Synopses & Reviews
Sophisticated works by an international cast of award winning artists. Includes comics by: Ivan Brunetti, David Choe, Dave Cooper, Renee French, Tom Hart, Michael Kupperman, David Lasky, Lat, Matt Madden, Megan Kelso, James Kochalka, John Porcellino, Ron Regand#233; Jr., Sara Varon and many others. Wrapped in a jam cover by Dave Cooper, Marc Bell, Miriam Katin and Ron Regand#233; Jr.
Rosetta is a squarebound 196-page comics anthology of sophisticated works by an international cast of award winning artists. Rosetta is targeted at a mature audience which views comics as a valid art form equal to any other. Rosetta not only entertains with new stories by over twenty award winning cartoonists from North America and around the world, but also reveals the creative processes and compromises that occur in the creation of comic art in the form of a sketchbook section.
The contributing artists have been set the task to go beyond the boundaries set by their previous works and to push themselves into areas that they consider dangerous to their reputations. Edited by Ng Suat Tong, with Tom Devlin doing Graphic Design, Rosetta is packaged under a phenomenal sequential jam cover and endpaper concept by Dave Cooper, Marc Bell, Miriam Katin and Ron Regand#233; Jr.
Under a cover by Dave Cooper, Nick Bertozzi dreams about the sequentiality of Hokusaiand#8217;s prints, Ivan Brunetti muses upon the music of Erik Satie, David Choe examines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a trip to the Gaza strip, David Collier discusses the quirks of Islam, Renee French provides an eccentric example of portraiture, Tom Hart explores his literary side, the respected cartoonist Lat retrieves a distant memory of his childhood in Malaysia, Matt Madden produces sequential magic out of old NYC mugshots, Miriam Katin delves into the moral questions surrounding her childhood in Hungary, Megan Kelso provides another chapter in her and#147;Artichoke Talesand#8221;, James Kochalka provides an atypical example of his realism, Ron Regand#233; Jr. philosophizes about consumerism, Katja Tukiainen provides a diary of her trip of India to study yoga and Stefan J H van Dinther tests the boundaries of experimental comics.
The creators contributing to this project include:
M. S. Bastian (of the Swiss avant-garde Mutanten group)
Marc Bell (The Expo anthology, Exclaim! and Vice magazines)
Nick Bertozzi (Boswash, The Masochists, Rubber Necker)
Ivan Brunetti (Schizo, Haw)
David Choe (Slow Jams, Non)
David Collier (Collierand#8217;s, Just the Facts)
Greg Cook (Catch as Catch Can)
Dave Cooper (Weasel, Crumple)
Renee French (Marbles in My Underpants, The Soap Lady)
Tom Hart (The Sands, Hutch Owen, Triple Dare)
Michael Kupperman (Snake N Bacon)
Ulf K. (The Man on the Moon, Tango with Death)
David Lasky (Boom Boom, Urban Hipster, Ulysses)
Lat (Kampung Boy, Town Boy)
Matt Madden (Black Candy, Odds Off, A Fine Mess)
Miriam Katin (Monkeysuit, Drawn and Quarterly)
Megan Kelso (Queen of the Black Black, Girlhero)
James Kochalka (Sketchbook Diaries, Monkey vs. Robot, Fantastic Butterflies, Peanutbutter and Jeremy)
John Porcellino (King Cat, Perfect Example)
Ron Regand#233; Jr. (Skibber Bee Bye, Drawn and Quarterly)
Tobias Schalken (Eiland)
Katja Tukiainen (New Thing)
Stefan J. H. van Dinther (Eiland)
Sara Varon (Dreamland Burns, Sweaterweather)
Danijel Zezelj (The Corinthian, Air Mexico, WWIII Illustrated)
Review
"The best of the lot is Rosetta, which is simply stunning. It combines the meticulousness of such handcrafted, small print-run books as Non with the availability of a trade paperback. Ng Suat Tong has sharply edited the selections for a variety of styles, subjects and cultures. Perfect for a newcomer, each contribution has a short accompanying intro to the artist." andmdash; Andrew D. Arnold,
Time Magazine"The collection demonstrates the power of the graphic novel to tell stories beyond that of adventure, humor, or superheroes. The combination of words and images is insightful, expressive, passionate, and, at times, dark." andmdash; School Library Journal
Synopsis
Sophisticated works by an international cast of award winning artists. A daring and diverse collection of comics by modern greats.
About the Author
Suat Tong Ng: Ng Suat Tong is a doctor working in Singapore. He has written reviews for The Comics Journal since 1993, and was the editor of the Eisner and Harvey nominated anthology, Rosetta.
Tom Hart: Tom Hart is a cartoonist and the Executive Director of The Sequential Artists Workshop, a school and arts organization in Gainesville, Florida. He is the creator of the Hutch Owen series of graphic novels and books, and has been nominated for all the major comic book industry awards.
James Kochalka: The first Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont, James created the long-running American Elf daily comic. He's the author and illustrator of several popular children's books, including Johnny Boo, Dragon Puncher and Peanutbutter and Jeremy. James won the Eisner award in 2012.
David Choe: David Choe is an American painter, muralist, graffiti artist and graphic novelist of Korean descent. His figure paintings, which explore themes of desire, degradation, and exaltation, are characterized by a raw, frenetic tone that he has termed "dirty style."
Megan Kelso: Megan Kelso started making comics in the 1990s, with her minicomic and magazine. Her work has been collected in the books Queen of the Black Black, Artichoke Tales and The Squirrel Mother. Kelso published a weekly comic strip in The New York Times Magazine in 2007 titled Watergate Sue.