![Chris Ware - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001JOJLJ2.jpg)
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (Pantheon Graphic Library)
This first book from Chicago author Chris Ware is a pleasantly-decorated view at a lonely and emotionally-impaired "everyman" (Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth), who is provided, at age 36, the opportunity to meet his father for the first time. An improvisatory romance which gingerly deports itself between 1890's Chicago and 1980's small town Michigan, the reader is helped along by thousands of colored illustrations and diagrams, which, when read rapidly in sequence, provide a convincing illusion of life and movement. The bulk of the work is supported by fold-out instructions, an index, paper cut-outs, and a brief apology, all of which concrete to form a rich portrait of a man stunted by a paralyzing fear of being disliked.
Editorial Reviews
"This haunting and unshakable book will change the way you look at your world. Ware captures landscapes made to flatten emotion-a clinic shrouded in snow, a sterile apartment complex-and yet shows the reader the meaning and even beauty in every glimpse from a highway, every snippet of small talk." -Time magazine
"Jimmy Corrigan pushes the form of comics into unexpected formal and emotional territory." -Chicago Tribune
"Graphically inventive, wonderfully realized . . . [Jimmy Corrigan] is wonderfully illustrated in full color, and Ware's spare, iconic drawing style can render vivid architectural complexity or movingly capture the stark despondency of an unloved child." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Ware's use of words is sparing, and at times maudlin. But the real joy is his art. It's stunning. In terms of attention to detail, graceful use of color, and overall design-Ware has no peer. And while each panel is relentlessly polished-never an errant line or lazily rendered image-his drawings, somehow, remain delicate and achingly lyrical." -Dave Eggers, The New York Times Book Review
"Jimmy Corrigan pushes the form of comics into unexpected formal and emotional territory." -Chicago Tribune
"Graphically inventive, wonderfully realized . . . [Jimmy Corrigan] is wonderfully illustrated in full color, and Ware's spare, iconic drawing style can render vivid architectural complexity or movingly capture the stark despondency of an unloved child." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Ware's use of words is sparing, and at times maudlin. But the real joy is his art. It's stunning. In terms of attention to detail, graceful use of color, and overall design-Ware has no peer. And while each panel is relentlessly polished-never an errant line or lazily rendered image-his drawings, somehow, remain delicate and achingly lyrical." -Dave Eggers, The New York Times Book Review
Readers Top Reviews
459347x99fJohanJo
Plot, drawing,colour all endlessly dreary, repetative, same key minor-deminished, not saved by occasional slightly witty graphicy construction and other assides. In sum - a huge dissapointment with the arrogance of the author's pretensiousness adding insult to injury (the cost). DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON THIS TEDIOUS OBSCURANTIST TRIPE. Regards John Crabtree
Simon Turner
This is a truly magnificent piece of work, a masterpiece of the medium to rank alongside Maus by Speigelman. Only the title is weak! A study of alienation and lives shut down in childhood and for good. The format that the story takes is brilliant, fascinating and meaningful too. This will be underrated by people who like to read comics that stay on the surface or those that only romanticise hard times or are by authors who don't have the perceptiveness to truly illuminate a comics` situations. Ware isn't exploitative though and doesn't delve into tough times in a cynical way. This comic will be marked down though far more than other inferior ones because it isn't superficial: great art pushes boundaries and by its very nature can rarely then be popular. Everyone who would rather stay where things are familiar and safe will be left behind and some of them write reviews on Amazon to justify themselves! Especially great are the parts of the book that focus on events of more than 100 years ago. The first 300 pages of the book are wonderful after the first 10 or 20 to settle into Chris Ware`s style and his character`s fantasy life excerpts, which are also completely justified in the circumstances of the character`s life unlike how they are used in many other books. The final hundred pages are very good too.
Joe Adams
Powerful, amazing storytelling from a premiere graphic designer. Ware's artwork is clean almost to the point of being sterile. Crisp. His graphic sense draws heavily on popular ad and magazine styles at the turn of the 19th/20th Century. Like all of the Acme Novelty Company books, the volume is packed. PACKED!! You need a magnifying glass to read the small print, which ranges from sarcastic to simply funny to painfully acurate satire. Grandpa Jimmy's story of being abandoned at the Chicago World Exhibition was painful, his brief connection to a sister he never knew was powerful and Jimmy's doubt is always a source for searching the reader's own soul. Good work from a Master.
JessicaJ. Clarkson
This book is the height of masculine arrogance, asking you to work twice as hard to unlock a tired narrative where you are asked to, once again, empathize with awkward misogynistic men. People who love this book will claim “you just didn’t get it” when in actuality it’s just not with the energy it asks you to expend. Read anything else.
yummymayo
Jimmy Corrigan is a brilliant piece of work. I am not (and never have been) much of an active connoisseur of graphic novels. Only in rare instances have I ever purchased and fully enjoyed such an item. I received "Smartest Kid" as a gift from a friend of mine, which she described as 'a decadent film experience' Indeed this book (which really could pass as a novel) is quite a decadent, nostalgic stroll on a downward spiral into a bottomless pit. The story takes place in Chicago, and Jimmy (our poor protagonist with no self confidence) is chucked into a situation where he is to 'reunite' with his estranged father. Jimmy daydreams, he has flashbacks, and is awkward in every possible situation... and we do too right along with him. Ware's unusual and somewhat confusing style of paneling lends itself to the current journey at hand, which makes for an intense and throught provoking read. This book is a real page turner. How will it end? WHEN will it end? Is there hope for Jimmy, or is he a lost soul? This is not reccomended for the younger crowd. There's a small amount of profanity and sexual subject matter. Many of the situations cater toward the understanding of an adult, and there is definitely a lot to read. But all that said, this is an intellegent book with a lot to offer. It might make a good item to buy for father's day. As my dad told me when I got it for him, "thanks for a thoughtful and rewarding gift."
