Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

known for his ''

Acme Novelty Library ''Acme Novelty Library'' is a comic book series created by Chicago cartoonist Chris Ware. Its first issue appeared in 1993. Published from 1994 by Fantagraphics Books and later self-published, it is considered a significant work in alternative co ...

'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels '' Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), '' Building Stories'' (2012) and ''

Rusty Brown ''Rusty Brown'' is a continuing series of comics by American cartoonist Chris Ware, named after its protagonist. In the strip, Brown is shown as a young Nebraskan boy and as a man approaching middle age, who has a lifelong obsession with collec ...

'' (2019). His works explore themes of social isolation, emotional torment and depression. He tends to use a vivid color palette and realistic, meticulous detail. His lettering and images are often elaborate and sometimes evoke the ragtime era or another early 20th-century American design style. Ware often refers to himself in the publicity for his work in self-effacing, even withering tones. He is considered by some critics and fellow notable

illustrators An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicated ...

and writers, such as

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. His 2000 memoir, '' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'', became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is a ...

, to be among the best currently working in the medium; Canadian graphic-novelist

Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...

has said, "Chris really changed the playing field. After him, a lot of artoonistsreally started to scramble and go, 'Holy xpletive I think I have to try harder.'"

Career

Born in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, Ware resides in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

.Chris Ware bio at Fantagraphics
/ref> His earliest published strips appeared in the late 1980s on the comics page of ''

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 is among th ...

'', the student newspaper of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. In addition to numerous daily strips under different titles, Ware also had a weekly satirical

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

serial in the paper titled '' Floyd Farland - Citizen of the Future''. This was eventually published in 1988 as a

prestige format American comic book tropes are common elements and literary devices related to American comic books. Continuity Comics continuity almost-always refers to the existence and use of a shared universe, although any comic can have internal continui ...

comic book from

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...

, and its publication even led to a brief correspondence between Ware and

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...

. While still a sophomore at UT, Ware came to the attention of

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

, who invited Ware to contribute to '' Raw'', the influential anthology magazine Spiegelman was co-editing with

Françoise Mouly Françoise Mouly (; born 24 October 1955) is a French-born American designer, editor and publisher. She is best known as co-founder, co-editor, and publisher of the comics and graphics magazine ''Raw (comics magazine), Raw'' (1980–1991), as t ...

. Ware has acknowledged that being included in ''Raw'' gave him confidence and inspired him to explore printing techniques and self-publishing. His

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

series ''Acme Novelty Library'' defied comics publishing conventions with every issue. The series featured a combination of new material as well as reprints of work Ware had done for the ''Texan'' (such as ''Quimby the Mouse'') and the Chicago weekly paper ''

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 ...

''. Ware's work appeared originally in ''Newcity'' before he moved on to his current "home", the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

''. Beginning with the 16th issue of ''Acme Novelty Library'', Ware began

self-publishing Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fro ...

his work while maintaining a relationship with Fantagraphics for distribution and storage. This was a return to Ware's early career, self-publishing such books as ''Lonely Comics and Stories'' as well as miniature digests of stories based on Quimby the Mouse and an unnamed potato-like creature. In recent years he has also been involved in editing (and designing) several books and book series, including the new reprint series of '' Gasoline Alley'' from

Drawn & Quarterly Drawn & Quarterly (D+Q) 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 con ...

titled ''Walt and Skeezix''; a reprint series of ''

Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, created by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-America ...

'' by Fantagraphics; and the 13th volume of ''

Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'' is an American literary journal, founded in 1998, typically containing short stories, reportage, and illustrations. Some issues also include poetry, comic strips, and novellas. ''The Quarterly Concern'' ...

'', which is devoted to comics. He was the editor of ''The Best American Comics 2007'', the second installment devoted to comics in the '' Best American'' series. In 2007, Ware curated an exhibition for the

Phoenix Art Museum The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest art museum, museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,0 ...

focused on the non-comic work of five contemporary cartoonists. The exhibition, titled "UnInked: Paintings, Sculpture and Graphic Works by Five Cartoonists", ran from April 21 through August 19. Ware also edited and designed the catalog for the exhibition. In 2017, Ware's book ''Monograph'' appeared. It is a part-memoir, part-scrapbook retrospective of his career to that point. The

New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

described it as "a grand tomb in the Egyptian mold, whose contents will tell anyone who breaks into it what this person’s life was like," adding that "it seems almost an invasion of privacy to enter this crypt."

Style

Ware's art reflects early 20th-century American styles of cartooning and

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

, shifting through formats from traditional comic panels to faux advertisements and cut-out toys. Stylistic influences include advertising graphics from that same era; newspaper strip cartoonists

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–1914; 1924–1927) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he w ...

('' Little Nemo in Slumberland'') and Frank King ('' Gasoline Alley'');

Charles Schulz Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz ( ; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist, the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'' which features his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is widely regarded as ...

's post-WWII strip ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

'' and the cover designs of ragtime-era sheet music. Ware has spoken about finding inspiration in the work of artist

Joseph Cornell Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and filmmaker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde experimental filmma ...

and cites

Richard McGuire Richard McGuire (born 1957 in New Jersey) is an American graphic novelist, artist, and musician. His illustrations have been published in ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Le Monde,'' and his work is in the collections of the Mu ...

's strip ''

Here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

'' as a major influence on his use of non-linear narratives. Ware has said of his own style:

I arrived at my way of "working" as a way of visually approximating what I feel the tone of fiction to be in prose versus the tone one might use to write biography; I would never do a biographical story using the deliberately synthetic way of cartooning I use to write fiction. I try to use the rules of typography to govern the way that I "draw", which keeps me at a sensible distance from the story as well as being a visual analog to the way we remember and conceptualize the world. I figured out this way of working by learning from and looking at artists I admired and whom I thought came closest to getting at what seemed to me to be the "essence" of comics, which is fundamentally the weird process of reading pictures, not just looking at them. I see the black outlines of cartoons as visual approximations of the way we remember general ideas, and I try to use naturalistic color underneath them to simultaneously suggest a perceptual experience, which I think is more or less the way we actually experience the world as adults; we don't really "see" anymore after a certain age, we spend our time naming and categorizing and identifying and figuring how everything all fits together. Unfortunately, as a result, I guess sometimes readers get a chilled or antiseptic sensation from it, which is certainly not intentional, and is something I admit as a failure, but is also something I can't completely change at the moment.

Although his precise, geometrical layouts may appear to some to be computer-generated, Ware works almost exclusively with manual drawing tools such as paper and ink, rulers and T-squares. He does, however, sometimes use photocopies and transparencies, and he employs a computer to color his strips.

Recurring characters and stories

Quimby the Mouse

Quimby the Mouse was an early character for Ware and something of a breakthrough. Rendered in the style of an early animation character like

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan (film producer), Pat Sullivan during the silent film era. An anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic young black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, ...

, Quimby the Mouse is perhaps Ware's most autobiographical character. Quimby's relationship with a cat head named Sparky is by turns conflict-ridden and loving, and thus intended to reflect all human relationships. While Quimby exhibits mobility, Sparky remains immobile and helpless, subject to all the indignities Quimby visits upon him. Quimby also acts as a narrator for Ware's reminiscences of his youth, in particular his relationship with his grandmother. Sometimes illustrated as a two-headed mouse, Quimby embodies both Ware and his grandmother, and the duality of a young and old body. Quimby was presented in a series of smaller panels than most comics, almost providing the illusion of motion à la a

zoetrope A zoetrope is a Precursors of film#Modern era, pre-film animation device that produces the illusion of motion, by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. A zoetrope is a cylindrical variant of ...

. In fact, Ware once designed a zoetrope to be cut out and constructed by the reader in order to watch a Quimby "

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...

". Ware's ingenuity is neatly shown in this willingness to break from the confines of the page. Quimby the Mouse appears in the logo of a Chicago-based bookstore
Quimby's
, although their shared name was originally a coincidence.

Rusty Brown

Ware's ''

'' focuses on the titular character, examining his life in the present and through flashbacks of his childhood, focusing on his arrested development and attachment to cultural objects. As the story expands, it diverges into multiple storylines about Brown's father's early life in the 1950s as a

writer (''Acme Novelty Library #19'') and his best friend Chalky White's adult home life. The first part of ''Rusty Brown'' was published in book form in 2019 by

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint. Founded in 1942 as an independent publishing house in New York City by Kurt and Helen Wolff, it specialized in introducing progressive European works to American readers. In 1961, it was ...

Building Stories

Ware's '' Building Stories'' was serialized in a host of different venues. It first appeared as a monthly strip in ''Nest Magazine''. Installments later appeared in a number of publications, including ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''Kramer's Ergot'', and most notably, the Sunday ''

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazin ...

''. ''Building Stories'' appeared weekly in the ''New York Times Magazine'' from September 18, 2005 until April 16, 2006. A full chapter was published in ''Acme Novelty Library'', number 18. Another installment was published under the title "Touch Sensitive" as a digital app released through McSweeneys. The entire narrative was published as a boxed set of books by Pantheon in October 2012. The boxed set holds 14 different works, in various sizes and forms, weaving through the life of an unnamed brown haired woman.

''The Last Saturday''

Ware's latest project, '' The Last Saturday'', a "comic novella," began appearing online every Friday at the website of the UK newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', starting in September 2014. The story follows a few people in Sandy Port, Michigan: Putnam Gray, a young boy caught up in his sci-fi and space fantasies; Sandy Grains, a young girl and classmate who is interested in Putnam; Rosie Gentry, a young girl and classmate with whom Putnam is infatuated; Mr. and Mrs. Gray and Mrs. Grains. The strip also features in the newspaper's Weekend magazine. The serialization has now apparently ended after 54 instalments. The bottom right-hand corner of the last page has a note that says, "END, PART ONE", but , there appears to be no indication from ''The Guardian'' or from Ware that there is to be a Part Two.

Non-comics work

Ware is an ardent collector of

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

paraphernalia and occasionally publishes a journal devoted to the music titled '' The Ragtime Ephemeralist''. He also plays the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

. The influence of the music and the graphics of its era can be seen in Ware's work, especially in regard to logos and layout. Ware has designed album covers and posters for such ragtime performers as the Et Cetera String Band, Virginia Tichenor, Reginald R. Robinson, the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Guido Nielsen. He has also designed covers and posters for non-ragtime performers such as Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire and 5ive Style. In October 2005 Ware designed the elaborate cover art for

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

' new edition of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

's ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

''. Ware was commissioned by

Chip Kidd Charles Kidd (born 1964) is an American graphic designer known for Cover art, book covers. Early childhood Born in Shillington, Pennsylvania, Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up being fascinated and heavily inspired by Am ...

to design the inner machinations of the bird on the cover of

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for hi ...

's novel ''

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a novel published in 1994–1995 by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The American translation and its British adaptation, dubbed the "only official translations" ( English), are by Jay Rubin and were first published in 1997. For this novel, ...

''. In 2003-04, Ware worked with Ira Glass of ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'' and Chicago historian Tim Samuelson to illustrate and design ''Lost Buildings'' about Samuelson and the preservation of Chicago's old buildings, particularly

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...

's buildings.Ball, p. xvii Originally produced for a live "Lost in America" stage show in 2003, ''Lost Buildings'' was later published as a book and DVD. In 2007-08, he produced animations for the ''This American Life'' television series on Showtime and also contributed to the show as a color consultant. Ware created poster art for

Tamara Jenkins Tamara Jenkins (born May 2, 1962) is an American filmmaker and occasional actress. She is best known for her feature films '' Slums of Beverly Hills'' (1998), '' Private Life'' (2018), and '' The Savages'' (2007). She received an Academy Award f ...

' 2007 film '' The Savages'' and her 2018 film '' Private Life''.

Mural for 826 Valencia

commissioned Ware to design the mural for the facade of San Francisco literacy project

826 Valencia 826 Valencia is a non-profit organization in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, United States, dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. It was ...

. The mural depicts "the parallel development of humans and their efforts at and motivations for communication, spoken and written." The 3.9m x 6m mural was applied by artisans to Ware’s specifications. Describing the work, Ware said "I didn’t want it to make anyone 'feel good', especially in that typically muralistic 'hands across the water' sort of way,"..."I especially wanted it to be something that people living in the neighbourhood could look at day after day and hopefully not tire of too quickly. I really hoped whomever might happen to come across it would find something that showed a respect for their intelligence, and didn’t force-feed them any 'message'."

''Fortune'' 500 cover

In 2010, Ware designed the cover for ''

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

'' magazine's "Fortune 500" issue, but it was rejected. Ware had mentioned the work at a panel at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo on April 16, as first noted in an April 20 blog post by Matthew J. Brady. The cover, featuring the circle-shaped humans common in Ware's more broadly socially satirical comic-strips, turned the numbers 500 into skyscrapers looming over the continental United States. On the roofs, corporate bosses drink, dance, and sun themselves as a helicopter drops a shovelful of money down for them. Below, among signs reading "Credit Default Swap Flea Market," "Greenspan Lube Pro," and "401K Cemetery," a helicopter scoops money out of the US Treasury with a shovel, cars pile up in Detroit, and flag-waving citizens party around a boiling tea kettle in the shape of an elephant. In the Gulf of Mexico, homes are sinking, while hooded prisoners sit in Guantanamo, a "Factory of Exploitation" keeps going in Mexico, China is tossing American dollars into the Pacific, and the roof of bankrupted Greece's Treasury has blown off. A spokesperson for the magazine only said that, as is their practice, they had commissioned a number of possible covers from different artists, including Ware. Brady wrote in his blog that Ware said at the panel he "accepted the job because it would be like doing the over for the1929 issue of the magazine".

''Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives''

In 2011, Ware created the poster for the U.S. release of the 2010 film '' Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives'' by Thai director

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Apichatpong Weerasethakul (; ; , born 16 July 1970) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, film producer and Professor at Tama Art University in Tokyo. Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system, Apichatpong h ...

. Describing the poster, Ware said "I wanted to get at both the transcendent solemnity of the film while keeping some sense of its loose, very unpretentious accessibility... This being a poster, however—and even worse, me not really being a designer—I realized it also had to be somewhat punchy and strange, so as to draw viewers in and pique their curiosity without, hopefully, insulting their intelligence."

Awards and honors

Over the years his work garnered several awards, including the 1999

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

's Award for Best Comic Book for

and Award for Graphic Novel for '' Building Stories''. Ware has won numerous

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

during his career including Best Artist/Writer in 2009 (''

'') and 2013 ('' Building Stories''); Best Artist/Writer-Drama in 2008; Best Continuing Series in 1996 and 2000 (''

''); Best Graphic Album: New in 2000 and 2013 ('' Building Stories''); Best Graphic Album: Reprint in 2001 ('' Jimmy Corrigan''); Best Colorist of 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2006; Best Publication Design in 1995, 1996, 1997 (''

''), 2001 ('' Jimmy Corrigan''), 2002, 2006 (''Acme Novelty Library Annual Report for Shareholders'') and 2013 ('' Building Stories'') Ware has won multiple

Harvey Awards 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 a successor to the Kirby Awards, which wer ...

including Best Continuing or Limited Series in 2000 and 2001; Best Cartoonist in 2006 (''

''); Best Letterer in 1996, 2000, 2002, and 2006; Best Colorist in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004 (''Acme Novelty Datebook''); and Special Award for Excellence in Presentation in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 (''

''), 2001 ('' Jimmy Corrigan''), 2004 (''Acme Novelty Datebook'') and 2013 ('' Building Stories'') In 2002, Ware became the first comics artist to be invited to exhibit at

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

biennial exhibition.Ball, p. 65 With

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

and

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post- underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of '' Arcade: The Com ...

, Ware was among the artists honored in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the

Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, from September 16, 2006 to January 28, 2007. His work was the subject of solo exhibitions at the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art art gallery, museum near Water Tower Place in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is on ...

in 2006 and at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Sheldon Museum of Art The Sheldon Museum of Art is an art museum in the city of Lincoln, in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. Previously called the University of Nebraska Art Galleries and later the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, the institution ...

, in 2007. Ware's

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

'' Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' won the 2001

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 newspa ...

, the first time a graphic novel has won a major United Kingdom book award. It also won the 2001 Firecracker Alternative Book Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel. And it won the prize for best album at the 2003

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...

in France. In 2006, Ware received a USA Hoi Fellow grant from

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

. In 2013, Ware received th
2013 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize
for '' Building Stories'' and was finalist for

Jan Michalski Prize for Literature Jan Michalski Prize for Literature (French: Prix Jan Michalski) is a Swiss literary prize for any work of fiction or non-fiction published anywhere in the world in any language. It is meant to recognize authors from around the world and world liter ...

and

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize currently has nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), his ...

. In 2020, Ware's

was nominated for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. In 2021, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême for his lifelong achievement.

Bibliography

* * * *''Acme Novelty Datebook''. Drawn & Quarterly. 2007. . * *''The Acme Novelty Datebook: Sketches and Diary Pages in Facsimile''. Drawn & Quarterly. 2013. * *

References

Sources

"The Art of Melancholy"
''

'', October 31, 2005 *Arnold, Andrew
"The Depressing Joy of Chris Ware."
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', November 27, 2001. * *Onstad, Chris
"Visual Tribute to Chris Ware"
''Achewood'', January 11, 2008. *Peters, Tim
"Chris Ware's ANL #20"
''The Point'', Spring 2011. * * *Schjeldahl, Peter
"Words and Pictures: Graphic novels come of age"
''The New Yorker'', October 17, 2005. *Wolk, Douglas

''

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

'', September 2, 2005. *Wondrich, David
"Ragtime: No Longer a Novelty in Sepia"
''The New York Times'', January 21, 2001.

External links

Acme Novelty Archive
Unofficial database of the works of Ware

– comics-form adaptation of a panel featuring Chris Ware, Seth and moderator Ivan Brunetti

of Ware by designer

Chris Ware's mural for 826 Valencia's facadeThe Last Saturday
A comic novella posted in weekly instalments on the website of UK newspaper ''

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Chris 1967 births Alternative cartoonists American graphic novelists Artists from Nebraska American magazine cartoonists American comics writers American comics artists American comic strip cartoonists Eisner Award winners for Best Coloring Eisner Award winners for Best Letterer/Lettering Eisner Award winners for Best Writer/Artist Harvey Award winners for Best Cartoonist Harvey Award winners for Best Colorist Living people Artists from Oak Park, Illinois University of Texas at Austin alumni Writers from Nebraska American male novelists The New Yorker cartoonists American humorists American Book Award winners Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alumni Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême winners Inkpot Award winners American satirists American satirical comics writers American satirical comics artists American science fiction artists