The Mammoth Book of Cult Comics - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0762454687 ISBN 13: 9780762454686

Publisher: Running Pr Book Pub, 2014

Synopsis

Brought together for the first time in a single volume, these cult comics are lost classics of underground and independent British and American comic-strip art.
The comics collected in this anthology are the hidden gems of the comic world--independent artists and writers who greatly influenced the world of comics.

About this title

Review:

Ilya's selection of comics spanning from 1983 to 2006--cult comics if in the UK, alternative comics in the U.S.--is altogether outstanding. The variety of style and subject is gratifyingly broad yet exclusive. Superheroes and funny animals are nowhere in sight, with the closest thing being the alien bodyguard, Sadist, in Dom Morris' wild, Marvel-inflected portrayal of the pop-music biz as a criminally hedonistic racket. Equally raucous is Jonathan Edwards' mash-up of Damon Runyon and An American Werewolf in London in "Aunt Connie and the Plague of Beards," which looks like an artistically streamlined, comedic outtake from Munoz and Sampayo's famous Alack Sinner. Very different in atmosphere is the harrowing kitchen-sink realism, full of close-ups and violence, of Gregory Benton's "Hummingbird," about a little girl unfortunately dependent on monumentally dysfunctional adults. Realistic autobiographical comics abound, from an Eddie Campbell story about his "Blues" after being dumped to John Welding's diary comic about living in a country cottage, during which he frequently changes drawing style. Off on a tangent from drawn realism is Paul O'Connell's "The Sound of Drowning," a tour-de-force photo-collage in which Doris Day encounters the cast of TV's Happy Days in postapocalyptic America. And the other 14 entries are just as exceptional.
"--Booklist" starred review

[A]ltogether outstanding. The variety of style and subject is gratifyingly broad yet exclusive. Superheroes and funny animals are nowhere in sight, with the closest thing being the alien bodyguard, Sadist, in Dom Morris' wild, Marvel-inflected portrayal of the pop-music biz as a criminally hedonistic racket. Equally raucous is Jonathan Edwards' mash-up of Damon Runyon and An American Werewolf in London in "Aunt Connie and the Plague of Beards," which looks like an artistically streamlined, comedic outtake from Munoz and Sampayo's famous Alack Sinner. Very different in atmosphere is the harrowing kitchen-sink realism, full of close-ups and violence, of Gregory Benton's "Hummingbird," about a little girl unfortunately dependent on monumentally dysfunctional adults. Realistic autobiographical comics abound, from an Eddie Campbell story about his "Blues" after being dumped to John Welding's diary comic about living in a country cottage, during which he frequently changes drawing style. Off on a tangent from drawn realism is Paul O'Connell's "The Sound of Drowning," a tour-de-force photo-collage in which Doris Day encounters the cast of TV's Happy Days in postapocalyptic America. And the other 14 entries are just as exceptional.
"--Booklist" starred review

[W]hat we get in this collection is a wide range of cult comics that span from the early 1990s to the modern day, each new comic has a brief biography of the creator, followed by some comments on what they are doing now. After that it is the story, or collection of stories. Each one is individual and different, with a unique way of story telling. This book will appeal to people who like independent press comics, and not the more mainstream superhero comics. "The Mammoth Book of Cult Comics" is for people who want a more unique story to be told in a unique style. 5 STARS
"--Portland Book Review"

[A]ltogether outstanding. The variety of style and subject is gratifyingly broad yet exclusive. Superheroes and funny animals are nowhere in sight, with the closest thing being the alien bodyguard, Sadist, in Dom Morris' wild, Marvel-inflected portrayal of the pop-music biz as a criminally hedonistic racket. Equally raucous is Jonathan Edwards' mash-up of Damon Runyon and An American Werewolf in London in "Aunt Connie and the Plague of Beards," which looks like an artistically streamlined, comedic outtake from Munoz and Sampayo's famous Alack Sinner. Very different in atmosphere is the harrowing kitchen-sink realism, full of close-ups and violence, of Gregory Benton's "Hummingbird," about a little girl unfortunately dependent on monumentally dysfunctional adults. Realistic autobiographical comics abound, from an Eddie Campbell story about his "Blues" after being dumped to John Welding's diary comic about living in a country cottage, during which he frequently changes drawing style. Off on a tangent from drawn realism is Paul O'Connell's "The Sound of Drowning," a tour-de-force photo-collage in which Doris Day encounters the cast of TV's Happy Days in postapocalyptic America. And the other 14 entries are just as exceptional.
--Booklist starred review

Book Description:

Lost classics from underground and independent comic strip art

About this edition

• Publisher: Running Pr Book Pub
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0762454687
• ISBN 13: 9780762454686
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448
• Editor: Ilya