Like any collection, there were ups and downs here, and not every story appealed to me as much as I’d’ve liked. I kind of expected this, given that this is a “best of” collection, and the inaugural issue of the series as well, so I figured the editors would be out there looking for some weird stuff – stuff to prove to the readers that comics aren’t just musclebound men in tights beating up crooks.
Some of the stories really appealed to me, and a lot didn’t. Some were particularly well-suited to the comic medium, like RabbitHead, which couldn’t have been told any other way, and others would’ve worked as well in print, albeit much more print than was required to tell the tale in illustrated form.
I don’t think there was anything here that I’d’ve said was the best American comic of 2006, but there was enough variety and interest that I’m glad to have read it, and would read future volumes in the series.
Oh, one more thing: Pekar’s forward contains non-advertised spoilers. Beware.