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| RAW (magazine) | |
|---|---|
| Title | RAW |
| Editor | Art Spiegelman; Françoise Mouly |
| Frequency | Quarterly (original) |
| Category | Comics; Art; Culture |
| Firstdate | 1980 |
| Finaldate | 1991 (print) |
| Country | United States; France |
| Language | English; French |
RAW (magazine) was an avant-garde comics anthology co-edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly that published experimental graphic narratives, translations, and visual art from 1980 into the early 1990s. It showcased established figures and newcomers across the comics, literary, and art worlds, contributing to the mainstream recognition of graphic storytelling and influencing editors, publishers, museums, and academic programs.
RAW debuted in 1980 amid a period of flourishing independent publications associated with Highwater Books contemporaries and predecessors like Raw Books projects connected to Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly. The magazine emerged after Spiegelman’s work on Maus and during interactions with figures linked to Pantheon Books, Knopf, and Basic Books networks. Early issues featured translations and reprints drawing on European movements related to Métal Hurlant, L’Association, and artists associated with Centre Pompidou exhibitions. RAW’s production intersected with New York venues such as The Kitchen, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Cooper Union, leading to collaborations with curators from Museum of Modern Art and critics from publications like The New Yorker, The Village Voice, and Artforum.
Throughout the 1980s RAW navigated relationships with small-press distributors including Diamond Comic Distributors, New Media/Irjax, and specialty bookstores like St. Mark’s Bookshop and Comic Relief. Internationally, the magazine engaged with festivals such as the Angoulême International Comics Festival, the Lucca Comics & Games, and the Small Press Expo, and with publishers like Les Humanoïdes Associés, L’Association, and Drawn & Quarterly.
The editorial leadership combined Spiegelman’s authorial prominence linked to projects like Maus with Mouly’s design experience from associations with The New Yorker art direction and collaborations with typographers tied to Helvetica-era practices. RAW published work by major creators connected to diverse histories: R. Crumb, Charles Burns, Chris Ware, Robert Crumb (as alternate listings in some issues), Gary Panter, Ben Katchor, William S. Burroughs (collaborations), Nick Cave (illustrated texts), Art Spiegelman himself, Françoise Mouly in design roles, Trina Robbins, Lynda Barry, Sergio Laredo-linked artists, and European authors like Moebius, Enki Bilal, and Georges Perec adaptations. Contributors also spanned other arts and letters: poets and writers associated with Gorey-adjacent aesthetics, critics from Harper’s Magazine, and gallery artists represented by Gagosian Gallery and Galerie Maeght.
Guest editors and translators included figures connected to Jacques Derrida-influenced theory, Roland Barthes-era semiotics, and translation networks tied to University of Chicago Press projects. The magazine commissioned artists linked to avant-garde movements associated with Fluxus, Situationist International, and practitioners exhibited at Documenta and the Venice Biennale.
RAW combined long-form comics narratives with one-off prints, visual essays, and experimental typography. Notable serialized works included pieces by creators whose careers intersected with institutions like The New Yorker, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, and with academic study programs at Columbia University and Yale University. The anthology ran graphic sequences influenced by modernist literature referencing James Joyce, Marcel Proust, and Samuel Beckett; it published adaptations of texts by William S. Burroughs and visual collaborations invoking Pablo Picasso and Max Ernst.
Features included artist portfolios, translated comics from French and Japanese creators tied to Shōnen and Seinen traditions, and critical essays by writers linked to The New York Times Book Review, The London Review of Books, and The Paris Review. RAW’s content often foregrounded cross-disciplinary exchange with photographers and installation artists exhibited at Tate Modern and Brooklyn Museum.
RAW’s physical production was distinctive: oversized formats, heavyweight paper, hand-assembled elements, and gatefolds that aligned with practices seen in limited-edition projects from publishers such as Taschen and artist books sold through Printed Matter, Inc.. Mouly’s layouts referenced classical typographic experiments from Jan Tschichold and graphic designers affiliated with Pentagram. The magazine incorporated die-cuts, tipped-in plates, and inserts reminiscent of archival editions from The Folio Society and exhibition catalogues from Museum of Modern Art.
Color separations, screenprinting techniques, and unorthodox binding methods connected RAW to studio printers who had worked with Andy Warhol silkscreen processes and with printmakers associated with Tamarind Institute. Each issue’s visual identity reflected dialogues with curators from Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and set designers for theatrical productions at Lincoln Center.
RAW received critical attention from reviewers at The New York Times, The Village Voice, Los Angeles Times, and scholarly essays in journals linked to Johns Hopkins University Press and MIT Press. Critics compared its editorial daring to historic avant-garde periodicals like BLAST, Transition, and Cabaret Voltaire. RAW influenced subsequent publishers and anthologies such as Fantagraphics Books, Drawn & Quarterly, and PictureBox; it shaped university curricula in programs at Pratt Institute, School of Visual Arts, and Rhode Island School of Design and inspired exhibitions at MoMA, Centre Pompidou, and The British Museum.
Prominent cultural figures—curators associated with Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Whitney Museum of American Art, critics from The New Yorker and Artforum, and academics from Harvard University and Yale University—cited RAW in histories of comics and visual culture. Its influence extended into film and television circles connected to Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival through adaptations and artist retrospectives.
RAW appeared in a limited-run, artisan-printed series with issues sold through independent bookstores such as City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, specialty comics shops like Forbidden Planet, and museum stores at MoMA and Tate Modern. Distribution channels included partnerships with small-press distributors and subscriptions promoted via listings in Publisher’s Weekly and literary supplements in The Times Literary Supplement. International distribution reached markets at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, Lucca Comics & Games, and through European publishers such as Les Humanoïdes Associés and L’Association.
Collectors and libraries acquired complete sets through rare book dealers associated with Sotheby’s and archives within institutions like The New York Public Library and university special collections at Columbia University and Harvard University.
Category:Comics anthologies Category:American magazines Category:Art magazines