I can be a little rough on anthologies at times, but that’s almost always for technical reasons, and this anthology does all of that stuff right. The artist’s name is clearly labeled at the bottom of their story (you’re not seeing it for the sample image purely because it’s the second page of a two page story by Kat Wong) and their contact info is clearly provided, usually in multiple formats. That’s all it really takes, so take note, other anthology editors! This is also one of those cases where the temptation to be lazy in the review is strong, because take a look at that list of tags showing all of the artists with stories in this sucker. SO many names that I’ve already reviewed, it’s just a solid list of names of a lot of the people doing the best work in comics today. But no, the show must go on! “The show” being me yakking about comics for a bit before that vague, undefined voice in the back of my head tells me that I’ve said enough. This one starts off with a strip from Roberta Gregory, and kids, if you don’t know who that is, she’s been doing this since (just after) the original comics underground days, and also just so happens to have a giant new collection of her work out as of maybe a week ago. Following that are stories about really getting into a deep clean (by Megan Kelso), sifting through the mess and finding the positive aspects of dealing with a father with dementia (by Meredith Li-Vollmer), getting into the cat psychology of chasing a laser pointer (by Kiku Hughes), being able to take in all of the different people that two people in a partnership can be over the years (by Robyn Jordan), maintaining your mood with scents (by Ellen Forney), drastically misunderstanding some Australian slang (by Natalie Dupille, but I would have honestly made the same mistake), regretfully going through how a stool became haunted (by L. Armstrong), living the life of a gargoyle gardener (by Lara Kaminoff), getting older and the dreams you have to leave behind (by Rachel Scheer), learning how to cope with and live in a terrible world (by Amy Camber, with some solid advice), some life advice for turning 50 (by Tatiana Gill), and the end result of doing kegels every time the world gets you down (by Marie Hausauer). That’s maybe half of the stories; there are 34 artists in here. All of the stories are either one or two pages long, and a whole bunch of them made me curious to see what other comics that author has created, which is another task that this anthology has done successfully. Also your buying this supports the Short Run festival in Seattle, so you get to support a great cause while reading a pile of great comics stories. Everybody wins! $15
Hey kids, or anybody who has started reading comics in the last few years? Are you interested in the history of mini comics, why they’re such a source of passion for so many people? Well, maybe not in numbers, but in level of interest and dedication in following certain artists? Your answer is this volume. If you have no interest in the history, away with you! This one can be for the old timers. This is a collection of the best of the “Not My Small Diary” anthology, and if you read small press comics in the 90’s and 00’s, you will recognize plenty of these names. In fact, good luck not getting lost in a Google hole or trying to figure out what so many of these people are up to these days. Notable names include (but are not limited to) Jeff Zenick, Dan Zettwoch, Patrick Dean, Raina Telgemeier, Jesse Reklaw, Carrie McNinch, Sam Spina, Roberta Gregory, Kurt Wolfgang… you know what, there are just too damned many names, and they’re all in the tags, so check that part out. If any of those names made you say “hey, I wonder what they’re up to these days” then this book is for you. These are mostly snippets of stories, but they’re all complete by themselves. Sometimes the stories follow a theme, like notable dates or moments in their lives, but really they’re all over the place. If it seems like I’m avoiding getting into specifics, that is entirely the case. If you were around for all these artists when they first started, you’re going to get lost in this instantly. If not, this is an excellent way for you to figure out what the big deal was about these people all along. I guess it’s possible that it’s the nostalgia talking and that people might not connect to these stories now, but screw that. These are tales of human weakness (and occasionally triumph), and those stories are universal and timeless. Most of the original issues of this series are out of print, so this is your best option all around. The book itself is $7.50 if you see Delaine at a convention, but if not $10 should be enough to cover the shipping, and I really can’t recommend this enough. It’s rare for any anthology not to have a weak story or two, but these are all golden.
Posted by Kevin 
