Kramers Ergot 7 Is Here

Kramers Ergot 7 is out, and we still have a few copies available. Kramers Ergot is the award-winning annual anthology featuring some of the best independent cartoonists alive, and this year's edition is huge - literally. The super-large format (featuring 16" by 21" pages) was chosen as a throwback to the comic strip medium's earliest days of the early 1900s. Then, comics, still a novelty, were published in "broadsheet" newspapers with these very large dimensions. Kramers Ergot editor Sammy Harkham was intrigued by the recent, stunning original-sized releases of Winsor McKay's classic Little Nemo in Slumberland, and was interested to see what modern comics would look like at that scale.

As you can see, it is quite large.

OK, not that large - you'll be able to carry this home just fine.

So, it is gorgeous, handsomely presented, and uniquely large, but what about the comics on the inside? Part of the joy of this volume is looking at all the comics and seeing how different cartoonists responded to the huge space available to them. Some used the space better than others, and like with any anthology the quality can be hit or miss, but the contributors hit more than they miss and the best strips in the book are the ones that use the whole space available to them.

"Sawdust," by Dan Clowes (his first new work released in a couple of years) effectively uses the space to tell a complete tragedy of murder and revenge on one page. Similarly, Jaime Hernandez tells a complete story on one page, this one of childhood memories, time travel, and murder. "NSFW" is a subtle, bizarre story about a deeply disturbed man as his life falls apart around him. In "Cradle of Frankenstein" by Ted May, the space is used most effectively and inventively in a beautifully twisty little tale (literally in terms of layout) about a scientist, his obsession, and a monster. "Night of the Jibblers" by Josh Simmons is stunning horror story tinged with loss and mystery. Ivan Brunetti's "American Splenda" is exactly what you'd imagine, a Pekar-like slice of life story told through the lens of Ivan Brunetti's comical self-evisceration. There is the beautiful and disturbing "Angels" by Anders Nilsen (of which I would love to see more). And of course, one of the best pieces in the book, a story focusing on the un-named protagonist from Acme Novelty Library #18 by Chris Ware. Chris Ware, as usual, packs an emotional punch into a small space, and the large space in this volume does not disappoint. And this doesn't even scratch the surface... there are also works by Kim Deitch, David Heatley, Matt Groening, Johnny Ryan, Richard Sala, Seth, Adrian Tomine, C.F., Gabrielle Bell, Ben Katchor, Rick Altergott, Jonathan Bennett, Conrad Botes, Shary Boyle, Mat Brinkman, John Brodowski, Martin Cendreda, Joe Daly, Matt Furie, Tom Gauld, Leif Goldberg, John Hankiewicz, Eric Haven, Tim Hensley, Walt Holcombe, Kevin Huizenga, J. Bradley Johnson, Ben Jones, Geoff McFetridge, Jesse McManus, James McShane, Jerry Moriarty, John Pham, Ron Rege Jr., Xavier Robel, Souther Salazar, Frank Santoro, Anna Sommer, Will Sweeney, Matthew Thurber, and many more.

There is a huge amount of variety in this book, with strips ranging from simple works that could exist at any size, deeply experimental non-narrative works, and everything in between. It is a who's who of the best cartoonists working today at a format you won't see anywhere else. The $125 price may appear a bit steep, but in terms of production value of the book (its hand-bound on fancy archival paper in an extremely limited print run), and the variety and quality of the comics inside, it is well worth it (and don't forget about our upcoming sale on graphic novels and trades - Kramers Ergot 7 is included, and 20% off equals some big savings on this book).

And for a great overview of the book and an interview with Sammy Harkham by Tom Spurgeon, check out this excellent read from The Comics Reporter.

Jeff