DESIGNING

S ORIES
Chris Ware as the Intersection
of Comics and Graphic Design
LITA LEDESMA
DESIGNING
STORIES
Chris Ware as the Intersection
of Comics and Graphic Design
LITA LEDESMA
VI
For my brother, Ben, who
LET ME STEAL HIS comics.
2
3
The disciplines of graphic designers and comic
book artists share many similarities. While
their histories and purposes are very different,
both mediums aim to express a direct message
to an audience using forms and text. Both
serve a dual purpose of communication and
aesthetic qualityand ideally, these two things
enhance one another. Popular and celebrated
in both felds, Chris Ware deftly utilizes the
techniques of traditional graphic design to
inform and enhance his work as a comic book
artist. His highly controlled, geometric forms
are constructed in harmony with elaborate,
hand-lettered type in a masterful expression
of self-discipline and rigor more frequently
associated with graphic design, not comic
books. The work of Chris Ware is particularly
exemplary of the close relationship between
comic art and graphic design and the ways in
which the tools and techniques of the latter
beneft the comics medium.
comic books as
design
Left: detail from
cover of Jimmy
Corrigan: the
Smartest Kid on
Earth. Next page:
detail from the
cover of Action
Comics No. 1,
which was the
frst example of a
Superhero comic.
5
A brief HISTORY of

To understand and better appreciate Wares
particular style, and indeed, comics as a
whole, one must have a clear understanding
of the defnition of comics and at least
briefy consider the origins of this type of
artwork. In his book Understanding Comics,
Scott McCloud devotes an entire chapter to
an analysis of the defnition of comics. His
illustrated explication is useful in noting
that while comics are generally accepted
to have certain characteristics, like any
art form, their defnition is malleable. Still,
for the purposes of formal analysis, his
description seems an excellent starting
point: comics (komiks) N. plural in form,
used with a singular verb. 1. Juxtaposed
comics
6
pictorial and other images in deliberate
sequence, intended to convey information
and/or to produce an aesthetic response
in the viewer. (Conscious of the sterility of
his cautious defnition, McCloud includes
three alternate defnitions that riff on
dominant stereotypical ideas of comics: 2.
Superheroes in bright colorful costumes,
fghting dastardly villains who want to
conquer the world in violent sensational
pulse-pounding action sequences!! 3. Cute
cuddly bunnies, mice and roly-poly bears,
dancing to and fro, hippity hop, hippity hop.
4. Corruptor of our Nations Youth. (9).
When we comb backward in history, we can
fnd no obvious moment when fully realized
comic books suddenly appeared ex nihilo.
Rather, as is the case with many other
linguistic modes of communicationand
there are some, Ware included, who would
consider comics a kind of languageit
would seem that comics evolved over
time, eventually taking on the distinctive
and consistent characteristics they have
presently. While McCloud includes ancient
hieroglyphics as among some of the
earliest examples of proto-comics, other
7
comic historians such as Art Spiegelman
tend to point to an event in time far more
closely connected to our own. In 1837,
a Swiss man by the name of Rudolphe
Tpffer published an illustrated story,
Histoire de M. Vieux Bois. Distinctive in its
method of employing a sequential pictorial
narrative, this work of Tpffer is seen as
the predecessor to the comic book medium
as we know it. Spiegelman notes in his
historical essay on the origins of commix,
that Tpffer made brilliant use of his
limited drawing ability to create a kind of
shorthand picture-writing (61). Before
Tpffers work, there had been books with
illustrations to accompany them, but his
work differed in its intentionality; Tpffers
Above: Tpffers
early comic
works showed an
innovative use
of sequential art
to tell a story,
such as this
example from
Histoire de M.
Vieux Bois.
8
9
images were using sequencing as a method
of expressing time to further his story. This
language of signs as Tpffer dubbed it,
was hard to defne but easy to understand.
They were simple enough that all who
saw them immediately understood them...
Tpffers picture stories were powered not
by individual signs but by combinations
of signs working together in sequence
(Raeburn, Chris Ware 7). As an aside,
despite the art forms present-day struggle
for a place of legitimacy in the realms of art
and literature, the famous author Goethe
was an early endorser of comic books;
Tpffer sent his work to the ailing author
when he was on his deathbed, and received
high praise from Goethe for the work, who
believed that the form had a tremendous
amount of potential, particularly if the
subject matter were elevated to something
beyond mere amusement (McCloud 17).
Tpffers seminal work would go on to
inspire a great deal of early 20th Century
comic artists, including Rudolf Dirk,
the artist behind the comic strip The
Katzenjammer Kids. Publishing magnate
William Randolph Hearst took a liking to
Katzengammer
Kids was one of the
earliest serialized
comics which served
as inspiration for
later artists such
as Chris Ware.
Next page: detail
from Little Nemo in
Slumberland.
10
his comics, and chose to feature Dirks
work regularly in his newspapersa
marriage that would further the popularity
of comics, but also solidify the notion of
comics as throwaway ephemeral art.
Despite this dubious place of honor in
print, many comics artists of the period
were highly skilled illustrators and writers,
engaging in sophisticated work which
explored and expanded the boundaries
of this relatively new medium. Winsor
McCay, the creator of Little Nemo in
Slumberland, was a masterful illustrator,
but more importantly, as Spiegelman notes
in his analysis, McCay understood the
storytelling possibilities of the comic strips
unique formal elements: the narrative as
well as design signifcance of a panels
size and shape, and how these individual
panels combined to form a coherent
visual whole (64). The work of early comic
artists such as McCay beneftted from a
relative freedom from expectation; the
11
McCay understood
the storytelling
possibilities of the
comic strips unique
formal elements.
format was still a frontier in many respects,
and thus artists working in this medium
were able to defne it for themselves.
In 1918, the long-lasting serial comic
Gasoline Alley appeared on the funnies
scene. This lighthearted family-themed
strip concealed behind its simplicity a
subtle sophistication. Frank King, its
creator, frequently experimented with
12
layouts and color to great effect, and more
uniquely, created a real-time narrative for
his characters, such that they aged over
time along with the comics audience.
Tintin, frst published in 1929, is also
notable in the history of the medium.
Created by Georges Remil, professionally
known as Herg, this world-beloved series
is distinctive for its clean, crisp line
and savvy storyline. Hergs illustration
technique was also characterized by his
detailed and highly realistic backgrounds
in contrast to simplifed character
illustrations. This technique underscores
the relationship that the comic book reader
has with the characters; the shorthand
character illustrations in Hergs work
are characteristic of many comics, and
are effective insofar as they allow the
reader to better place him or herself in
Hergs TinTin,
pictured at right,
had a clean
look that would
infuence Wares
illustration style.
13
14
the storyline. When, for example, a face is
simplifed, the character in the story can
become a sort of everyman, as McCloud
notes in Understanding Comics (44).
In 1938 the game-changing Action Comics
made its debut to the world, introducing
Superman for the frst time. The birth of
this publication marked the beginning
of the superhero genre of comics (Muir
538). Characterized by simple dramatic
story arcs and cinematic pictorial styles,
the superhero comic shares a close
relationship to the action flm. This genres
popularity would eventually engulf the
comics world, defning them for many
creators and readers alike. Today the
superhero genre is more popular than
ever, with associated flms churning out
of Hollywood at a breathless pace.
Though the superhero genre certainly has
had a powerful infuence on the comic
book medium as a whole, early comic book
artists like Dirk, Frank and Herg have a
much closer relationship to contemporary
comic artists like Chris Ware, and it is in
these pioneer comic artists that we see
15
Chris Wares cover
illustration of Lambiek
No. 30, by McClouds
tongue in cheek defni-
tion of comics, passes
with fying colors.
more clearly the formal techniques of
graphic design. Though Wares work does
not dismiss the superhero comic genre
(indeed, his work continuously references
and parodies aspects of the genre), his
narrative structures and illustration style
are far more evocative of the work of
these early 20th century comic artists.
16
17
THE UNDERGROUND
REVOLUTION
It would take a whole book to cover the history
of the underground comic movement alone,
but it is necessary to mention a few key fgures
in this important revolution in the medium
as they relate to Ware. Following the cultural
tide of rebellion at the time, artists such as
Robert Crumb, founder of the independent
Zap Comics and the widely popular Fritz
the Cat emerged in the late 1960s with a
daring new approach to content and delivery
within the comic milieu. Crumbs tense,
aggressively sexualized characters inhabited
a dense world of emotionally expressive,
culturally challenging images and stories.
Left: Im not here to be
polite. Robert Crumb
self-portrait from the
R. Crumb Handbook.
18
Later, Crumb would collaborate on a comic
with his friend, Harvey Pekar. Pekar crafted
bleak, confessional narratives on the
banalities of the human condition, often
with no conciliatory resolution. Coupled
with Crumbs anxious illustration style,
their co-creation of American Splendor can
certainly be seen as an important step in
the realm of the graphic novel, particularly
for the genre of literary, character-driven
material exemplifed in Chris Wares oeuvre.
Work of artists such as Crumb and Pekar
recaptured signifcant territory from the
likes of Marvel and D.C. Comics, allowing
for other artists in their time, and future
artists such as Chris Ware, to consider
the medium apart from the formulaic
narrative and compositional conventions
of the superhero genre (Cassel 39).
What is the stylistic difference between
superhero comics and underground or
independent comics such as Crumbs
and now Wares? They both have certain
similar characteristics, to be sure. They
are both sequential art, and combine word
and image; both kinds of comics easily
fall under McClouds defnition of comics.
19
Frequently, superhero comics are
produced by teams of multiple people for
a large publishing studio. One comic might
include the efforts of one or more script
writers, pencilers, inkers, colorists, and
letterers. Often, the characters in the
stories are owned by the publisher, as is
the case for many of the more famous
superheroes, like Batman of D.C. Comics
fame, and thus control over the storyline
and visual representation of the storyline
must meet the approval of the publishing
company. This scenario allows for much
less innovation in narrative structure and
technique, particularly as the end product
is frequently serialized and intended for an
Above: Crumbs
illustration
from Pekars
American
Splendor #4.
their illustrations are boldly
expressive, hyperbolic and
cinematic in composition.
21
audience that expects a consistent product
over an extended period of time. Generally,
the stories in this genre of comic are
action-flled conficts between archetypical
hero fgures and their counterpart villains.
The themes in such stories are typically
man vs. man variations. Their illustrations
are boldly expressive, hyperbolic and
cinematic in composition. Typographical
treatments of the words in this genre are
simple and formulaic, expressive only
within the conventions of the genre, and
generally within the norms of the comics
language; screams might be drawn with
larger, jagged letterforms, for example.
This type treatment is almost a form of
punctuation or stage direction, and type
design generally seems an afterthought
to the images in the story (Khordoc 163).
In contrast, comics that are not of the
superhero genre are very broad in style
and content, particularly those produced in
Europe and the United States. (For example,
Japanese manga comics bear a much
closer relationship to superhero comics,
though there are notable differences in
narrative structure and style). Largely,
22
these independent comics are created
by a single person, who serves as the
author, illustrator, and designer of the work.
Somewhat less common for independent
comics is a collaboration between a writer
and an illustrator. In the past, comics of this
type have frequently been self-published
or produced by small publishing houses.
However, in the past two decades especially,
independent comic book publishing
companies have emerged and more
recently, major book publishers have begun
to include some comics in their catalog.
Whether self-published (in print or on the
web) or published by a major book house,
the creators of these comics tend
to have control over most if not all aspects
of the product. This distinction from
traditional comic factory style studios
allows independent comic artists freedom
to explore the idiom of comics without the
burden of conventional expectations in
form or content, resulting in a broad range
of unique works by artists with distinctive
approaches to the formal qualities of comics.
Facing page:
an example of
a traditional
contemporary
superhero comic,
in this case from
Batman #345.
23
24
25
INTRODUCING
CHRIS WARE
Chris Ware emerged on the independent
comic book scene in the early 1990s as a
young college student. His frst published
work, an experimental comic called
Quimby the Mouse which was featured
in the Daily Texan, explored and played
with traditional comic book narrative
structures by manipulating time and
continuity through layout and story. A
tribute to George Herrimans long-running
comic strip, Krazy Kat, Wares Quimby
the Mouse is a clever juxtaposition of
the classic funny pages comic genre
with a turbid emotional quality more
common in formal literature. By combining
these two contrasting aspects, Ware
employs a visual and messaging irony that
enhances the effect of each component.
In addition to publishing his comics, Ware
also had a brief stint as an art director for a
newspaper. While not his calling, it proved
useful and formative. In an interview, Ware
notes that this taught [him] a lot about
creating images for reproduction and
about printingan invaluable experience...
The full-time pressmen and production
people working there as integral to [his]
education as [his] professors were (Irving).
The celebrated comic artist Art Spiegelman
took notice of Wares work and invited him
to contribute to his publication, Raw. One of
Wares submissions to the publication,
a wry send-off of the superhero genre
entitled Thrilling Adventure Stories, displayed
an impressively accurate visual parody of
a typical 1940s superhero comic. On the
surface, the strip appears to be about a
classic hero who frequently rescues damsels
from assorted evil villains. However, the
text used to accompany these stories is
unusual. Seemingly unrelated, the word
bubbles describe the protagonists troubled
relationship with his family members, who
have distant or diffcult relationships with
the person narrating. Using the images in
26
Above: excerpt from
Wares Thrilling
Adventure Stories.
Previous page:
portrait of Ware in
his home.
each panel as a counterpoint to the text,
Ware uses contrasting themes to enhance
the message of his creation. Wares visual
tropes serve as cues to the reader and
convey the complicated dichotomy of the
narrators emotional associations with
the stories in this series. Since the stories
being relayed are refections on events
from childhood, this dissonance (the
protagonist is both a child without power
and an action hero with unusual power)
allows the reader to infer the internal
pathos of the protagonist (Kannenberg).
27
28
Years later, Ware would create his most
celebrated work to date, Jimmy Corrigan:
The Smartest Kid on Earth. Originally
published as a serial comic for the Chicago
paper, New City, this comic saga spanning
multiple generations of Corrigan men has
received numerous accolades and awards,
including the American Book Award and
the British Guardian First Book Award (a
frst for the comic genre), both in 2001.
Praised by critics across the disciplines
of literature, art, and design, Ware is
considered by many to be the preeminent
example of excellence and achievement
in the contemporary comic arena.
Illustration from
Wares Jimmy
Corrigan: the
Smartest Kid
on Earth.
29
30
CHRIS WARE AS
DESIGNER
As part of Wares explorations with visual
and typographical narratives, Ware has
employed a number of graphic design
techniques in his comics work. Steven
Heller observes that Ware has refned
a unique illustrative and typographic
language that bridges comic art and
graphic design (Heller, Eye Magazine 20).
Indeed, Chris Ware has brought the two
disciplines together more uniquely and
effectively than any other comic artist.
Book display
concept for Wares
Quimby the Mouse.
31
32
In the body of work associated with Jimmy
Corrigan (both the single volume and the
individual, serialized books produced
under the series title Acme Novelty Library),
Chris Ware implements many of the
techniques of type designers to enhance
and even become a part of the story:
In the same ways that a typographer
physically transforms the words in display
and logo type to make them embody the
meaning in the words themselves, Ware
transformed the storylines of his strips
into headlines, choosing colors, typefaces,
and the occasional rebus to symbolize
the emotions warranted by the words.
He then used these headlines to move
the story forwards, using typography to
tell not only the verbal story but also the
visual story. (Raeburn, Chris Ware 19).
Immensely attuned to the nuances of
typographical expression, Ware peppers
CORRIGANS life is compact and controlled,
frequently not by him, and he is not equipped
to access the passion he craves.
33
his work with elaborately designed,
hand-painted letterforms. Frequently,
the typography in his work, particularly
headings, has an expressive, emotional
content: bombastic, romantic, nostalgic,
or highly kinetic. This contrasts profoundly
with the stillness, slow pace and fatness
of expression which his illustrations of
Jimmy Corrigan convey. Corrigans life is
compact and controlled, frequently not
by him, and he is not equipped to access
the passion he craves. Ware illustrates
his hapless protagonist accordingly, with
a tight, precise line that leaves no egress
for feelings. It is hard to believe that such
clean and elegant linework comes from
a handheld brush; many have mistakenly
believed his delicately inked artwork to be
digitally illustrated (Eggers 309). As Steven
Heller notes in Stylepedia, Indeed, Ware
argues that his cartooning is not drawing;
its more like typography,
a mechanical sort of picture lettering
(329). This mechanical illustration style
has been noted by some critics, Douglas
Wolk included, as somewhat cold and
unsympathetic (Reading Comics 347), but
34
Ware insists that his desire is to generate
empathy in the reader, emotion being the
primary focus of his stories. Ware explains
that his distinctive illustration style is for
the sake of clarity of comprehension:
What Im hoping to do is just to make it
a clear as possible whats going on in
the page and make the images really
not necessarily that interesting, but just
easily readable so that the story can
be as confusing and diffcult to sort out
as my own experiences are (Alfano).
As a counterweight to the fat emotional
effect of his structured illustration
technique, which Ware feels is a sensible
distance that, inspired by typographical
disciplines, governs the way that he draws,
(Bengal 1), Ware employs a startling array
of typographical designs in conjunction with
these illustrations. Fascinated by hand-
lettered typography, particularly from the
mid-19th century and earlier, Ware is a self-
taught typographer who uses the stylistic
conventions of previous eras to evoke a
sense of nostalgia and humanistic warmth:
I steal constantly from all sorts of things,
Right: Wares
experimental
type treatments
add layers of
irony to his work
in this excerpt
from Wares Acme
Novelty Library #4.
35
36
especially when something emotionally
affects me, either for reasons of color,
composition, letterstylesometimes its
even something as simple as an ascender
and descender width relative to each
other. Im sure that if Id taken a class
about this stuff Id know much better why
it all works the way it does, and I wouldnt
have to fumble around in the dark so
much (Heller, Eye Magazine 326).
Yet another formal graphic design element
which Ware effectively employs in a fresh
way is the infographic. Typically reserved
the for the conveying of complex data in
a visually concise, easy to understand
manner, this diagrammatic method of
depicting information is used by Ware
throughout Jimmy Corrigan and his other
works to further his narrative, fesh out his
characters, as well as play with the idea
of infographics and diagrams themselves.
In one illustration, we see the building
that is the setting for much of his recently
published work, Building Stories. Ware
uses circles connected by lines, flled with
small illustrations, which reveal details
Left: infographic
techniques carry
the narrative
forward in this
example from
Wares Build-
ing Stories.
38
The small print on
one such page reveals
Wares sardonic sense
of humor, as each ad
undermines itself with
A morbid twist.
39
about the buildings denizens. Rather
than convey quantifable information, the
circular panels serve as narrative elements.
This clinical technique has an intriguing
effect, particularly when the material
being explored is of a strong emotional
content. By employing an illustration style
that is associated with simple explanatory
visualizations of factual information, Ware
creates a formalistic barrier between
the emotional content and the reader,
which, interestingly, only serves to make
those scenes that much more poignant.
In a similar way, Ware has created a number
of papercraft artworks for his comics.
These complex, fully functional pagesone
part diagram, one part unrealized three-
dimensional objectappear as narrative
enhancements and entice the reader to
participate in the protagonists experience
in a tangible way. One such example of
Wares papercraft illustrations can be
found in Jimmy Corrigan. Here, the reader
is invited to fabricate a zoetrope from his
drawings, which, if made well, will animate
a crutch-bearing robota metaphorical
The small print on
one such page reveals
Wares sardonic sense
of humor, as each ad
undermines itself with
A morbid twist.
40
representation of Jimmy. Ware notes that
the act of cutting out and assembling such
papercraft projects is inherently a task of
isolation and relative futility, thus making
it a ftting activity to further imbue the
reader with a sense of loneliness and ennui,
much like the protagonist in the comic
(Alfano). The instructions for this toy include
several derogatory statements aimed
at the reader (who, in this case, is also
Jimmy) as well as stream-of-consciousness
text concerning his estranged father.
Thus, Ware knits pathos into his
information design and diagrammatic
illustrations with compelling results.
41
Ware also raids the design closet for
clichs in the advertising and branding
techniques employed by graphic designers
and copywriters. Particularly fond of
mid-twentieth century advertising, Ware
frequently employs the kitschy sincerity
of this period in his Acme Novelty Library.
In one example, Ware parodies the back
page advertisements often found in comic
books from the 1960s and 1970s. Using
period-appropriate typography, layouts
and copy language, Ware mimics the ads
perfectly in the service of his message. A
close reading of the small print on one
such page reveals Wares sardonic sense
Above: papercraft
illustration from
Jimmy Corrigan: The
Smartest Kid on
Earth. Previous page:
detail from Wares
Building Stories.
43
of humor, as each ad undermines itself
with a morbid twist. Much as in his earlier
work, Thrilling Adventure Stories, here
Ware relies on the readers exposure to
the design technique being parodied. In
this case, the crowded page, primary
colors, and plain typography all express
a particular time and place for graphic
design, and it is precisely this that
Ware cleverly manipulates to enhance
the readers experience of the story.
Left: Make
Mistakes Get
Children and
Forever Alter the
Flavor of Your Life
Wares parody
of mid-century
comics-pages
advertising from
Acme Novelty
Library #3.
The exciting
Conclusion
Comics artists would beneft greatly
by following Chris Wares example and
taking a more considered approach in
their typographical and design choices.
Though not a graphic designer by training,
Chris Ware has been lauded by graphic
designers all over the world for his comic
work, largely because of how well he
implements the techniques of graphic
designers in his comics.
45
46
By harvesting graphic design tools such
as hand lettered and designed type,
infographics, and traditional advertising
and branding conventions, Ware is
able to enhance his visual and textual
narrative to great effect. With the skills
and historical understanding of traditional
graphic design techniques for creating
form and content at his disposal, Chris
Ware is able to communicate a richer,
more sophisticated message to his
audience within the comic medium. More
clearly than perhaps any other comic
artist, Chris Wares work demonstrates
the close relationship that graphic design
and comic books share. Furthermore,
Ware has been a pioneer in exploiting
that connection and expanding upon its
possibilities, pushing the boundaries of
both disciplines to create a distinctive
body of work that is unparalleled in the
world of comics and graphic design.
Right: in-store
display for Jimmy
Corrigan: The
Smartest Kid
on Earth.
Previous spread:
detail from
Building Stories.
47
49
INTERVIEW WITH
CHRIS WARE
In an interview with Stephen Heller you
mention that you have no interest in being
a graphic designer, though you have
done some graphic design (album covers,
book jackets, et al.) Yet your comics work
looks incredibly well-designed and has
an aesthetic that resonates with graphic
designers. Can you talk about your
impressions/thoughts about the relationship
your work has to graphic design, and what
inspires your distinctive style?
Whatever work Ive done as a graphic
designer sort of follows a graph that roughly
plots my need to pay my rent versus the
time/tolerance I have available for it, with
that curve rolling off over the past few
years only into projects for friends (the
occasional CD cover) graphic-design-as
necessity (my own weird periodical The Rag
Time Ephemeralist) and projects which I
am happy to be involved with (the book
and record set for the Paragon Ragtime
50
Orchestras orchestration of Scott Joplins
Treemonisha.) None of them have
anything to do with comics-writing, however,
which, as an art of composition and nearly
always reproduction, inevitably involves
graphic design as an integral approach and
component, but not as an end in itself.
You mentioned in several interviews how much
you love 19th century typography, particularly
for its human, expressive character
something which often lies in contrast to the
controlled, clean linework of your illustrations.
Can you discuss the reasons you choose to use
typography in this way?
Even if my artwork appears to be clean
and controlled, its still hand-drawn and
nowhere near as clean and controlled as
the hand-drawn typography of the 19th
century. I hand draw typography in my
comics because its an expressive part of
the comics themselves, and I want it as
much as possible to be an unconscious
part of the writing, as well; i.e. to be born
at the same time as the drawing and the
writing, not applied apart from it.
51 Chris Wares
record label
design for Sub-Pop
records. Previous
spread: detail from
Wares illustration
for the Brooklyn
Comics and
Graphics Festival
held in 2012.
I was just recently at a book fair in Germany
and spent a good part of the time looking
at modern publishers booths and their
pleasantly-designed covers, but discovered
a section of book dealers which left me
astonished anew at the superiority of the
work of one hundred years ago, especially
the clarity, fneness and beauty it embodied
and which our time period almost entirely
ignores, or more properly, lacks the facility
to any longer fully understand.
52
53
Some of the lettering in your work is so small I
need a magnifying glass to read it, and I have
20/20 vision! Can you talk about this intriguing
and amusing design choice?
This is going to sound pretentious, but in a leaf
of a tree one can see the structure, shape and
growth of the tree itself, and
I guess Im in some way trying to model the
same recursiveness in the structure
of my panel, pages and ultimately the books
themselves. (I also dont like to waste space.)
Much of your work references ads, signage and
branding from previous decades, incorporating
these ordinary and often beautifully kitschy
things into your narrative in a lyrical way. Can
you talk about the relationship that advertising
and branding has to your storytelling methods?
Well, aside form the fact that I loathe
advertising, its also an integral, living part of
my memories and my consciousness, just as it
is for nearly everyone in the developed world.
Its so diffcult in any urban area to not be free
of something to read, or to compare oneself
54
to, or to wonder about what it is exactly that
these people who make these ads think will
appeal to or sell something to a stranger.
These images, phrases, typefaces, music
and flms linger in the consciousness,
fester, take roots and infect real memories,
leeching what should be honest nostalgia for
people and places and then replacing it with
a jingle or a clever camera trick. YouTube is
full of television commercials that remind
me of my parents and my grandparents,
a whole relationship which is sinister and
sickening. At the same time, I fondly and
deeply remember so many of these ads,
and few experiences other than opening the
cabinet in which Ive kept all the objects I
collected from my grandmothers house and
inhaling the collective odor take me back to
that time more fully. Lastly, the designers
who work in advertising make fabulously
serious amounts of money, so they assume
If Ive potentially got all the graphic tools of
expression at my fingertips, I should make use
of as many of them as possible.
55
what they do must be important. And it is,
ironically. Maybe its even the real art of our
time, in a way. James Joyce employed the
repeated banal phrase threading through
the thoughts of Leopold Bloom in Ulysses
to suggest advertisings insidious infltration
of experience, and that book is only set in
1904; imagine how poisoned and bilge-
choked our minds are now.
You employ the use of infographic charts in
your workmost recently in Building Stories.
Can you talk about your reasons for using
this technique as a narrative device?
Its simply one way out of many to present
relationships (whether between people,
places, ideas or falsehoods) in a manner
that is non-verbal; its another way of writing
in pictures thats not theatrical, but spatial
and relative. I fgure that if Ive potentially
got all the graphic tools of expression at my
fngertips I should make use of as many of
them as possible.
56
Bibliography
Alfano, Elysabeth, prod. Graphic Novelist, Chris
Ware. Fear No Art. Chicago, Illinois, 19 May
2012. Web.
Ball, David M., and Martha B. Kuhlman. The
Comics of Chris Ware: Drawing Is a Way of
Thinking. Jackson: University of Mississippi,
2010. Print.
Bengal, Rebecca. On Cartooning: Chris Ware.
POV. pbs.com, 11 2006. Web. 17 Sept. 2012.
Blackbeard, Bill. No Kidding... Weve Run Out of
Kats! Krazy & Ignatz 1933-1934: Necromancy
by the Blue Bean Bush (Krazy Kat). Aut. George
Herriman. Ed. Bill Blackbeard. Des. Chris Ware.
Seattle: Fantagraphics Books, 2004. Print.
Brockes, Emma. Interview: Chris Ware. The
Guardian. 07 December 2001, G2, P4. Web. 20
Sept. 2012.
Burns, Charles. The Best American Comics 2009.
Boston: Houghton Miffin Harcourt, 2009. Print.
Cassel, Valerie. Between a Bedrock and a
Nuclear Power Plant. Splat Boom Pow! Houston:
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 2003. Print.
Chinn, Mike. Writing and Illustrating the Graphic
Novel: Everything You Need to Know to Create
Great Graphic Works. Canada: Barrons Education
Series, 2004.
57
Dooley, Michael and Steven Heller. Education
of a Comics Artist: Visual Narrative in Cartoons,
Graphic Novels, and Beyond. New York: Allworth
Press, 2005. eBook.
Eggers, Dave. Chris Ware. Masters of American
Comics. Eds. John Carlin, Paul Karasik, and Brian
Walker. New Haven: Hammer Museum and The
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, in
association with Yale University Press, 2005.
308-317. Print.
Eisner, Wil. Graphic Storytelling. Tamarac, Florida:
Poorhouse Press, 1995. Print.
Fernato, Matt. The Past is an Old House. Art on
Paper. March/April 2004, p 54. Print.
Fitch, Alex, host. Chris Ware and Daniel Clowes.
Panel Borders. panelborders.com, 23 2011. Web.
10 Sept 2012.
Grimaldi, Caterina. Chris Ware: Books,
Buildings, People. Abitare. Oct. 2010. Issue
506.118-173. Print.
Heer and Worcester. A Comic Studies Reader.
Jackson: Jackson University Press of Mississippi,
2009. Print.
Heiman, Eric. Lifes Little Detours. Eye Magazine.
Winter 2010. Vol. 20, Issue 78. 54-55. Print.
58
Heller, Steven. Smartest Letterer on the Planet.
Eye Magazine. Autumn 2002. Vol 12. Issue 45.
18-25. Print.
Heller, Steven and Louise Fili. Stylepedia: a
Guide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks,
and Conceits. San Francisco: Chronicle Books,
2006. Print.
Hodgman, John. Righteousness in Tights. New
York Times. 24 April 2005. Web.
Irving, Christopher. Chris Ware on Building a
Better Comic Book. nycgraphicnovelists.com.
06 2012. Web. 17 Sept. 2012.
Kidd, Chip. Please Dont Hate Him. Print
Magazine. May/June 1997. Vol. 51. Issue 3.
42-49. Web.
Kannenberg Jr., Gene. Graphic Text, Graphic
Context: Interpreting Custom Fonts and Hands
in Contemporary Comics. Illuminating Letters:
Typography and Literary Interpretation. Eds. Paul
C. Gutjahr and Megan Benton. Amherst: University
of Massachusetts Press, 2001. Print.
Kerek, Rowan. Features Interview: Chris Ware.
BBC Collective. 15 2005: Web. 23 Oct. 2012.
59
Khordoc, Catherine. The Comic Books
Soundtrack: Visual Sound Effects in Asterisk.
The Language of Comics: Word and Image. Eds.
Varnum, Robin, and Christina T. Gibbons. Jackson:
University of Mississippi, 2001. Print.
Lang, Kirsty, host. Chris Ware. Front Row:
The Thick of It, Cerys Matthews, Lucy Liu in
Elementary. Prod. Claire Bartleet. BBC Radio
4: 28 2012. Web. 23 Oct 2012.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics.
Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1993. Print.
Mitchell, W.J.T. Word and Image. Critical Terms
for Art History. Eds. Robert S. Nelson and Richard
Shiff. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,
1993. Print.
Muir, John Kenneth. The Encyclopedia of
Superheroes On Film and Television. Jefferson,
NC: McFarland & Company, 1998. Web.
Nover, Ross. A Dose of Design Inspiration from
Comic Strips. Refresh DC. nclud, Washington D.C.
23 2012. Lecture.
Peeters, Benot Chris Ware: Un Art de la
Mmoire. Comix. Arte TV: France, 29 January
2005. Web. 23 Oct 2012.
Peeters, Benot. Tintin and the Worlld of Herg:
An Illustrated History. Boston: Bullfnch Press,
1988. Print.
60
Pekar, Harvey. American Splendor. New York:
Ballantine Books, 1987. Print.
Pyman, James. Chris Ware. Art Monthly. Nov.
2006: 37. Art Full Text. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.
Raeburn, Daniel. Chris Ware. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2004. Print.
Raeburn, Daniel. The Smartest Cartoonist On
Earth. The Imp. 4 July 1999. Vol 1. No 3. Web.
Roeder, Katherine. Seeing Inside-Out in the
Funny Pages. American Art. Spring 2001, Vol 25,
Issue 1. 24-27. Art Full Text. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.
Schjeldahl, Peter. Words and Pictures: Graphic
Novels Come of Age. The New Yorker. 17 October
2005. Web.
Spiegelman, Art. Commix: An Idiosyncratic
Historical and Aesthetic Overview. Print
Magazine. Nov./Dec. 1988: 61-73. Print.
Strauss, Neil. Creating Literature, One Comic
Book at a Time: Chris Wares Graphic Tales Mine
His Own Life and Heart. The New York Times
[New York] 04 Apr. 2001. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.
Thompson, John. Graphic Novel. The Chicago
School of Media Theory Blog. 2012. 29 Aug
2012. Web.
Ware, Chris. The Acme Novelty Date Book: 1995-
2002. Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly, 2007. Print.
61 Ware, Chris. The Acme Novelty Library. New York:
Pantheon Books, 2005. Print.
Ware, Chris. The Acme Novelty Library 14. Seattle:
Fantagraphics Books, 2000. Print.
Ware, Chris. The Acme Novelty Library 16.
Chicago: Acme Novelty Library, 2005. Print.
Ware, Chris. The Acme Novelty Library #15: The
Big Book Of Jokes II. Seattle: Fantagraphics
Books, 2001. Print.
Chris, Ware. (Untitled animation for This American
Life.) This American Life: The Cameraman.
Episode 14. Host. Ira Glass. Showtime. 12 Apr.
2007. Television.
Ware, Chris. Building Stories. New York: Pantheon
Books, 2012. Print.
Ware, Chris. Introduction. McSweeneys
Quarterly Concern No. 13. San Francisco:
McSweeneys, 2004. Print.
Ware, Chris. Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on
Earth. New York: Pantheon Books, 2000. Print.
Ware, Chris. Lambiek Avontuur Strip #30. Ed.
Kees Kousemaker. Amsterdam: Galerie Lambiek.
2003. Print.
Wilk, Deborah. Studio View: Chris Ware. New Art
Examiner. May 1996, Vol. 23. 40. Print.
62
Wivel, Matthias. Interview with Chris Ware Part 1
of 2. The Comics Journal. 31 Jan. 2011. Web. 19
Sept. 2012.
Wivel, Matthias. Interview with Chris Ware Part 2
of 2. The Comics Journal. 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 19
Sept. 2012.
Wolk, Douglas. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Man. Rev. of Acme Novelty Date Book, Krazy &
Ignatz, 1929-1030: A Mice a Brick, a Lovely Night,
and Quimby the Mouse. Print Magazine. Jan/Feb
2004. 32-33, 122. Print.
Wolk, Douglas. Inside the Box. Rev. of Building
Stories. The New York Times Sunday Book
Review. [New York] 18 Oct. 2012: BR1. 24 Oct.
2012. Web.
Wolk, Douglas. Reading Comics. Cambridge: Da
Capo Press, 2007. Print.
64
! H G _ K Z M N E Z M B H G L
U Y Z ! ! / L L Y R H N K Y A B
& & / G Y K / P Z K & Y ? R Y
O B L B M B G _ Y E B M Z E /
& / L F Z X ! H F W L / ! K / M
Acknowledgements
This book is a thesis publication as part
of the undergraduate program in Graphic
Design at the Corcoran College of Art +
Design in Washington D.C.
Greatest thanks to Mr. Chris Ware, who
graciously gave of his time for the interview.
Much gratitude for the invaluable editorial
and stylistic guidance of Antonio Alcal and
Alice Powers, my thesis advisors for this book
and its accompanying exhibition.