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Outside the Box: Interviews With Contemporary Cartoonists
We are living in a golden age of cartoon art. Never before has graphic storytelling been so prominent or garnered such respect: critics and readers alike agree that contemporary cartoonists are creating some of the most innovative and exciting work in all the arts.
For nearly a decade Hillary L. Chute has been sitting down for extensive interviews with the leading figures in comics, and with Outside the Box she offers fans a chance to share her ringside seat. Chute’s in-depth discussions with twelve of the most prominent and accomplished artists and writers in comics today reveal a creative community that is richly interconnected yet fiercely independent, its members sharing many interests and approaches while working with wildly different styles and themes.
Chute’s subjects run the gamut of contemporary comics practice, from underground pioneers like Art Spiegelman and Lynda Barry, to the analytic work of Scott McCloud, the journalism of Joe Sacco, and the extended narratives of Alison Bechdel, Charles Burns, and more. They reflect on their experience and innovations, the influence of peers and mentors, the reception of their art and the growth of critical attention, and the crucial place of print amid the encroachment of the digital age.
Beautifully illustrated in full-color, and featuring three never-before-published interviews—including the first published conversation between Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware—Outside the Box will be a landmark volume, a close-up account of the rise of graphic storytelling and a testament to its vibrant creativity.
For nearly a decade Hillary L. Chute has been sitting down for extensive interviews with the leading figures in comics, and with Outside the Box she offers fans a chance to share her ringside seat. Chute’s in-depth discussions with twelve of the most prominent and accomplished artists and writers in comics today reveal a creative community that is richly interconnected yet fiercely independent, its members sharing many interests and approaches while working with wildly different styles and themes.
Chute’s subjects run the gamut of contemporary comics practice, from underground pioneers like Art Spiegelman and Lynda Barry, to the analytic work of Scott McCloud, the journalism of Joe Sacco, and the extended narratives of Alison Bechdel, Charles Burns, and more. They reflect on their experience and innovations, the influence of peers and mentors, the reception of their art and the growth of critical attention, and the crucial place of print amid the encroachment of the digital age.
Beautifully illustrated in full-color, and featuring three never-before-published interviews—including the first published conversation between Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware—Outside the Box will be a landmark volume, a close-up account of the rise of graphic storytelling and a testament to its vibrant creativity.
272 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 2014
About the author
Hillary L. Chute
9 books38 followersHillary Chute is an American literary scholar and an expert on comics and graphic narratives.
Chute's work focuses on comics and graphic novels, contemporary fiction, visual studies, American literature, gender and sexuality studies, literature and the arts, critical theory, and media studies.
She is the author of Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics (Columbia University Press, 2010), Outside the Box: Interviews with Contemporary Cartoonists (University of Chicago Press, 2014), Disaster Drawn: Visual Witness, Comics, and Documentary Form (Harvard University Press, 2016), and Why Comics? From Underground to Everywhere (Harper, 2017). Her book Maus Now: Selected Writing, an edited volume, appeared from Pantheon in 2022.
She is also associate editor of Art Spiegelman’s MetaMaus (Pantheon, 2011), which won a National Jewish Book Award, among other prizes. She recently co-edited the Critical Inquiry special issue “Comics & Media” (University of Chicago Press, 2014), and in 2006 she co-edited the MFS: Modern Fiction Studies special issue “Graphic Narrative,” the first issue of a journal in the field of literature devoted to analyzing comics. She has written for publications including Artforum, Bookforum, The Believer, and Poetry.
She was associate professor of English, and an associate faculty member in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago before joining the Northeastern faculty as Distinguished Professor of English and Art + Design. Chute serves on the Executive Committee of Northeastern’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. She is a comics and graphic novels columnist for the The New York Times Book Review.
Chute's work focuses on comics and graphic novels, contemporary fiction, visual studies, American literature, gender and sexuality studies, literature and the arts, critical theory, and media studies.
She is the author of Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics (Columbia University Press, 2010), Outside the Box: Interviews with Contemporary Cartoonists (University of Chicago Press, 2014), Disaster Drawn: Visual Witness, Comics, and Documentary Form (Harvard University Press, 2016), and Why Comics? From Underground to Everywhere (Harper, 2017). Her book Maus Now: Selected Writing, an edited volume, appeared from Pantheon in 2022.
She is also associate editor of Art Spiegelman’s MetaMaus (Pantheon, 2011), which won a National Jewish Book Award, among other prizes. She recently co-edited the Critical Inquiry special issue “Comics & Media” (University of Chicago Press, 2014), and in 2006 she co-edited the MFS: Modern Fiction Studies special issue “Graphic Narrative,” the first issue of a journal in the field of literature devoted to analyzing comics. She has written for publications including Artforum, Bookforum, The Believer, and Poetry.
She was associate professor of English, and an associate faculty member in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago before joining the Northeastern faculty as Distinguished Professor of English and Art + Design. Chute serves on the Executive Committee of Northeastern’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. She is a comics and graphic novels columnist for the The New York Times Book Review.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 30, 2014
Hillary Chute interviews Ware and Spiegelman, Bechdel, most of the greats, and helps us understand their work. Not many softball questions. Most of the conversations give us useful insights into craft. Maybe a next book could be about the "next" folks, lesser known people, but this is a pretty essential guide to the greats. There's a lot of reviews and interviews out there and websites, lots of online information, so I am not sure how many people will want to pick this up. Some of the interviews are actually available online, on YOuTube, actually, but for scholars and teachers, this is still great. I used a lot of it for my spring 2015 class.
June 11, 2018
This was SO MUCH FUN TO READ. Recommended for anyone who cares about comics. Just so much great stuff.
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April 22, 2019This book is exactly what it says, and it's certainly a collection of great subjects. I guess I'd rather read Chute's analysis of comics than the interviews, which sometimes felt fawning to me.
August 22, 2014
I loved this book. There was something about the framework of the interviews that made it easier for me to understand the artist's inspirations and procedures. I was able to get a lot out of the book in regards to how the artists use particular devices to give their work some trademarks and a particular style. I love Barry, Bechdel and Speigleman and with these interviews I was so surprised to learn things about the artists I hadn't heard before. Great!
June 22, 2020
This was a terrific book, and gave me lots of food for thought for future reading. It took me a little longer than it might have, if it hadn't been for my stopping, frequently, to check out work by each cartoonist interviewed. Really fascinating about their process, etc., especially as their work encompasses so many topics/genres. Thanks to the University of Chicago Press for the copy — a terrific source for books you didn't even know you wanted to read!
June 2, 2024
Really great collection of interviews with influential contemporary comic artists. Great insight into these artists’ processes, influences, and careers. Didn’t finish reading all of them but Lynda Barry and Allison Bechdel’s conversations were highlights for me. Highly recommend for anyone interested in graphic narratives and comic arts.
September 29, 2014
Excellent book! Chute interviews some of the best comics creators in the business, among them Daniel Closes, Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, Phoebe Gloeckner, Alison Bechdel, Art Spiegelman, Scott McCloud ... She's a good interviewer, drawing her subjects out about their work in fascinating detail. Her interviews rank right up there with the ones I used to read in The Comics Journal. One wishes they were longer, but that's one of the signs of a good interview. I particularly enjoyed the chat with Chris Ware and Art Spiegelman that rounds out the book. Well done!
January 10, 2015
3.5 stars
Great cross-section of high-profile cartoonists selected for the interviews and the inclusion of a good number of female cartoonists is greatly appreciated. I was frustrated at the short length of many of the interviews (I take the point that the interviews were initially published for magazines) though Chute is able to tease out interesting tangents that warrant further stimulation.
Great cross-section of high-profile cartoonists selected for the interviews and the inclusion of a good number of female cartoonists is greatly appreciated. I was frustrated at the short length of many of the interviews (I take the point that the interviews were initially published for magazines) though Chute is able to tease out interesting tangents that warrant further stimulation.
March 26, 2016
from the library
Contents:
Introduction: twenty-first-century comics -- Scott McCloud -- Charles Burns -- Lynda Barry -- Aline Kominsky-Crumb -- Daniel Clowes -- Phoebe Gloeckner -- Joe Sacco -- Alison Bechdel (2006 & 2012) -- Françoise Mouly (2008 & 2010) -- Adrian Tomine -- Art Spiegelman & Chris Ware (2008).
Contents:
Introduction: twenty-first-century comics -- Scott McCloud -- Charles Burns -- Lynda Barry -- Aline Kominsky-Crumb -- Daniel Clowes -- Phoebe Gloeckner -- Joe Sacco -- Alison Bechdel (2006 & 2012) -- Françoise Mouly (2008 & 2010) -- Adrian Tomine -- Art Spiegelman & Chris Ware (2008).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2014
Lynda Barry interview is great. Disappointed with Alison Bechdel interview - seemed rote and sort of impersonal. Skipped a few, read most of the others.
December 28, 2014
Simply a must for anyone interested in graphic novels.
June 2, 2016
Perfect for graphic novel class and classes talking about process. Barry article is essential.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 10, 2017Tried it but this book definitely isn't for me.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews