The Acme Novelty Library

The Acme Novelty Library Final Report to Shareholders and Rainy Day Saturday Afternoon Fun Book

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Utterly eschewing the general bonhomie surrounding the newly-minted contemporary regard for the comic strip medium as a language of complicated personal expression and artistic sophistication, professional colorist and award-winning letterer F. C. Ware returns to the book trade with “The ACME Novelty Library,” a hardcover distillation of all his surviving one-page cartoon jokes with which he tuckpointed the holes of his regular comic book periodical over the past decade.

Sometimes claimed to be his “best work” by those who really don’t know any better, this definitive congestion of stories of the future, the old west, and even of modern life nonetheless tries to stay interesting by including a luminescent map of the heavens, a chart of the general structure of the universe, assorted cut-out activitites, and a complete history of The ACME Novelty Company itself, decorated by rare photographs, early business ventures, not to mention the smallest example of a Comic Strip ever before offered to the general public. All in all, it will likely prove a rather mild disappointment, but at least it catches the light in a nice way and may force a smile here and there before being shelved for the next generation’s ultimate disregard and/or disposal.

108 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1,2005

About the author

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Franklin Christenson ('Chris') Ware is a cartoonist. His Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth won the Guardian First Book Award and was listed as one of the 100 Best Books of the Decade by the London Times in 2009. An irregular contributor to This American Life and The New Yorker (where some of the pages of this book first appeared) his original drawings have been exhibited in the Whitney Biennial, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and in piles behind his work table in Oak Park, Illinois.

Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 91 votes)
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91 reviews All reviews
April 26,2025
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Are you:

-A failure?
-Terminally lonely?
-Miserable?
-A miserable failure?
-Miserably lonely?
-Failing and alone?
-A miserable, terminally lonely failure?
-Depressed?
-Dissatisfied with getting what you always wanted?
-A collector of defunct happy meal toys?
-A collector of vintage advertising?
-Depressed about your dissatisfaction with getting what you'd always wanted?
-Miserable and depressed?
-A depressive, terminally alone failure?
-A completely OCD comic designer?
-All of the above?

If you answered YES to THREE OR MORE of the above, you could ALREADY BE A WINNER of a BRAND NEW collection of TOTALLY MISERABLE LARGE FORMAT COMICS which almost entirely forgo punch lines in favor of PIERCING INSIGHT into the (your?) HUMAN CONDITION and OVERWHELMING SADNESS.

(Chris Ware is scathing and incredible (almost typed "inedible" which may also be true). A little piecemeal here, but there a couple pretty priceless story arcs (and even an endless loop) strung throughout this volume).
April 26,2025
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A dense, beautifully crafted book that conveys a deep sense of emptiness, while also offering a funny and critical look at consumer culture.
April 26,2025
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I am really happy Chris Ware stopped with the absurdly overlarge book and micritext, his more recent Acmes are much, much easier to read.

A lot about hopelessness and remembrance here. From several different comics and characters.

Curious to read Jimmy Corrigan, but #20 is still my favorite so far.

Glad my life isn't this dark.
April 26,2025
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The cover glows in the dark, for crying out loud! That and the microscopic comics found inside, as well as the beautifully written and painstakingly hand-drawn art inside. Chris Ware IS American comics.
April 26,2025
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covers such a wide swath of miserableness and anxiety in the human experience. the young rusty brown and rocket sam stuff was probably the most depressing. so incredibly detailed especially in the fake ads
April 26,2025
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Na verdade esse livro é bem triste... Bem triste! No nível de ter advertências de não aconselhável.
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