I don’t understand why we don’t have more anthology comics out there.  Comics grew up on anthologies.  Some of the most prominent characters in comics appeared first in anthologies.  I do like regular ongoings, too, don’t get me wrong, but a good anthology allows creators to try small, wild stuff and allows readers to try out a bunch of creators.

Dark Horse Presents #16 is a sterling example of what an anthology comic ought to be.

There’s a lot to like in here: 80 pages of content split amongst ten stories, or parts of stories, with a good mix of stories that have been running for a while and those that are just starting out or one-shots.  There’s a good variety in flavor, too, from the dark and atmospheric (“City of Roses”) to the screwball fantasy (“Buddy Cops”) to the reflectively autobiographical (“Dead Air”).  I liked everything I read, though some less than others, but I’ll admit that some stories were hurt by my being a dozen chapters behind and having no idea what was going on.  But then, if I liked every story in the book equally, then the anthology would’ve been missing its mark.

I will not judge the writing or art in this book as a whole since so many different creators contributed.  But, it is a magnificently put together package, and I found plenty I liked, and liked in a different way than other things in the same issue.  Nothing feels wasted or too redundant, though Dark Horse Presents clearly has a certain kind of audience in mind.

Dark Horse Presents is easy to recommend.  Any pull list ought to have a solid anthology on it, and this one’s as solid as they come.