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Notables 2010: Alex Holden’s West Side Improvement District

Alex Holden, “West Side Improvements,” Syncopated 2009

Another very strong story in the same Syncopated anthology of non-fiction comics that Nick Bertozzi appears in (above). Jarod Rosello, who wrote a great guest post for us (read it! it’s amazing!) partly on how he uses this story in his freshman comp classroom, describes it as “it’s the true story of improvements made to Riverside Park in New York City and the inadvertent creation of an underground graffiti movement and colony in the abandoned railroad tracks under the park.” Interesting, well-told, and intriguing. It really makes me want to go and see the graffiti art in real life.

Age: grades 6-8 (or younger, possibly)

What is this “Notable” thing all about? Matt and Jessica are the series editors for the Best American Comics, and are responsible for the Notable Comics list at the back of the book, which is comprised of virtually all the comics we sent to the guest editor that weren’t picked, as well as a number of others that we think are noteworthy for various reasons, but that we didn’t send to the guest editor.

We’ve always hoped readers will delve a bit into the list to find more great stories once they finish reading BAC. Realistically, though, we know that’s tough. What can you know about a story from a title and author? So this is one of a series of posts focusing on each of the Notables from the 2010 Best American Comics.

Have or know of a comic we should look at? Find submission info here.

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