If you're in the market for some truly beautiful comic books, I suggest you take a look at Chris Ware's stuff. Not only is it jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but it's also remarkably entertaining. Here's the publishers' description of his book Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth:

"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."

I'm not sure if it totally delivers on the "rich portrait of a man stunted by a paralyzing fear of being disliked" front, but it sure is pretty.

Labels: Art, Shopping