Mome Vol. 4 (Spring/Summer 2006) (Mome)

This accessible, reasonably priced anthology runs approximately 120 pages per volume and spotlights a regular cast of a dozen of today's most exciting cartoonists. "Mome" is quickly earning a reputation as the premiere literary anthology in comics. Think of something like "The Believer" or "Granta"--especially in regard to iconic design, format, and content--but with comics. The fourth volume of "Mome" includes the following: R. Kikuo Johnson ("Night Fisher") contributes a series of comic strips created for a gallery show in New York City that could be mistaken for a forgotten classic from the Sunday Funnies circa 1935; John Pham's "221 Sycamore Street," an ongoing graphic novel about three very strange people who board in a two-story house, presented in a unique three-color process; Paul Hornschemeier's "Life with Mr. Dangerous," a full-color narrative about a young woman who struggles to define a life outside of the example her mother provides, spending far too much time watching a cartoon called "Mr. Dangerous"; David Heatley ("Deadpan, McSweeney's") weaves a surreal, layered graphic novel around the inhabitants of Overpeck, a city he conceived in a dream; and Andrice Arp's (Hi-Horse) retelling of ancient Japanese fairy tales in a lovely two-color format. The issue also features new work by Anders Nilsen (in full-color), Jeffrey Brown (of "Clumsy, Big Head ," and "McSweeney's" fame), Kurt Wolfgang ("Where Hats Go"), Gabrielle Bell ("Scheherazade"), Jonathan Bennett ("Esoteric Tales"), Martin Cendreda ("Dang "), Sophie Crumb ("Belly Button Comix"), and Tim Hensley ("Weird Tales of the Ramones").