It wasn't so long ago that Craig Thompson's Blankets made a huge splash not only because of its quality but because of its 600-plus page mass. While there have been few such cinder blocks of singular comics stories (ie. not collections) unleashed since, there seems to be little amazement surrounding the massive girth of Dash Shaw's 700-page effort The Bottomless Bellybutton. Of course it's quality, not quantity that matters, and I haven't read the book, but Shaw has already established an impressive track record for fine, eccentric work (see Goddesshead, and The Mother's Mouth).Interestingly when I interviewed Dash back in 2005 he said he had submitted work to Fantagraphics and was disappointed that he had gotten no response. I found this surprising both because of the quality and undeniable iconoclasm of Shaw's work. At the time I told him to be patient. Obviously the Evil Empire eventually came around (they are rather slow in their "discoveries") and The Bottomless Bellybutton is now Shaw's first published work in the "big leagues."
Listen to the interview with Dash Shaw at HeroesCon 2005 here.
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