The Acme Novelty Library Series 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... moreThe 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. less

Undaunted by lukewarm Internet and blogospheric opinion ("flat," "slow," and "always dreary") of his meretricious return last year to the tradition of the American comic book with the sixteenth issue of his ACME Novelty Library, cartoonist and professional sentimentalist Chris Ware returns with the seventeenth issue of this same title, and it is almost certain not to change general public opinion... moreUndaunted by lukewarm Internet and blogospheric opinion ("flat," "slow," and "always dreary") of his meretricious return last year to the tradition of the American comic book with the sixteenth issue of his ACME Novelty Library, cartoonist and professional sentimentalist Chris Ware returns with the seventeenth issue of this same title, and it is almost certain not to change general public opinion. Continuing with the second half of the introduction to his shamelessly meandering graphic novel Rusty Brown (which began last issue at a private school in the 1970s Midwest), the six-sided crystal suggested by the exegesis of the first installment is slowly turned and examined in midmorning winter sunlight sometime between the bell of first period and the conclusion of lunch for the first through the fourth grades. Also included are more thorough examinations of many of the main characters' cloudy motivations, personal habits, and favorite restaurants, to say nothing of the small dust mote around which they have coalesced and the complications in its life due to the acquisition of superpowers sometime the night before. Like the irritating distant family member you only have to see once a year, the ACME Novelty Library #17 will, as was its predecessor, be published by the author in a single, limited edition only, never to be reprinted until the entire library is collected as a single volume, though it may be promptly remaindered and/or discarded. less

The penultimate teen issue of the ACME Novelty Library appears this autumn with a new chapter from the electrifying experimental narrative “Rusty Brown,” which examines the life, work, and teaching techniques of one of its central real-life protagonists, W. K. Brown... moreThe penultimate teen issue of the ACME Novelty Library appears this autumn with a new chapter from the electrifying experimental narrative “Rusty Brown,” which examines the life, work, and teaching techniques of one of its central real-life protagonists, W. K. Brown. A previously marginal figure in the world of speculative fiction, Brown’s widely anthologized first story, “The Seeing Eye Dogs of Mars,” garnered him instant acclaim and the coveted White Dwarf Award for Best New Writer when it first appeared in the pages of Nebulous in the late 1950s, but his star was quickly eclipsed by the rise of such talents as Anton Jones, J. Sterling Imbroglio, and others of the so-called psychovisionary movement. (Modern scholarship concedes, however, that they now owe a not inconsequential aesthetic debt to Brown.) New surprises and discoveries concerning the now legendarily reclusive and increasingly influential writer mark this nineteenth number of the ACME Novelty Library, itself a regular award-winning periodical, lauded for its clear lettering and agreeable coloring, which, as any cultured reader knows, are cornerstones of any genuinely serious literary effort. Full color, seventy-eight pages, with hardbound covers, full indicia, and glue, the ACME Novelty Library offers its readers a satisfying, if not thrilling, rocket ride into the world of unkempt imagination and pulse-pounding excitement. less

Jordan Wellington Lint, fifty-one, is chief executive officer of Lint Financial Products, a company he began serving in 1985 as assistant and adviser before working his way up its corporate ladder to record-setting innovation in the fields of finance and high-yield investment... moreJordan Wellington Lint, fifty-one, is chief executive officer of Lint Financial Products, a company he began serving in 1985 as assistant and adviser before working his way up its corporate ladder to record-setting innovation in the fields of finance and high-yield investment. In his seven years as the head of Lint, Jordan has grown the company from a business lender and real estate speculator to a leading provider of network financial infrastructure services, all the while positioning Lint as a model of corporate integrity and high-yield, low-risk product. Lint’s vision has made him one of the most influential and widely sought-after leaders in the complex Omaha securities industry, and his fresh approach to an understanding of local problems, leadership, and determination have enabled Lint to outdistance and outpace its competitors.Lint graduated from UNL in 1981 with a B.A. in business and briefly studied music and recording in Los Angeles before returning to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, where he has continued his life journey ever since. In his ongoing role as chief executive officer and his dual roles as public servant and father, Lint continues to put his creative leadership and vision to work in a variety of challenging settings. He is married and the father of two boys. The ACME Novelty Library #20 comprises a contributing chapter to cartoonist ChrisWare’s gradual accretion of the ongoing graphic novel experiment "Rusty Brown". less