Dal Tokyo by Gary Panter (148x203mm)
Fantagraphics reprinted the Daltokyo strips in a definite edition in 2012, so I won’t actually talk about the strips themselves (since I did that in that blog post, see?) in this brief blog post.
This was published by Sketch Studios in France (but not translated into French), and as an object, it’s impeccable. It’s got these full-size flaps with a “hidden” page, which I just love.
Nice end papers…
Stylish credits…
And then, bang! Straight into the strip. It’s perfect: No introduction, no chatter, nothing to distract: It’s the way I wish all books had been designed. Even the paper is perfect for Daltokyo — even more so now, 30 years later, when it’s yellowed more: It feels like an artefact.
The decision to publish this in this format doesn’t quite work for all the strips. That is, bits of the artwork disappears into the gutter… So the Fantagraphics edition makes more sense, really, if you want to read the story.
This is more like a perfect object to sit and flip through, reading a strip here and there, and otherwise just marvel at Panter’s artwork.
It’s very nicely printed, too — very sharp, despite the slight roughness of the paper.
And then a bibliography.
Indicia.
The end.
It’s a thrilling object in itself.
Them French people sure are good at making them bookses. Shucks.
This blog post is part of the Punk Comix series.
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