artists include: Glen Baxter, Paul McDevitt, Kerry James Marchall, David Shrigley, Marcel Dzama, Daniel Clowes, R Crumb, Alan Moore, Melinda Gebbie, Kim L Pace
Cult Fiction explores the reciprocal relationship between comics and art, foregrounding links between the two genres where current social and political issues are aired in frank visual narratives. The language of comics has influenced many contemporary artists, who have adopted its conventions of pictorial narrative and combination of word and image. For the comics artists represented here 'real life issues', often approached in autobiographical styles, supplant the moralistic tales of good and evil associated with mainstream comics.
Designed by Jacob Covey, Art Director of Fantagraphics Books, Cult Fiction's bold layout mirrors the content of the artworks. An essay by Paul Gravett illuminates the long-standing love affair between art and comics, while Emma Mahony sets the contemporary context in her introductory essay. Specially commissioned self-portraits and questionnaires by the artists make this a unique publication.