Where I'm Coming From is a beautifully produced 180 page, square-format hardcover that brings together a selection of this trailblazing strip that was curated by the creator herself. As the abundant supporting materials included with this volume inform us, Brandon-Croft's creation began life in The Detroit Free Press in 1989 and within less than two years went on to become the first nationally syndicated comic strip produced by an African American woman when it was picked up by the Universal Press Syndicate in 1991. You can read the whole story of the strip's genesis, impact, influence and more in the essays that accompany the strips themselves, in this thoughtfully edited collection.
And, what strips they are! Brandon-Croft (then just Barbara Brandon) had – and still has! as testified by the more recent internet posted strips – a strong, clean, highly expressive and visually appealing line. Her figures were minimal – limited almost entirely to head and hands – and entirely female, but each of the nine adult characters has a distinct personality that shines through in these witty, insightful and important strips.
Get an in-depth take on this volume by checking out Robert Ito's excellent piece in The New York Times, HERE.
SPECIAL PRICE!
Here are the deets:
Bubbles #16 is 52 pages long
Four Interviews:
- Chuck Forsman
- Barbara Brandon-Croft
- Anouk Ricard (by Ana Pando)
- Janet Hong
Articles:
- The Strangest Peanuts Books
- eBay Finds
- Readers Best Comics of 2022
Comics by:
- Nicole Rodrigues
- James Collier
Reviews of 60 new comics, Comics in my Mailbox, more!
Since 2019, The Museum of Modern Art has commissioned cartoonists and illustrators to craft stories about their experiences inside and outside the museum. Editors Alex Halbertadt and Arlette Hernandez have gathered together here, in the 184 pages of this horizontally formatted, 6" x 12", full color hardcover, twenty-five of those comics, all taking place in the comp;any of – and inspired by – modern art, primarily that shown in and/or part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City (NYC). These comics have been created by a stellar array of cartoonists, including Jon Allen, Gabrielle Bell, Barbara Brandon-Croft, Jessica Campbell, Roz Chast, Ted Closson, Liana Finck, Ali Fitzgerald, November Garcia, Anna Haifisch, Mari Kanstad Johnsen, Patrick Keck, Lee Lai, Ellen Lindner, John Vasquez Mejias, Danica Novgorodoff, Tommi Parrish, Ben Passmore, Weng Pixin, Anna Sarvira, Walter Scott, Bishakh Som, Karl Stevens, Chris Ware (whose contribution is a stand-alone, pull-out / fold-out poster; of course), and Erin Williams.
The horizontaliity of the format* makes for a reading experience akin to that of reading mammoth sized daily newspaper strips of spectacularly diverse approaches, intents and manifested styles. We will admit to having had some trepidation that the work would veer towards the precious and/or self-consciously arty – but no! Our concerns were misplaced. The work presented here largely adheres to the cartoonist ethos and stays true to the comics making / reading experience. So, readers whose personal Venn diagrams show a strong overlap between museum going and comics reading have a very good chance of connecting with much of the work that this collection contains. If that sounds like you, then we can say, "Recommended!"
––––––––––
*Two of the contributing artists – Ben Passmpore and John Vasquez Mejias – decided to "flip the script" (read, format), and chose to go vertical instead, necessitating a ninety degree rotation of the book and making for yet another take on the (very) Old School daily strips that also sometimes ran vertically in the paper, as dictated by space requirements.
