Not So Funny Pages

Not long ago, reading newspaper comic strips was a Sunday ritual and piles of comic books printed on pulp blanketed bedrooms across the land. Things have changed. People don’t devour the newspaper like they used to, and you’re just as likely to find kids reading a manga book as you are the latest superhero adventure. But comics have also evolved and flourish in a world far beyond the daily newspaper.

MOMENTUM: The New Comics at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design proves the point with work from Mome, a quarterly anthology of cutting-edge comics by 25 artists from around the world, including two from the Twin Cities. Zak Sally appeared in the fall 2007 issue, and Tom Kaczynski was in the winter 2008 issue. Sally teaches at MCAD and is the former bassist for the Duluth–based band Low.

While the artists represented in Mome don’t share a common aesthetic or formal approach, MCAD gallery director Kristin Makholm notes that they do share an interest in personal narratives. “You get to know a lot about the individual artists through their comics,” says Makholm. “They are often biographical, which represents a departure from many earlier comics.”

Makholm was receptive to the idea of a show centered around Mome artists when some faculty members suggested inviting Mome editor Eric Reynolds to speak. The popularity of comics-themed shows among students and the broader community was also a motivating factor. “There’s a great confluence of image, text, and humor that can appeal to almost anybody in one fashion or another,” Makholm says. Through April 19. Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 2501 Stevens Ave., Mpls., 612-874-6223, mcad.edu