The Acme Novelty Library, Issue 1, Winter 1993–1994: Jimmy Corrigan

The Acme Novelty Library #1

by Chris Ware

The first issue of the Novelty Library focuses on Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid On Earth, though only two pages of this issue were later collected in the Jimmy Corrigan novel. In the main 24 page color story we see scenes from his life -- as a young boy, as a young man, as middle-aged man, and as on old man. The time line skips back and forth, and it's left up to the reader to piece together a history from these glimpses into Jimmy's life.

An eight page inlay printed on news-print in black and white and a blue-grayish color has a six page nonsensical strip about Jimmy as a (for once) smart child. He builds rocket ships, shrinks himself, has an adventure and grows up. The ending of the strip is detailed on a full page of typeset text.

Also included is a one page Big Tex strip, a one page funny story about Jimmy fixing a new dad, one page of fake ads, and "A Splendid Toy Model" of Jimmy in his robot man persona on the back cover.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Humor, Comic Book

36 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1993

About the author

Chris Ware is an American cartoonist acclaimed for redefining the visual and narrative possibilities of the graphic novel, known especially for his long-running Acme Novelty Library series and major works including Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth, Building Stories, and Rusty Brown. His work is distinguished by its emotional depth, frequently exploring loneliness, memory, regret, and the quieter forms of pain that shape ordinary lives, rendered with extreme visual precision, intricate page designs, and a style that evokes early twentieth-century American illustration, advertising, and architecture. Raised in Omaha and later based in the Chicago area, Ware first attracted attention through his strips for The Daily Texan, where an invitation from Art Spiegelman to contribute to Raw helped encourage him toward an ambitious, self-publishing approach that would define his career. Acme Novelty Library disrupted conventions of comic book production in both format and tone, presenting characters such as Quimby the Mouse and later Rusty Brown in narratives that blend autobiography, satire, and psychological portraiture. Building Stories further expanded his formal experimentation, released as a boxed set of interconnected printed pieces that require the reader to assemble meaning from varied physical formats. Ware’s artistic influences range from early newspaper cartoonists like Winsor McCay and Frank King to the collage and narrative play of Joseph Cornell, and he has spoken about using typography-like logic in his drawing to mirror the fragmented, associative way memory works. His practice remains largely analog, relying on hand drawing and careful layout, though he uses computers for color preparation. Ware has also been active as an editor, designer, and curator, contributing to volumes reprinting historic comic strips, serving as editor of The Best American Comics 2007, and organizing exhibitions such as UnInked at the Phoenix Art Museum. His work has extended into multimedia collaborations, including illustrated documentary materials for This American Life and visual designs for film posters, book covers, and music projects. His later projects include The Last Saturday, serialized online for The Guardian, and Monograph, a retrospective volume combining autobiography with archival material. Widely recognized for his influence, Ware’s books have received numerous honors, including multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards, and Jimmy Corrigan became the first graphic novel to win the Guardian First Book Award. He has exhibited at major institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and his contributions to the medium have led many peers and critics to regard him as one of the most significant cartoonists of his generation.

Reviews

[Kevin T Johns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Ware's masterpiece of despair.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating graphic novel.

[Gijs Grob · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Chris Ware's first comics, in which he introduces Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth, as well as the meek cowboy Big Tex and one of Ware's anonymous depressed robots. The book mostly deals with the adult version of Jimmy Corrigan, an awkward and shy man, who is unable to make social contact, and who consequently is incredibly lonely and depressed. Nevertheless, the character is not really established, yet, and there are several scenes showing a sadistic side, lost in later volumes.

The comics starring the younger version are more whimsical, and add a dose of fantasy. The one page starring Big Tex shows the naive and weak cowboy being bullied by his sadistic father. Consequently, there's little to laugh at in this volume, which is full of painful and embarrassing situations.

Ware's artwork is a unique blend of ligne claire and early 20th century comics style, and very beautiful. No wonder that with this small book Chris Ware immediately rocketed to the pantheon of great comic artists.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth a number of years ago and remember really enjoying it. This issue of Acme Novelty Library apparently lent a couple pages to that book, but I don't remember it in detail enough to comment further. I can say that I appreciate Ware's dark humor which is evident in ANL #1, though the art is not as polished as his recent work.

[Ostrava · Rating 5 out of 5]

The leftovers from Jimmy Corrigan are somehow still some of the best writing I've seen in a comic book, that's how good it is.

Only, these are not leftovers, they are... a collection of sketches with the eponymous character from before Chris Ware decided to tell his magnus opus, which I believe was published in this collection, but later on. For now, only some of the pages of the ending here appear in Jimmy Corrigan.

It's brilliant, but leaning a bit more on the abstract for the most part.

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn NOT prepared for what this Acme Novelty Library has to offer. for some reason, the word Acme is connected to looney tunes in my mind, so I though I would read comics about these characters, but this took by surprise.

In this first issue, all of the stories focus on the character of Jimmy Corrigan, and we see him in different stages of life going through different dillemmas and troubles. I didn't get everything 100%, but it was a journey.

[Yayobest100 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a pretty book

[Rick Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich in design, composition, humor and irony, Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library has it all. Though the Fleischer brothers and comic strip influences are pretty apparent, Ware's sensibilities are utterly unique and revolutionary. Collected in this first issue are some proto-Jimmy Corrigan stories that didn't make the collected edition but are nonetheless highly entertaining. The Jimmy Corrigan stories are steeped in dark humor and irony, but they often evoke a sense of melancholy to them. Also found in this first issue is a story about a gentile cowboy named "Big Tex" and a deeply depressed robot.

Ware's cartooning is profound and refined. The panels are crammed with intricate details delivered in an aesthetic ligne claire style, and the use of muted but nicely contrasted colors create some truly enthralling pages. The fact that Ware can churn out two pages of such dense artwork a day is pretty astounding, and perhaps why his large body of work has rocketed his status to one of the great living cartoonists today.

[Liam Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, forces you to face some painful realities of life, utter despair, just about the most depressing thing I've ever read alongside Chris Ware's other work... I wouldn't change a thing though. The satirical adverts page is just so funny and absolutely nails it in so many ways.

Really quite profound dealing with a number of existential questions and truths.

As an aside, it is strange for me to think that Chris Ware was already well aware of the harmful emf affects of wireless phones back in 1993, as indicated in one of his satirical adverts. Progress...

[Oscar Suescun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Ware is the most incisive comics artist, the most skilled craftsman, the most talented iconoclast. He is inventing a new language of his own, with a breathtaking multiplicity of meaning and drama.

[Jim Erekson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating graphic novel.

[Michael Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my absolute favorites.

[John Parkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing quite like this, other than his other books, which are also unique. Brilliant artwork, sublime atmosphere and delicacy of characterisation.

[Asher Humm]

good book. longer than expected read