Now #5: The New Comics Anthology

Now #5

by Eric Reynolds (Editor), Nick Thorburn, Ana Galvañ

The 2018 Eisner Award-nominated anthology series continues with another entirely self-contained collection of short comics genius! Under a cover by visual artist Stéphane Blanquet, our fifth issue features 125 pages of ALL-NEW comics by Theo Ellsworth, DRT, DW, Ana Galvañ, Maggie Umber, Eroyn Franklin. Roman Muradov, Jose Quintanar, Walt Holcombe, Walker Tate, Keren Katz, Darin Shuler, Jesse Reklaw, and Nick Thorburn! At $9.99 for 125 pages of all-new color comics, NOW is the best value in comics!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Anthologies, Graphic Novels

120 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 2018

About the author

Eric Reynolds is a Seattle-based cartoonist, critic and comics editor who is the Vice-President and Associate Publisher for Fantagraphics Books. His work has appeared in The Stranger, The Comics Journal, The New York Times, The New York Press and other publications. He has edited or co-edited The Complete Crumb Comics, Angry Youth Comics, Dirty Stories and MOME and has inked some of Peter Bagge's comics.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of a mixed bag but it’s published by the incomparable Fantagraphics so I’ll give it a pass. My favourite pieces in the anthology were from: Theo Ellsworth, Eroyn Franklin, Roman Muradov, Walt Holcombe and Jesse Reklaw. Side note: you can’t beat the $9.99 cover price to get a nice sample of some emerging artists.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another anthology of alternative comix filled mostly with doodles, meanders, and other bits of pointlessness.

The stand-out stories:

• "The Asshole With the Hat" by Walt Holcombe, because it at least made sense, touching briefly on the history of hats and why a person might choose to wear one nowadays.

• The untitled story by Darin Shuler, for being a brief but effective horror story involving the Sunday funnies.

• "Bloo-Dax" by DRT, though it didn't entirely work for me, it certainly was an intriguing take on the sword and sorcery genre, highly stylized in its art and page design.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:
• Untitled [front cover] / Stéphane Blanquet
• Demon Earth Goddess / Theo Ellsworth
• Bloo-Dax / DRT
• Paper Collar / DW
• Selection Process / Ana Galvañ; translated by Jamie Richards
• The Daemon Lover / Maggie Umber
• The Cabin / Eroyn Franklin
• Raincheck / Roman Muradov
• Strawberry and Chocolate / Jose Quintanar
• The Asshole With the Hat / Walt Holcombe
• Nail Clippers / Walker Tate
• The Inspection of Shopping Carts / Keren Katz
• Untitled / Darin Shuler
• Short Story / Jesse Recklaw
• Now [back cover] / Nick Thorburn

[Radwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

these are really mixed bag, and i feel that some put a lot of effort and others are just doodles?

the standouts to me:
- Selection Process by Ana Galvan
- The Daemon Lover by Maggie Umber
- The Cabin by Eroyn Franklin
- The Asshole with the Hat by Walt Holcombe
- Untitled by Darin Shuler

[Reid]

Maggie Umber's story was my favourite, followed by Ana Galvañ's and Eroyn Franklin's.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the new anthology series, edited by Eric Reynolds, as it enters its 2nd year.

[tinaathena]

This cover is also very good. Some top shelf gems in here! Am excited to see more works from these artists!

[Daniel Mossop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another three star, still worth a read you are just never going to like every story.

[Seven Pesos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. I especially liked contributions from Maggie Umber, Jose Quintanar (!!), and Walker Tate.

[Ángel Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesantísima antología de historietas que Fantagraphics lleva publicando desde hace años, y de la que desconocía su existencia hasta ahora, lamentablemente. Una vez leída la revista, debo decir que me recuerda poderosamente a la española, e igualmente excelente Nosotros somos los muertos, y, lógicamente, también tiene algunas historias que, a mi juicio, resultan decepcionantes entre tanta calidad. No se puede acertar siempre, pero el nivel medio es espléndido. Se necesitan revistas experimentales que lleven al límite las posibilidades del medio, y esta Now es algo que llevaba tiempo deseando encontrarme entre tanto súper, tanta historia de corte clasicista y tanta reedición de clásicos; que sí, que molan, pero que esto es otra cosa. Se trata de explorar, de buscar nuevos temas, nuevas direcciones hacia las cuales moverse en este medio que últimamente nos está dando tantas alegrías, después de años y años de decepciones. Ciertamente, muchos de estos caminos no llevan a salida alguna, pero es lo que tiene ser un pionero: que a veces descubres nuevos mundos, y otras, te caes por el borde del mapa.

[Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discuss Fantagraphics' Now: New Comics anthology series in this entry of Harris' Tome Corner.