Help me find some neat comic anthologies.

November 25, 2007 6:58 PM

Help me find some neat comic anthologies.

Probably because I grew up on Mad magazines, I'm a fan of comic anthologies like Drippytown, which feature a whole bunch of different artists in each issue. I'm partial to series' like this, because as a amateur comic creator, I like getting exposed to numerous artist's styles as it helps my own taste grow. I'm looking for hot tips on where to find similar series, either by ordering online or at my local comics stores (I live in Vancouver, BC).

Thanks!

posted by radiocontrolled to Media & Arts (12 answers total)

Have you checked out the Flight comics? They're on book 4, and each one is full of great artists and stories. Any self-respecting Borders, BnN, or [insert Canadian Big Box Books] will have them in their comics/graphic novels section.
posted by gc at 7:12 PM on November 25, 2007

Seconding Flight, they're beautiful.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:18 PM on November 25, 2007

I highly recommend the Mome series from Fantagraphics books. You shouldn't have any problems finding it in Vancouver, but if you do, you can order from the Fantagraphics website.
posted by polyester.lumberjack at 7:29 PM on November 25, 2007

mcsweeney's #13 edited by chris ware, kramer's ergot, best american comics...
posted by white light at 7:30 PM on November 25, 2007

The old Drawn and Quarterly magazine was a phenomenal series...some of the original magazines as well as a couple best of anthologies are available. They've replaced the magazine series with Drawn and Quarterly Showcase, each issue featuring two or three different artists; all of them are recommended. Also, I'll second all of white light's picks, especially Kramer's Ergot, if you like freaky shit.
posted by freem at 8:34 PM on November 25, 2007

In addition to the above, there's MySpace Dark Horse Presents which is all online and free. Image's 400+ monster anthology Popgun is coming out soon. There are two volumes of 24Seven, an anthology based around a city full of robots.

There are some oldies worth hunting down as well. A Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics is an excellent find and pretty cheap used, if I remember. Fantagraphic's two volume The Very Best Comics of the Decade is a sterling example of what every anthology should be -- an thorough survey of an era, trapped in amber (in this case, the 80s B&W movement).

If you can hunt down any old issues of RAW without spending a mint, they're pretty much the gold standard of this sort of thing. You couldn't pry mine out of my cold dead hands if you tried.
posted by samh23 at 8:41 PM on November 25, 2007

Check out the Last Gasp web site. More here.
posted by gingerbeer at 8:56 PM on November 25, 2007

Also by Fantagraphics, there's Blab!
posted by ethel at 9:10 PM on November 25, 2007

All of these recommendations are pretty much fantastic, and I'd like to add AdHouse's Projects Romantic, Telstar, and Superior, the last of which seems to be totally out of print and going for high prices, but a local comic shop worth its salt might have an copy sitting around unbought. They're themed for romance comics/science fiction/superheroes, but they're all quite clever and well-written and pretty well dodge the clichéd tropes of their genres.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 9:16 PM on November 25, 2007

2nd Raw and Best American Comics.
posted by kmennie at 9:34 PM on November 25, 2007

The Bundles of Trouble from The Knights of the Dinner Table are awesome, if you like table top gaming. Volume 23 is just about to come out.
posted by Effigy2000 at 1:02 AM on November 26, 2007

I'm not sure if it's the style of comic you're after, but Marvel Digital Comics has a ton of free samples from pretty much the whole spectrum of stuff they've past and present. (And more if you subscribe of course) - Since I'm only familiar with the more recent mainstream releases like Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men I don't know how some of the more little known titles might suit your request, but hey, it's free.
posted by paulfreeman at 8:48 AM on November 26, 2007