For Chris Ware obsessives (myself included), this book is a must-have. Daniel Raeburn eloquently details the many reasons for calling his subject a genius. A master of illustration, design, typography, three-dimensional constructions, story-telling, rhythm and more, Mr. Ware is a godsend to the long-suffering comics industry. A true cartooning historian, Chris Ware’s graphic experiments are informed by a century of comic strip masters, while constantly improving on the form. The tragic irony of Ware’s chosen career is that he spends more time hunched over a drawing table than most of us do in a cubicle, sweating out the details for his picture-stories for months at a time, which in the end are read (and subsequently dismissed) by an average person in mere minutes. In discussing Ware’s profession of passion, Raeburn uses several metaphors to explain the essence of comics: music, architecture, writing, etc. The problem with these comparisons is that “comics” is a powerful medium unto itself, yet somehow typically maligned as less than an art form by the general culture. Pairing it with a more traditional art form only lessens its own unique traits.

Sprinkled through Ware’s biography are several secrets to his working methods. These are like vials of Elvis Presley’s sweat: priceless to his followers, but of questionable interest to anyone else. There is also brief but insightful analysis of some of his intricate page and cover compositions. What may please most people however, are the many images of seldom-seen personal pieces: hand-made models and toys, sketches and early versions of published pages, designs made for friends’ wedding announcements. The only drawbacks are how small these examples are shown, and the knowledge that so much more beautiful work remains hidden from public inspection.

There are no comments yet. You could be the first!