Comics and Commentary III
Amy Benfer has launched a new series of columns about comic books and graphic novels in Salon. Her first entry touches on two already-known quantities, Daniel Clowes and Adrian Tomine. She addresses the unwelcoming nature of comic shops, the impact that other pop culture creations can have on the success of a comic or graphic novel, and the reasons why avid fiction readers should also be avid comics readers. Stepping away from Ghost World for a moment, she concentrates on why people should catch up on Eightball by reading the new Twentieth Century Eightball collection. Then she turns her attention to Tomine, spending a scant four paragraphs on his Summer Blonde collection. She draws the obvious parallel to Clowes' work and caps the column by recommending five additional titles, including Jessica Abel's wonderful La Perdida and Rich Koslowski's Three Fingers. It'll be interesting to see what other books Benfer looks at.

Thanks to Bookslut.