The anthologies of Canadian graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly are an important facet of the company's evolution from a periodical comics publisher to a specialty publisher whose list is now dominated by books. The Canadian house just published volume five of the D&Q Anthology, and it will be accompanied by the debut of D&Q Showcase, a new anthology series.
What began as a break-even project and labor of love is now profitable. D&Q's last two anthology volumes have sold more than 6,000 copies and have begun to show a profit. This, despite the fact that volume four was published before D&Q's new expanded sales and distribution deal with Chronicle Books. To complement the new deal, D&Q recently lured publicity and comics industry veteran Peggy Burns away from industry giant DC Comics to be its full-time marketing and publicity director.
As the name suggests, Drawn & Quarterly began in 1990 with 32-page pamphlets published more or less quarterly. The history of this anthology, a core element of D&Q's line, matches the genesis of alternative comics publishing over the same period. As its growing roster of cartoonists developed longer books and serialized stories, D&Q's anthologies evolved, until finally volumes three and four became deluxe, full-color, coffee-table—size trade paperbacks. The award-winning series (it won a Harvey in 2001) is edited by Chris Oliveros, D&Q founder and publisher, and remains one of the alternative comics industry's definitive samplers.
Previous anthologies have included Chris Ware, R. Sikoryak, Blutch, Maurice Vellekoop and Marcellus Hall, and many of D&Q's acclaimed stable of cartoonists—among them Seth, Julie Doucet and Joe Matt—had their early work published in those volumes.
Drawn & Quarterly Volume 5 continues the tradition of international cartoonists and varied subject matter. It features an introduction by noted scholar and author Alberto Manguel. There's an archival piece by Albert Chartier (a French-Canadian cartoonist who chronicled the daily minutiae of mid-century life during his 60-year career), while regular contributor R. Sikoryak returns with a twist on Wuthering Heights. There is also a gem from Yoshihiro Tatsumi, an influential 68-year-old Japanese cartoonist considered the inventor of Japanese alternative comics, or "gekiga," in 1957.
The showcase concept, offering short works by promising new talents, is new for D&Q. The debut Showcase volume features two-tone stories by Swiss cartoonist Nicolas Robel and American Kevin Huizinga. Showcase 2, due in spring 2004, will feature Jeffrey Brown and Pentti Otsamo.
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