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THE
COMPLETE JIMMY CORRIGAN: THE SMARTEST KID ON EARTH 
Jesus. You really want to know what I think of this thing? Wow. Ok. Well, for those of you that haven't read/seen/heard of this book, you're missing out. This book is the utmost in comics' storytelling. Entertainment Weekly gives it an A+, saying it's the best-looking book of the year, and they're right. It's also probably the best deal of the year: 380 pp. in full color, with a dustjacket that folds out into a two-sized full-color formalistic marvel of a comic strip (it wraps over every edge from side-to-side), as well as one of Ware's cut-out toys, this time a 3-D Jimmy Corrigan figure. It reprints ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY's #5, 6, 8, 9, and 11-14, as well as a short from ANL #1, not to mention all the copious notes and apologies from Chris Ware himself. Chris Ware has singlehandedly taken the form of comics storytelling to a new level with this thoughtful and BIG book. And just to start things off let me give everyone a warning before you go off diving into your bookstore to find this thing. It's bleek. And by bleek I mean it's not a very happy story. In fact it's got some downright nasty points in it that leave even the strongest of hearts hurting. In a nutshell (next to impossible for this book), it's about a father and son relationship spanning over 3 generations and leaving the American Dream of baseball and warm-apple-pie in the dust. In the beginning is an artistically beautiful story with an eye for book design. Then, as you delve deeper into the story, hidden desires and secrets appear that most people never reveal in their lives, let alone put on paper in this fashion. Mr. Ware takes you on a journey through the lives of Jimmy Corrigan Sr., Jimmy Corrigan Jr., and Jimmy Corrigan III. This might be the first time anyone has shown this cycle/dramatic turn in comic's form. If I can use this review as a small forum for Chris Ware's work, please let me do so for a minute. For those of you that may be completists in nature, or maybe you're just anal, let me HIGHLY recommend that owning the original ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY issues is a good thing. If you were to read from the beginning of ANL you would notice an artist coming into his own a great deal. Jimmy Corrigan was not the only comic that Mr. Ware ever did. No. There were a lot more, and some of his best work is in the original issues. There's "Sqeek the Mouse," "Rusty Brown," and "Big Tex" - all on their own great comics. They show, most of all, the direction Mr. Ware has taken in the course of producing Jimmy Corrigan. Ultimately, Jimmy Corrigan is a mind-blowing story. Not necessarily for the story but for the aesthetic way in which he produced it. There are moments with the book that seem almost animated-- there are so many panels to a page. Mr. Ware has created so many panels for some pages it's almost impossible to keep count. Alan Moore doesn't use this many panels in his stories (and he can use a lot sometimes). Mr. Ware takes the simplest of movements, gestures, and moments and captures them perfectly. But don't be surprised when he uses the full-page splash. Because when he does, he does it for a reason. Just as he did this entire story. I eagerly await the next issue of ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY. Whatever Mr. Ware has planned, believe me, it's going to knock all of our socks off. This man has talent by the truckloads and will soon become a giant (if he's not already) in this medium. Be on the lookout. Highly Recommended
Marc Deering is a regular contributor to PopImage |
