SubCultures: A Comics Anthology

by Whit Taylor (Editor), Rachel Dukes (Contributor)

36 independent cartoonists explore the various and varied worlds-within-the-world we know as "subcultures." from Star Wars conventioneers to bigfoot hunters, from goths and gamers to record collectors and cosplayers, these stories reveal the rules, rituals and relationships that define these infinite and intricate subsets of humanity. Contributors include Sam Alden, Liz Prince, Alex Robinson, Darryl Seitchik, Noah Van Sciver, MariNaomi, Box Brown and many others!
Cover by Box Brown

Sam Alden
E.J. Barnes
Cara Bean
Bonesteel
Melinda Tracy Boyce
Box Brown
Matthew Crehan
Ben Doane
Alizee De Pin
Rachel Dukes
Jillian Fleck
Holly Foltz
Maggie Glass
Andrew Greenstone
Nick Johansen
Jay Kennedy
Rob Kirby
Jesse Lonergan
MariNaomi
Dan Mazur
Anna Mudd
Hazel Newlevant
Sigit Nugroho
Ion O'Clast
Dave Ortega
Maria Photinakis
Liz Prince
Ansis Purins
Rob Queen
Alex Robinson
Michael Scully
Daryl Seitchik
Whit Taylor
Nick Thorkelson
Mister V
Noah Van Sciver
Aaron Whitaker
Kriota Willberg
Stevie Wilson
Li-Or Zaltzman
Courtney Zell

Genres: Graphic Novels Comics, Comics, Anthologies

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[KT]

picked this up because i dont see much about homeschooling (or unschooling) - i would say overall it was an interesting anthology & there were some cool parts (like it was neat seeing allston specifically depicted in one of the comics!). kinda made me think abt the subcultures im part of or have been part of...

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This often fascinating anthology examines a variety of subcultures, ranging from cosplayers to cryptozoologists, ham radio enthusiasts to home schoolers, and real doll enthusiasts to Reborners. There are 36 different stories here (full disclosure: I contributed a 3-pager), and while not everything works, the batting average is well above average; among the alt-cartoonists featured: Cara Bean, cover artist Box Brown, Jesse Lonergan, Dan Mazur, Hazel Newlevant, Liz Prince, and Daryl Seitchik. Kudos to editor Whit Taylor for a killer theme in the first place; I learned a lot reading this.

[AJ Payne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really liked the idea of this one - comic stories talking about subcultures. And that’s exactly what it was. But it was less explanatory of the subcultures in many cases and more just vignettes of people who were part of them. So some of the stories I found to be effective and interesting (like, I finally understand that Esperanto is not some version of Spanglish and I’m embarrassingly old to not have known this…) but mostly the stories were boring.

The few interesting stories saved this from being a 1 star.

[Stephen Dorneman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The editor of this comics anthology gave the topic of subcultures to his artists, and they came back with stories of Esperanto speakers, ham radio clubs, doomsday preppers,Phish followers, a Yamamato hostess bar, Goth fetish club nights, and so much more. Sad, hilarious, informative, and sometimes all at the same time. Recommended.

[David Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology has some great chapters and some awful ones. The art varies wildly, from competent to amateurish, and I recognized the work of some of the authors like Liz Prince and MariNaomi. It's the subcultures themselves that are the real draw. I think my personal favorite chapters are the ones about Esperanto and Phish.

[Courtney Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

as with any anthology, it has some hits, some misses and some things that you just kinda feel meh about. it was mostly interesting though, and i only really skimmed one or two comics, so there's that.