Publisher's Weekly Review
Editor McCloud (Understanding Comics) highlights the diverse number and styles of comics in this occasionally frustrating but ever-essential annual. The "big names"-Los Bros. Hernandez, Charles Burns, R. and Aline Crumb-are well represented in a section dubbed, tongue-in-cheek, as "The Usual Suspects," but a myriad of alt-comics, minicomics, and webcomics continue to make this series the widest-ranging comics collection of its kind. Transitions from one piece to the next continue to be occasionally jarring: unlike a prose anthology, there's no visual indication that one excerpt ending until the page is turned. But the selected pieces are varied and absolutely vital: charming teen angst (Raina Telgemeier's Drama), trippy beat-box history (Hip-Hop Family Tree by Ed Piskor), romantic SF fantasy (Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples's Saga) and autobiography via funny animals (Sam Sharpe's "Mom"). McCloud's entertaining and conversational introductions to each section educate and enlighten. As this series approaches its 10th anniversary in 2016, a single book can no longer fully capture the explosive growth, range, and variety of comics today, but this volume's smorgasbord nevertheless offers readers the opportunity to discover new styles and a sense of the range of genres in the graphic novel world. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The latest annual roundup is more ambitious and conceptually audacious than is usual for any Best American series. As a well-regarded critical theorist as well as creator of comics, McCloud (Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels, 2006, etc.) has points to make and issues to raise with this year's selection, which represents "justthe tip of a very big, very weird iceberg." Where these collections typically follow an alphabetical (by author) sequencing and need not be read in any particular order, McCloud explains, "I've divided our stories into ten sections, offering a short introduction for each. Each section is built around a unifying theme, and it's been fun watching the stories in each group talk to each other at night, find common ground." Most of the inclusions are excerpts from larger works, and given the structural innovations of comic form, many of them are represented in a format different from the originale.g., the wordless excerpt from Chris Ware's epochal Building Stories (2012), an achievement of which any part can only hint. In addition to Ware, what McCloud calls "The Usual Suspects" include Charles Burns, Ben Katchor, the Crumbs and the brothers Hernandez. Highlights extend from Allie Brosh's Web comic excerpt from "Depression Part Two," confessional and cathartic, to Tom Hart's memorialization of his young daughter in an excerpt from his work in progress, Rosalie Lightning, to the nightmarish surrealism of Ron Reg Jr., one of those who explores "that far outer perimeter of meaning." Some of the juxtapositions might make more thematic sense to the editor than they do to readers, and the dominance of experts suggests that the main value of this volume will be to give readers a taste of other books worth discovering. The spirit of discovery makes this a good launching point for readers interested in the genre's variety and limitless possibility. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* As evidenced by his seminal Understanding Comics (1993), McCloud could be the medium's foremost deep thinker, making him an overdue choice for editor of this standout series. Indeed, there is much to be gained from his comprehensive embrace of the form and his nuanced, knowledgeable, and friendly essays preceding each of the themed sections that he and new series editor Kartalopoulos have admirably broken the book into. McCloud wisely notes that serving the terms comics and American, to say nothing of best, is a damagingly subjective goal, and this volume is in fact intended as a fleeting, accidental portrait of comics today. But what a portrait it is: a master class in how to find the universally accessible in the intimately personal and transform images into emotions. From mainstream (an excerpt of Brian K. Vaughn's Saga) to avant-garde (work by Michael DeForge); from perennial greats (Chris Ware, R. Crumb) to newly minted superstars (Raina Telgemeier) to lesser-known but startling talents (Nina Bunjevac's August 1977 and Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault's Jane, the Fox and Me, 2013) every page drives home the point that, if you can add only one book to your adult graphic-novel collection this year, this has got to be it.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2014 Booklist
Library Journal Review
This most recent entry in the series takes a more rigorous organizational approach than previous volumes. Guest editor McCloud (Understanding Comics) grabs the reader's hand at the beginning of the anthology and doesn't let go, ordering us to read the selections straight through instead of browsing and leading us carefully through curated sections with titles such as "Family Tree" and "Oh, Crap-Webcomics!" McCloud is like a kid showing off his favorite toys, and his enthusiasm rubs off on his audience. If comics have always had a slight PR problem (among non-comics readers, at least), McCloud's fervent, almost academic attempt to introduce the year's top offerings nudges the genre that much closer to mainstream acceptance without abandoning its DIY/underground roots. Verdict A pleasing range of comics from lesser-known, small press artists such as Sam Sharpe (Mom) to popular webcomic creators including Allie Brosh (Hyperbole and a Half) to tried-and-true industry favorites like Chris Ware (Building Stories). The "Best American Comics" series offers a comprehensive survey of new graphic fiction and will encourage readers to seek out more. Recommended for all adult collections.-Ingrid Bohnenkamp, Springfield-Greene Cty. Lib. Dist., MO (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
