The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that next Tuesday McSweeney, an independent publishing house will print a one-time run of the “San Francisco Panorama” that will feature 16 pages of full-color comics by nearly 20 artists including Dan Clowes, Art Spiegelman, Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, Alison Bechdel, and Jessica Abel.
In all, there will be 16 pages of full-color comics from nearly 20 artists, many from the Bay Area. The last page of the section, called Rear End, is for kids and will include comics, mazes, jokes and puzzles.
“The comics section of any Sunday newspaper has always been valuable entertainment,” said Oscar Villalon, McSweeney’s publisher. “But because of space constraints, comics have gotten smaller. This is our throwback, our reminder of how cool comics can be if you offer it in glorious color and give the artist a big canvas.”
The publication costs $16 and can be ordered online.
That’s pretty cool! I really like the concept of a one-time special publication. 300 pages of content, some being comics, is pretty hefty!
Still, $16 for something I can’t really preview like I can with a book is a risky purchase. I’d love to see the comics and I’m sure I’d enjoy other aspects of it, but I’m not a San Franciscan. It’s just not worth the cost.
Just wanted to point out that despite the name, this is not a local publication. The content is typical of any of the other McSweeney’s publications… a mix of high quality writing (Michael Chabon, Stephen King, Roddy Doyle, Nicholson Baker, etc.) and impeccable design. It’s also printed on high quality glossy paper. There are quite a few preview pages on the McSweeney’s website.
This publication is Dave Eggersâ?? baby. Most people know Eggers from his memoir “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,” but he also was the cartoonist for SF Weekly for a few years in the â??90s. Thatâ??s probably why heâ??s devoting so many pages to comics. Very cool.
This sounds like a great idea! I’m glad to see that the comics page can make an astounding comeback.
Super cool. McSweeney’s has long been a favorite publication of mine. And look at that line-up of Cartoonist All-Stars!