Monograph, by Chris Ware (2017)

Chris Ware does not release books very often, but they generally move away from the usual standards of publishing. His latest book, Monograph, is no exception. Let us start by saying a few words of this book as an object. You may have a hard time storing it in your library: with its 46.5 cm high, 33.5 cm wide and 3 cm thick, it will not go unnoticed; it is even bigger than the Building Stories box, already very impressive. Furthermore, inside this book, a few booklets are pasted on different pages, thus creating secondary books within the main book ... As always, Chris Ware has carefully planned everything, controlled everything, conceived in detail every single inch of the book. And, as usual, it's beautiful, impressive and original.

Fine, but what is it about? What does this "object" contain? This is the illustrated autobiography of Chris Ware. In a chronological way, he tells his life and his work, delivering at the same time his vision of the art of comics.

To understand fully the wealth of Monograph's iconography, it must be remembered that each page by Chris Ware has usually three lives: it is first published in the serialized comic strip that Chirs Ware had been publishing weekly for years (from 1992 to 2009 for his strip The ACME Novelty Library, in NewCity then in The Chicago Reader). The pages are then compiled in the The ACME Novelty Library books (20 volumes published from 1993 to now, plus an additional volume 18 ½, which presents some of his for the New Yorker). Finally, they are brought together again to form the final works, ambitious graphic novels (Jimmy Corrigan in 2000 and Building Stories in 2012, probably Rusty Brown in 2018) or collections of short stories (Quimby the mouse in 2003 and The ACME Novelty Library Report to Shareholders in 2005). For each book, Chris Ware draws new covers, new illustrations, etc. In parallel to this, he provides covers and stories to some prestigious magazines, such as the New Yorker. Beside all this "public" Chris Ware draws sketchbooks and improvised comic books. Last but ot least, Chris Ware is very fond of creating objects, doll houses or figurines figuring characters or places in his comic stories. The wealth of this protean work allows him to have many unpublished drawings and photographs at hand. Even an avid reader of his work will have the pleasure of discovering for the first time some unknown works.

With this very rich book, it is possible to discover further the abundant work of Chris Ware and better understand the intellectual and artistic journey of the author. He is convinced of the wide possibilities offered by comic as an art form to describe the way human spirit and memory work. This magnificent book perfectly exemplifies this, either through Chris Ware’s texts, his published pages or his unpublished works.

New Yorker covers by Chris Ware (2009-2012)

I have recently discovered, on this website, several wonderful covers drawn by Chris Ware for the New Yorker. I already knew two of them, which were included in the beautiful, and over-sized, Acme Novelty Library 18 1/2. I saw the other ones for the first time.

Once again, I was deeply impressed by the amazing quality of Chris Ware's art. Everything is thoroughly thought and minutely drawn: the compositions are really powerful, the drawings are superb and colors are very subtle and rich.

Each covers tells a story in itself. A simple glimpse at them makes us discover a part of the lives of the people on them or, more generally speaking, a specific element of our modern Western society.

In a way, these covers remind me of some Edward Hopper's paintings. Of course, they differ in many ways: Chris Ware's very precise art looks different from Edward Hopper blurry, more or less impressionistic, painting; and Edward Hopper mostly depicted lonely people whereas Chris Ware's covers are very often rather crowded (but nowadays, where can we be more lonely than in a crowd? which is more or less the central topic of many Chris Ware's stories, from Jimmy Corrigan to Rusty Brown). But both of them use pastel shades to describe typical scenes of present-day American way of life. Their paintings look very silent to me, very calm; but at the same time, they are very meaningful; each one of them makes me feel like stopping for hours in front of it, to enjoy fully its silent beauty and to try and fathom its subtle mysteries.

God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls, by Jaime Hernandez (2012)

"God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls" is a superhero graphic novel. It was first published in the first two issues of "Love and Rockets: New Stories". 30 new pages were added.

I must admit that, when I first read "God and Science" in the first two issues of "Love and Rockets: New Stories", I was not completely convinced by this story. But, after reading it in one volume, with 30 new pages, I must acknowledge that Jaime's superhero story is a very good one.

Once again there's in this Hernandez' comics much more than meets the eye. "God and Science" is a very strong, multi-layered graphic novel.

First layer: with this story of super-girls running, flying, falling and wrestling, Jaime Hernandez can draw as many women bodies in motion as he can dream of, like in "Whoa, Nellie" (that takes place in the women wrestling world).

Second layer: "God and Science" is evidently more than a pseudo-remake of "Whoa, Nellie!". It is a super-hero comics with all the strengths of it. Like Alan Moore in "Supreme", Jaime Hernandez uses many flashbacks to create a rich and complex past for all his heroines. In a few pages, we discover all the teams they have belonged to, all the super-villains they have fought, all their alliances or struggles. Even though these heroines will probably not live longer than these 100-odds pages, we have the impression of knowing them for a very long time... Naming this story "Return of the Ti-Girls" is part of this game. Jaime Hernandez manages to create, in a little more than 100 pages, a whole universe as rich as many others...

Third layer: We have here a storyline with all that is required in any good superhero comics: extraordinary superpowers, gigantic fights, cosmic danger, psychological interrogations, twist in the end, etc. Jaime Hernandez knows superhero comics and can create a good one.

Fourth layer: "God and Science" takes place in the Locas-verse. The main character of this story is Penny Century. As Jaime concluded Izzy's story in "Ghosts of Hoppers", he seems to bring Penny's misadventures to an end in "God and Science". She had been dreaming to have superpowers for ages; now she has some and it is not as great as she had imagined... "God and Science" brings a moving and rich conclusion to Penny's story. Maggie plays an important part in "Ghost of Hoppers" too. She has no superpower but, as a superhero comics specialist, she can give good advice to her super heroic friends. And we have Angel, one of Maggie's latest friends, who discovers that she has superpowers.

And that's not all. As a fifth layer, "God and Science" is a new convincing proof of Jaime's mastery in storytelling. He is particularly good at describing people's feelings with very subtle touches, a silent panel, a movement of the hands, a specific look. The last few pages of the book are a very good example of Jaime's exceptional art: the conversation between Angel, her younger sister and their mother is just breathtaking: after a few panels of secrets disclosed and hidden again, of things half told, half untold, nobody knows exactly who knows what. One thing only is clear: Jaime is one of the greatest comics artist ever...