The Acme Novelty Date Book: Sketches and Diary Pages in Facsimile 1986-1995

by Chris Ware

Acclaimed cartoonist Chris Ware reveals the outtakes of his genius in these intimate, imaginative, and whimsical sketches collected from the years during which he completed his award-winning graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (Pantheon). His novel not only won the Manchester Guardian First Novel prize in 2001 but it has sold over 100,000 copies. This book is as much a companion volume to Jimmy Corrigan --one of the great crossover success stories-- as a tremendous art collection from of one of America's most interesting and popular graphic artist. Chris Ware has a passion for drawing that is surprisingly wide-ranging in style and subject. This book surprises the reader on every page with its sense of spontaneous vision. Architectural drawings from Chicago and interplanetary robot comics collide with cruelly doodled human figures and quietly troubling studies of the still life. A must for people with a passion for modern design and old-fashioned style.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1896597661
• ISBN13: 9781896597669
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 7.1" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

great stuff

beautiful drawings...no matter how self critical mr. ware was back in the day. the book really allows the reader into the head of a master illustrator. if you're looking more for a graphic novel, don't start with this one (try his first real freshman work jimmy c, or his ACME novelty library, probably my favorite - you get a real sense of what ware is all about - clean lines, insane, or better put, anal details). anyway, back to this one...great book, if you're a fan of ware, there's no reason not to get this one, and if you're not yet convinced, this is a nice piece just to have - these same drawings and doodles that once inspired ware himself, now get me thinking. love it.

Shows Chris as the true artist that he is

I didn't think I would like this one. But after owning everything else the man ever made, I asked for this one for x-mas. Wow! I love it! There are spontaneous portraits of people on the bus, views from friend's rooftops, the rudiments of strips like: God, Jimmy the robot etc... If you are a Chris Ware fan YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK! If you are not familiar with Chris, best to start somewhere else.

Monster talent!

The book is a record of an absolute monster drawing talent! It collects tentative investigations, as a scrapbook of ideas and odds and ends. The amazing thing about it is its vitality. Anything and everything becomes a source of inspiration and investigation into the nature of drawing. A coffee cup, a telephone in a waiting room, a washing machine, such mundane things seem to begin as notations but are transformed by Ware's observation of line and tone into their inner vitality - much like Van Gogh's peasant shoes. There are beautiful portraits. And beyond the observed notes, the book is positively brimming with characters, mutations, and cartoons from his eccentric imagination. The fantastical musings and the observed notations blend, merge together, separate like DNA strands through the book, adding up to a rich record of creativity

An very personal glimpse at an amazing artist...

I found this book very inspiring and entertaining. To my non-trained eyes, even his rough sketches are amazing. And the journal entries are intense to read. In publishing this sketchbook, he seems unafraid to show us his most private moments of self doubt and insecurity. It was surprising to me that someone this talented could be such a harsh critic of his own work. That's probably what keeps his work so unique. There's lots to check out in this very cool book.