Rusty Brown (Pantheon Graphic Library)

I own several of Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library books, but it felt like I was getting into the middle of a soap opera and his older books had jumped in price so I didn’t stick with it. This is not the first compilation of ANL but it’s the first one I’ve purchased and I’m really glad I did. Although the book is titled Rusty Brown, his story only occupies something less than a third of the book. The book is basically divided in five sections with Rusty being the first. What’s interesting is that all of the characters have some tangential relationship to each other and sometimes it took me awhile to recognize that the character who is the focus of the current story is one I had already seen.Before I get into the various section of the book, I want to talk about Chris Ware’s art because I find it fascinating. I took several years of graphic design in college and this is exactly what I would expect artwork to look like if it came from a graphic design major. Everything is precise and meticulous with perfectly straight edges and flawless curves. It’s so interesting how the meticulousness of the art contrasts with the very emotional and bleak stories. Sometimes an artist and writer don’t mesh, and the art feels inappropriate but since Ware is both the writer and artist, this is his intended vision. Ware also uses a lot of colors, but they’re kept muted for the somber tone.In many ways, the sterility of Ware’s artwork adds to the starkness of the world he has created. A page might have several large frames, or a page could be filled with frames no more than a half inch in size. As someone whose eyes have seen better days, I required a magnifying glass to read a significant amount of the book even while wearing my reading glasses. Ware also includes some gorgeous outdoor images of overcast winter days. I grew up in Northeast Ohio and can definitely identify with these kinds of days and Ware captures them perfectly. These images are created to evoke a mood and work perfectly. The one thing I will say about Chris Ware’s art is it’s unmistakable and I don’t know anyone producing anything like it.Rusty Brown is a very shy and awkward seven-year-old who carries around a Supergirl doll and I would speculate lies somewhere on the autistic scale. We are also introduced to Chalky White, who seems cut from the same cloth, and his sister, who appears to be less of an autistic but suffers from depression. I believe the entire story takes place in a single day and although we meet many other characters not a single one seems happy. It may all sound unappealing but it’s a pretty compelling story and people who suffer from depression would likely relate.Next, is a sci-fi story which really didn’t make much sense until the ending which led right into a story about Rusty’s dad when he was a young man. Rusty’s dad is a bit weird and creepy, to say the least, but we already knew that from the Rusty story. He’s a teacher at Rusty’s school and has a propensity to leer at young schoolgirls. The story that follows recounts the entire life of Jordan Lint, birth to death. Jordan was a boy who bullied Rusty Brown and he’s the most unpleasant character in the entire book. We do see how he is a product of his environment, but this is not a story of redemption. None of these stories are cheerful but they are all unforgettable.The final story is about Joanne Cole, a black schoolteacher at Rusty’s very white school. She is easily the most likable and sympathetic character in the book although she definitely has her own issues including some constant low level racism that she deals with on a daily basis. She has arguably the only upbeat ending in the book so it was a nice way to close things out.I compared the physical size of Chalky Brown to one of my Acme Novelty Library books and they have the exact same height and width. I also couldn’t detect any difference in page or image quality when comparing the same pages. I will say that there is 10 pages of material in my ANL book that isn’t in Chalky Brown because they are unrelated to the story. If you think you’re getting everything in the ANL books, you aren’t. I’m really glad I picked this book up and I definitely plan on getting at least one more compilation by Chris Ware. These stories may not brighten your day, but they will likely stay with you long after you’re done reading. I definitely plan on reading this book at least once more.

This is Chris Ware’s book, culled from the pages of Acme Novelty Library. A series which ended ten years ago, and has now been collected into this volume. What is interesting is that the story itself is not over. The very last page ends with “Intermission”. Thus the book is meant to be part one of a however-many series. I have my doubts anymore is forthcoming. Acme Novelty Library came out only once a year -if that. So it took ten years to get this far, and another ten years to collect it. So we will probably have to deal with the material presented here as the final product.Not that there’s anything wrong with the contents of Rusty Brown. If anything, the material is too good. The art is always crisp, precise, and meticulous. Perfect curves, immaculate edges. Nothing beats it. It sucks you in and forces the reader to admire each page for about half an hour. One minor detail is that the author often plays about with the size of the panels, and so a lot of the words are really tiny. Stick your eyeball a millimeter from the page tiny. That might have a negative impact on your enjoyment.The story itself rambles. I’m pretty sure the author has an idea of what happens to each of the characters throughout their entire lives, but is scattered about its presentation. In the first few segments all of the character’s lives intersect together at a Catholic school in near-rural Nebraska. After these initial stories introducing the characters, the story focuses on individual characters using that time period of the late 1970s as a pivot.Unfortunately, the titular character Rusty Brown, fades out of the action after the first story. The action then focuses on his father and his failed writing aspirations, mostly due to fear of rejection. Jordan Lint, a boy we see bullying the titular Rusty Brown and his tumultuous life. Whether he was a good or bad man remains up in the air. I have the feeling a lot was left out of the tale. Finally, we see the life - or part of it, there’s gotta be more - of Rusty’s third grade teacher, Joanna Cole, and her lonely life in snow-bound Nebraska. The stories here are good. Damn good. Mixed with equal parts nostalgia and despair. These aren’t triumphs of the human spirit, but they are undeniably human.

This is a thing of beauty- so much better than Jimmy Corrigan (I know people loved that, but this is more coherent and linear somehow despite the multiple POVs and fluctuations in time). I'm a disciple of Chris Wares 'Building Stories', which I revisit regularly- but I'd say this is just as good (at a stretch as building stories is the most genius beautiful thing afterall...).This is about the human condition- we follow several interwoven character threads back and forth in time. In usual Chris Ware style there are loads of details to keep going back and checking- beautiful frame by frame breakdowns of everyday minutae. There's that familiar feel of desolation in this book, like in his other work. We always want the superhero story, the resolution- but Ware puts things how they are, and obviously that can appear bleak at times but this is life, and here life is drawn frame by frame into an intriguing tapestry. Even the jacket of the book you could spend a day studying- this is a piece of art and a joy. If you enjoyed Jimmy Corrigan, or are just a human trying to live as best you know how- then you'll love this. The price I think is very reasonable for such a big book which must have taken an age to think up and actually draw!

An absolutely stunning book. This is, in my opinion Ware’s best work. Beautifully drawn, achingly sad and yet at the same time uplifting.

The agonies of small town childhood give way to the agonies of small town adulthood. Perversely comforting how relatable it all is. The graphic design is also thrilling. Can't recommend enough.

The detail in this book is beyond anything else. I haven't got to the end of it yet as I don't want to rush it and miss things but it's already worth my time and money on the pages that I have read.

I thought this would be better. I don't know why it's titled Rusty Brown as he's hardly in the book. In my opinion it tries to be too clever with a pretentious and confusing format with writing you need a magnifying glass for. Why such small type?!