Discussing how "comics" once the red-headed stepchild of the publishing industry have achieved literary respectability Hugo Award and Newbery Medal winner Neil Gaiman presents this collection of stories in pictures from such artists and storytellers as Lilli Carré Robert Crumb Jonathan Lethem Chris Ware Jesse Reklaw Peter Bagge and Lauren Weinstein. Since its inception in 1915 the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For this title as for each of the others a series editor reviews hundreds of periodicals then selects between 50 and 100 outstanding works. The guest editor a recognized expert in the field then pares the list down to the 20 or so very best pieces.