READ YOURSELF RAW

Rating:
Summary: Hip, arty, intense- required reading for the post-literate
Review: This book reprints the first three issues of RAW, the "comics magazine for damned intellectuals." It contains some of the classics of "New Wave" cartooning. Included is work by Spiegelman, Mouly, Moriarity, Mariscal, Tardi, Capelle, Kaz, Beyer, Burns, Munoz, Swarte, Griffith, Meulen, etc. It is a collection of cutting edge European and American material from the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties. The tone is intelligent, sophisticated, and existential (or is it nihilistic?) Visually, it is an eclectic feast for the eyes. It has been called a magazine of visual literature, and I personally think that this perfectly sums up RAW.

This is a large, oversized publication, softbound, mostly black and white, with full-color cover reproductions. Bound into the volume are Art Spielgelman's all-color comic, "Two-Fisted Painters", and Mark Beyer's "City of Terror" bubblegum cards.

If you like this book, then track down the three smaller format RAW reprint volumes published by Penguin.