The Best American Comics 2009

Now in its fourth year, Best American Comics showcases the work of both established and up-and-coming contributers. Editor Charles Burns?cartoonist, illustrator, and official cover artist of the Believer?has culled the best stories from graphic novels, pamphlet comics, newspapers, magazines, mini-comics, and the web to create this cutting-edge collection. Featuring the work of such luminaries as Chris Ware, KAZ, and Robert Crumb, this volume is "a genuine salute to comics".

ÀúÀÚ : Charles Burns

Charles Burns grew up in Seattle in the 1970s. His work rose to prominence in Art Spiegelman¡¯s Raw magazine in the mid-1980s and took off from there, for an extraordinary range of comics and projects, from Iggy Pop album covers to ads for Altoids. He¡¯s illustrated covers for Time, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine. He was also tapped as the official cover artist for The Believer magazine at its inception in 2003. His eagerly awaited graphic novel Black Hole, published in 2005, received over a dozen Harvey Awards. Burns, along with several other prominent graphic artists, collaborated on Fear(s) of the Dark, an animated French horror film now touring the US. Burns lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two daughters.

ÀúÀÚ : Jessica Abel

Jessica Abel is the author of the graphic novel La Perdida as well as two collections of stories and drawings from her series Artbabe. MATT MADDEN is a cartoonist and the author of 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style. Together, they are the authors of Drawing Words & Writing Pictures.