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Drawn & Quarterly Showcase #5
Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Book Five
The annual comics anthology of emerging cartoonists
Drawn & Quarterly Showcase is a new-talent anthology and the only annual
collection to have the focused visual acumen of the D+Q editor in chief, Chris Oliveros, who scours the globe for three cartoonists to spotlight and introduce to North American readers. More often than not, it is the first time the cartoonists have had the chance to work in full color with twenty-five pages, and on such a wide-reaching visual platform. The series is hailed for its consistent quality and for the superior editorial vision of its short stories, volume after volume. Book
Five features Anneli Furmark (Sweden), Amanda Vähämäki (Finland),
and T. Edward Bak (United States), with cover art by Vähämäki. Previous
Showcases have featured Kevin Huizenga, Jeffrey Brown,Geneviève
Castrée, Gabrielle Bell, and Nicolas Robel.
Drawn & Quarterly Showcase is a new-talent anthology and the only annual
collection to have the focused visual acumen of the D+Q editor in chief, Chris Oliveros, who scours the globe for three cartoonists to spotlight and introduce to North American readers. More often than not, it is the first time the cartoonists have had the chance to work in full color with twenty-five pages, and on such a wide-reaching visual platform. The series is hailed for its consistent quality and for the superior editorial vision of its short stories, volume after volume. Book
Five features Anneli Furmark (Sweden), Amanda Vähämäki (Finland),
and T. Edward Bak (United States), with cover art by Vähämäki. Previous
Showcases have featured Kevin Huizenga, Jeffrey Brown,Geneviève
Castrée, Gabrielle Bell, and Nicolas Robel.
120 pages, Paperback
First published September 16, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 4, 2009
I just read this, so it's probably too early to give such a high score, but right now I'm in love with the three stories in this collection.
(Click on the following pictures for examples of the artist's work.)
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The two stories by the Scandinavians are light and sweet but still dark; both are full of color in lush watercolor and colored pencil. Anneli Furmark's story (from Sweden) is a snippet of a gay couple visiting one man's very religious family. It's full of tiny observations, a lot like Jeffery Brown's early work, and similarly, it's not "well" drawn in a representational sense, but the drawings are perfect for the story. Despite the amateurish art, it's beautifully detailed and lends perfectly to the story's ultimate ambiguity.
The second Scandinavian story is by Amanda Vähämäki from Finland and it's wonderful. It dreamily follows two young kids and it meanders a lot. It seems to revolve around a magic remote control, but it's unclear what is real and what is childhood imagination. It the best story in this collection of great stories.
The story by the American, T. Edward Bak, isn't as colorful or light, but it's equally beautiful, full of amazing stylistic choices. Where the Scandinavians are fairly conservative in their panel layout, Bak is very experimental. (Furmark largely uses two panels on each page, which gives a sense of extreme intimacy, and Vahamaki sticks with an 8 to 12 panel grid pattern, but without any borders. The lack of borders blurs the panels together, and the regularity gives a structure to a free-wheeling and fantastic story.) Bak sometimes uses panels, sometimes does not, and wildly tries various structures, all while jumping back and forth in place and time. That said, the story is opaque even though it focuses on the story of a jilted lover, and the other's trek through a fantastic, and seemingly war-torn, realm. It's beautiful, but lacks the emotional impact of the other two stories. Still, it is a stand out story in a stand out collection.
(Click on the following pictures for examples of the artist's work.)
[image error]
[image error]
The two stories by the Scandinavians are light and sweet but still dark; both are full of color in lush watercolor and colored pencil. Anneli Furmark's story (from Sweden) is a snippet of a gay couple visiting one man's very religious family. It's full of tiny observations, a lot like Jeffery Brown's early work, and similarly, it's not "well" drawn in a representational sense, but the drawings are perfect for the story. Despite the amateurish art, it's beautifully detailed and lends perfectly to the story's ultimate ambiguity.
The second Scandinavian story is by Amanda Vähämäki from Finland and it's wonderful. It dreamily follows two young kids and it meanders a lot. It seems to revolve around a magic remote control, but it's unclear what is real and what is childhood imagination. It the best story in this collection of great stories.
The story by the American, T. Edward Bak, isn't as colorful or light, but it's equally beautiful, full of amazing stylistic choices. Where the Scandinavians are fairly conservative in their panel layout, Bak is very experimental. (Furmark largely uses two panels on each page, which gives a sense of extreme intimacy, and Vahamaki sticks with an 8 to 12 panel grid pattern, but without any borders. The lack of borders blurs the panels together, and the regularity gives a structure to a free-wheeling and fantastic story.) Bak sometimes uses panels, sometimes does not, and wildly tries various structures, all while jumping back and forth in place and time. That said, the story is opaque even though it focuses on the story of a jilted lover, and the other's trek through a fantastic, and seemingly war-torn, realm. It's beautiful, but lacks the emotional impact of the other two stories. Still, it is a stand out story in a stand out collection.
March 29, 2018
The first story's a quiet piece about a young man in a small town, visiting his family with his gay lover, afraid to tell them the truth. No resolution, just lots of lingering angst, but it's well done. Art's a little rough, but gets the meaning across.
The other two are more art driven, with unfocused stories. Not really my cuppa.
The other two are more art driven, with unfocused stories. Not really my cuppa.
Read
April 9, 2023Read in maybe 30 minutes. Might have read before. Does that count as reading something?
They all felt a little too truncated for what they were trying to accomplish. I liked the messy colorful art of Amanda Vähämäki's story the best.
They all felt a little too truncated for what they were trying to accomplish. I liked the messy colorful art of Amanda Vähämäki's story the best.
March 25, 2022
comic artists are weirdos
June 29, 2014
A good book, but really just a great way to learn about creators you have not been exposed to in the past. I recommend checking it out if you want to learn about new artists but each creator only gets a small section within the overall book.
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![[image error]](http://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/bak_t-edward/bak_t-edward_service22.jpg){kind=link}
November 10, 2008
A little bird told me this is the final D&Q Showcase. Say it ain't so!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews