Nobrow #7, 'A Brave New World' of graphics

I haven't seen such a cool magazine since the old Raw Magazine. 

Nobrow #7 this is a really cool magazine with half of it dedicated to comics and the other half dedicated to illustration.
The comics section features people like Michael DeForge, Luke Pearson, Joost Swarte and Anders Nilsen.

Leather Spacemen is Michael DeForge's contribution to Nobrow #7

RAW Magazine alumnus, Joost Swarte's 'Credo'

Each issue of Nobrow has a theme and this issues theme is "A Brave New World". Like RAW Magazine before it, the pieces are mostly graphic in nature and are as interesting or more interesting for the way they do the comics as much as for what they write about. For Example, Elanor Davis does a piece about a group of people that leave modern society to start living a 'paleo' existence like they did in the garden of Eden. 

Eleanor Davis' 'In Our Eden' about people returning to the Earth. One really interesting thing about this piece is that the brown is metallic ink that gives off a slight sheen.

The story is OK but her use of color is really cool. She doesn't use black to outline each color but applies flat colors in layers to a really great effect.
I guess my favorite story is Joseph Lambert's "New Worlds" which is also the most narrative in nature of the pieces presented. It's about three children who, coming from different ethnic backgrounds, discover new worlds through each other. It's really fun and cute.

Joseph Lambert's New Worlds with it's cast of 3 well written children.

Another great piece is Sam Vanallemeersch' 'Franz' though not so much for it's narrative but rather for it's really wild and sketchy line work.

Sam Vanallemeersch' 'Franz'

The story is actually kind of funny, about a guy who takes halucinagens in a fancy restaurant and 'trips' on his potatos.

The illustration section is just as cool with it's diverse group of styles and though they are not narrative, the illustrations do, very much, tell a story. In one, these men dressed in communist China garb are erecting a Chinese Statue of Liberty. I find my mind creating a story around each picture.

A section of Minho Kwon's double page illustration of a Chinese Statue of Liberty throwing our notions of Communism and Democracy in a whirl.

In another these space men and cowboys are having a shoot-out in a cave.

A section of Simon Roussin's double page cowboy and aliens illustration. What are these strange spacemen doing to these poor cowboys? Is this some kind of tempus police clean up?

This section of Mayumi Otero's double page contribution reminds me of an old Middle Age illuminated manuscript or a Bosch painting..

Nick Sheehy use of delicate detail and color on these strange critters reminiscent of Sendak's 'Where the Wild Things Are'

I haven't seen such a beautiful and decadent graphic magazine since the old RAW Magazines of the 80's! It's really thrilling stuff. Though at $25 a pop, I've got to find some way to afford the rest.