The Comics Journal recently reviewed Ivan Brunetti’s An Anthology of Graphic Fiction (Yale University Press, 2006). Dick Deppey gives two reviews: “One for newcomers to the new breed of comics, and one for those who already know their way around.”

He went with the newcomers first:

If you’re looking for a good survey of what comics have been up to for the last thirty years or so, Ivan Brunetti’s anthology is your one-stop shopping choice. Not only does it contain most of the high points in terms of short stories and strips, but also a good sampling of some of the earlier strip-oriented stories that served as influences on today’s generation of art-comics cartoonists. Given that a survey of the modern graphic novel is essential to an understanding of where North American cartooning is turning, it’s also worth noting how Brunetti manages to excerpt many of the top books with selections that are self-contained enough to work as short stories on their own. Buy this book now.

For “more experienced devotees of the modern comics,” Deppey had this to say:

It really depends upon how much of this work you already own, and whether or not you want it all under a single cover. Alas, the book’s “table of contents” is no help whatsoever, given that Brunetti chooses to run a series of iconic drawings and page numbers instead of, you know, actually telling you what the book contains. Fortunately for you, dear reader, I’ve gone ahead and created the table of contents that Ivan declined to produce. Do you need to own a copy of this book? Read on and decide…

You can view Deppey’s version of the table of contents here, as well as the full text of the review.