaps you should opt not to), I didn't pay much attention to the hype for this book for a while because, silly me, I thought it was actually a "datebook". You know, a dayplanner or something with Chris Ware illustrations in it. I guess I should've known better.
In actuality, this is a collection of work from Ware's sketchbooks from 1986 to 1995. This book is a tremendous thing of beauty. The production is exquisite – hardbound, full-color, thick paper stock, lovely endpapers and even one of those goofy (oops, I mean "prestigious") bookmark-ribbon things.
The work itself is quite a treat. Like much of Ware's work, it can be quite depressing but oh, so beautiful at the same time. Personally, I love checking out artists' sketchbooks as their most interesting work is sometimes that which never gets published (or "finished"). The
Date Book showcases figure studies, unfinished ideas, color studies (lots of color), still lifes... Oh, and comics. For those not so nutty about sketchbooks, there are still lots and lots of comics, some unfinished, many ready to print (in my opinion). Which, I guess, is good. Since they've now been printed. You know what I mean.
It makes me wish I could see Ware's sketchbooks themselves to get the whole story (so to speak) but I'll be contented with this collection for a while. Recommended.
[ Link to this review ]
