''Acme Novelty Library'' is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series created by

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

cartoonist

Chris Ware Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American cartoonist known for his '' Acme Novelty Library'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels ''Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), ''Building Stories'' (201 ...

. Its first issue appeared in 1993. Published from 1994 by Fantagraphics Books and later self-published,Fantagraphics Books – Artist Bio – Chris Ware
/ref> it is considered a significant work in

alternative comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...

, selling over 20,000 copies per issue.

Format, style and content

''Acme Novelty Library'' has adopted numerous formats in the course of the series and, similarly, doesn't feature a continuous cast of characters. It has showcased early Ware comics, such as ''

Quimby the Mouse ''Quimby the Mouse'' was created by Chris Ware while he attended the University of Texas at Austin from 1990 to 1991 (some of the strip was written from 1992 to 1993) The strip originally appeared in the student paper, ''The Daily Texan''. The s ...

'' from ''

The Daily Texan ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spring semesters, and it is among ...

'', and more recent strips from ''

NewCity Newcity is a media company based in Chicago, founded in 1986 by Brian and Jan Hieggelke." It started as the ''Newcity'' independent, free weekly newspaper in Chicago. Effective March 2017, the founders changed the newspaper into a glossy monthly ...

'', a Chicago weekly paper. Ware's first major

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

, '' Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'', was originally serialized in ''Acme Novelty Library'' between 1995 and 2000. ''Jimmy Corrigan'' is the saga of a lonely childlike man and his alienated ancestors, partly inspired by Ware's hopeful but unhappy reunion with his absentee father. The collected edition was released to much acclaim, winning the

Guardian First Book Award The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspap ...

, amongst others. '' Rusty Brown'' and ''

Building Stories ''Building Stories'' is a 2012 graphic novel by American cartoonist Chris Ware. The unconventional work is made up of fourteen printed works—cloth-bound books, newspapers, broadsheets and flip books—packaged in a boxed set. The work took a ...

'' began serialization in issue 16. With this issue, Ware also began to self-publish the title, with Fantagraphics and later

Drawn & Quarterly Drawn & Quarterly is a publishing company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, specializing in comics. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections. The books it publishes are noted for their artistic content, a ...

acting as distributor. When asked why he chose to self-publish Ware stated:

Well, it's for a complicated variety of reasons, but mostly it was because I realized a year or two ago that I simply wasn’t really inspired to do it any more, and when I imagined taking over every aspect of it myself, I was suddenly inspired, almost anxious, to work on it again. In short, it just feels a little more like "art" to me now, since I’m responsible for everything that goes into it, and there’s no one to blame but myself if it's awful...

Issues are imbued with the defining characteristics of Ware's work; a pervasive sadness and nihilism permeate tales of disappointment, thwarted affection, and the dehumanization of the individual in a modern and mechanized world.The Guardian: The Art of Melancholy, October 31, 2005
/ref> Through the use of apparently extraneous novelties, such as cut-outs and flip-books, and prose parodies set in tiny fonts, Ware blurs the boundaries between author/reader/character. These interventions offer complex and simultaneous multilinear readings of the page that serve to thematise Ware's engagement with issues of narrative and continuity.

Acme Novelty Library series

Issues 1–15 were published by Fantagraphics Books. Ware started self-publishing the series starting with #16, which was distributed by Fantagraphics, with subsequent issues distributed by

. Issue 18 was published in 2007 containing Ware's "

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

" covers for the November 26, 2006, issue of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', plus supplementary material, in portfolio format. The title has been collected into volumes published by Pantheon Books (US), Fantagraphics Books (US) and Jonathan Cape (UK): * '' Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), Pantheon / Cape (collects issue 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11–14). * ''

'' (2003), Fantagraphics / Cape (collects issues 2 and 4 with additional material). * ''The Acme Novelty Library Final Report to Shareholders and Rainy Day Saturday Afternoon Fun Book'' (2005), Pantheon / Cape (collects issues 7 and 15 with additional material, including parody ads and the ACME company "tour"). * ''

'' (2012), Pantheon Books Pantheon / Cape (collects issue 18 with material from issue 16, other periodicals, and new material). * '' Rusty Brown'' (2019), Pantheon Books (collects material from issues 16, 17, 19, 20, as well as new material). Numbers 1, 3, and 10 are the only issues to remain uncollected at this time.

Awards

The series has been widely recognized in the industry. The series won the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series of 1996 and 2000; Best New Graphic Album of 2000; and Best Publication Design of 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2002. Furthermore, an ''Acme Novelty Library'' display stand won the Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Product of 1998. Ware won the Eisner Award for his work in ''Acme Novelty Library'' for Best Artist/Writer-Drama of 2008; Best Artist/Writer of 2009; Best Colorist of 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2006; and Best Letterer of 2009. The series won the

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that we ...

for Best New Series of 1995; Best Continuing or Limited Series of 2000 and 2001; Best Single Issue or Story of 1997 and 2000; and Harvey Special Award for Excellence in Presentation every year from 1995 to 2000. Ware won the

for his work in ''Acme Novelty Library'' for Best Cartoonist of 2006; Best Letterer of 1996, 2000, 2002, and 2006; Best Cover Artist of 2000; and Best Colorist of 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2002. The series won

Ignatz Awards The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...

for Outstanding Series of 1997, 1998; Outstanding Comic of 1998 and 2000; Outstanding Story of 2000 (''Jimmy Corrigan''); and Outstanding Graphic Novel of 2009. Other awards won by ''Acme Novelty Library'' include 1999 National Cartoonists Society's Award for Best Comic Book and Good Taste Awards for Best New Series of 1994; Best Continuing Series of 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2000; Best Single Issue of 1996, 1999, and 2000; Best Ongoing Serialized Story of 1999 (''Jimmy Corrigan''); and Best Production Design of 1998, 1999, and 2000.Good Taste Awards
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Fantagraphics Comics Comics by Chris Ware Fantagraphics titles 1993 comics debuts Eisner Award winners for Best Continuing Series Eisner Award winners for Best Graphic Album: New Harvey Award winners for Best New Series Harvey Award winners for Best Continuing or Limited Series Harvey Award winners for Best Single Issue or Story Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Series Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Story Metafictional comics