Comic Book Guide to the Mission by Lauren Davis


Comic Book Guide to the Mission
Title : Comic Book Guide to the Mission
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0983110301
ISBN-10 : 9780983110309
Language : English
Format Type : Perfect Paperback
Number of Pages : 100
Publication : First published February 24, 2011

Spend a sunny afternoon in Dolores Park. Tour the murals of the Mission from the 1970s through the present day. Go back in time to the Mission Creek settlement and Woodward's Gardens. Delve into thrift stores and hunt for the perfect taco. Watch a young lawyer try to fit in with his hipster neighbors, and share ten years of memories with a young married couple. Witness culture and crime, gentrification and inspiration. Get lost in the streets and, of course, read comics! The Comic Book Guide to the Mission looks at San Francisco's Mission District through the eyes of two dozen artists and writers. Through their stories, drawings, and memories, they offer a unique view of a vibrant and ever-changing neighborhood. Featuring the talents of: Sean Chiki (Wunderkammer), Jamaica Dyer (Weird Fishes), Andrew Farago (The Cartoon Art Museum, William Bazillion), Shaenon K. Garrity (Narbonic, Skin Horse), Justin Hall (All Thumbs Press, True Travel Tales, Glamazonia), Mario Hernandez (Love and Rockets, Citizen Rex), Greg Hinkle, Nomi Kane (Chutzpah!), Jonas Madden-Connor (Ochre Ellipse), Paul Madonna (All Over Coffee), Omar Mamoon (The Mission: Taco), Amy Martin (Bachelor Girl, The Single Girls), John Mathis, Aindrila Mukhopadhyay, Roman Muradov (Sad Comics), Jen Oaks, Ariel Schrag (Potential, Likewise, Ariel and Kevin Invade Everything), Matt Stewart (The French Revolution), Alfred Twu (First Cultural Industries), Dan V. (American Objects), Geoff Vasile (Trackrabbit), Jeff Walker, Chuck Whelon (Pewfell), Mike White (Amity Blamity), Clint Woods (Fernetiquette), and Rick Worley (A Waste of Time).

Comic Book Guide to the Mission Reviews

  • kim

    fun book. I have such a crush on San Francisco :)

  • Aneesa

    Fun to read of course, and to see different artists' interpretations of the same scenes which I know well (the view from the bottom of the escalator at 16th Street BART is apparently a favorite). Includes a variety of stories (I liked: the one about the lawyer, the one about getting lost trying to find a specific taqueria, the one about the girl who lives in a commune, the one about the boy with a crush on the barista at the unhip coffee shop, the one by Mario Hernandez, the one about the Dyke March, the one by Paul Madonna, the one about how to paint a mural, and Amy Martin's drawing of fair weather friends lounging in Dolores Park). Too many focused on the hipsters though, and too many rambled, like the artists had been asked to illustrate their diaries. I would prefer a bit more narrative form, more sense of preparation, deeper thought and feeling. The weird thing is that the first one is the worst one.

  • Linda

    Worth it for the taco quest alone.

  • Kate McCarthy

    This anthology is the sweetest love song to the neighborhood I fell in love with that I call my home. It’s a nice portrait of a place in time, a bittersweet nostalgia, since much of what is captured in its pages has been gentrified away. I hadn’t perused the artists prior to cracking the cover, so was happy to see Paul Madonna and delighted to find longtime favorite Ariel Schrag pieces included. But the best was to start reading a comic by real life Mission pal Jonas Madden-Connor, and realize I was reading his comic by seeing his trademark myna. Great collection. Might have to buy this to remember the Mission of my youth.

  • Joshua

    Take a tour of many locations in the Mission that non longer exist nine years later as the city continues to devour its own tail, though most of the bars, taquerias, and murals are still there. Complaints about hipsters that you no longer hear, now that techie gentrification is in full swing*. The best part is probably the brief history of the murals in the Mission, near the end of the book, along with a one page primer on how they are made from conception to final coat of protective glaze.

    * - remember the whole "Marina vs Mission" thing? Been a while since I've heard that specific neighborhood trash talk, probably due to more money flowing into Mission real estate

  • Rachel

    This book was so sweet and so perfect. So many wonderful stories, so familiar and so true. Also wonderful artwork on every page. This book is very grassroots and features local writers and artists ... people like me who love and embrace the Mission, but people who are much more talented and hilarious and offball and witty, and able to express the spirit of the Mission on these beautiful pages. All I can say is LOVE LOVE LOVE.

  • Dav

    Pretty good. I wish there was a version of this project from the time when I hung out in the Mission a lot (97-04ish). Still a lot of familiar things covered though. The different styles and brevity of the stories worked well for me. I especially appreciated the piece on murals.

  • MariNaomi

    A handful of really good comics (Paul Madonna's piece was exceptional, for example), but I wasn't impressed overall.

  • Kim

    If you like the neighborhood, you'll enjoy this book.