by Chris Ware
First published 2005
This collection gathers Chris Ware's surviving one-page cartoon strips that filled gaps in his regular comic book series over ten years. The stories jump between different time periods, from futuristic scenarios to old western settings to contemporary life. Ware includes unusual extras like a glowing star map, a diagram showing how the universe works, paper cutout activities, and a complete corporate history of his fictional ACME Novelty Company with vintage photos and early business records. The book also contains what claims to be the tiniest comic strip ever printed for public sale. These brief cartoon jokes represent Ware's approach to visual storytelling across multiple genres and time periods, packaged in a hardcover format that reflects light in an appealing way.
Genres: satire, art, humor, 21st-century, comics, graphic-novels-comics
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: found-family, meta-fiction
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
108 pages · Hardcover · Pantheon