Acme Novelty Library #16
I will be the first to admit that a bit of the novelty of Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library series has died (couldn't resist ... sorry). We all love to see our favorite artists rise from the "underground" and make some money, but once they star doing regular installments for like, the New Yorker, you feel like enough has been enough. The example that comes to mind is the recent licensing of a Steven Malkmus song for a Sears commercial. Uh ...
Anyway, I am glad that Ware has "hit it big," but I think that he has gotten a tad lazy. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge, though. I haven't seen Acme Novelty Library #16 yet, so I'm hoping that maybe in the four year hiatus that Ware took to hit it big, design various book covers, and make some extra cash on the side by reprinting his old work, he didn't go too soft. Maybe this new comic will redeem the insecure artist (although I wonder how insecure he his these days ... )
Could this be a more optimistic comic?
Regardless of how good it turns out to be, I was surprised to hear that Ware is publishing the volume on his own ... Fantagraphics ain't doing it this time. Which also means that the 64 page book will not be seen in this format ever again. It will, however, be recollected into a Rusty Brown tome at some point. There will only be one run of #16 ... collectors beware!
(Hah -- I already ordered mine from Amazon.com ... cheap!)
Anyone heard anything 'bout #16? I'm excited to see it, for better or for worse ...