I enjoy Burns and liked a lot of these other worldly covers, but some of it just didn't land for me. Overall a good collection for diehard Burns fans, but can be comfortably skipped for casual fans and folks new to him.

Charles Burns' talent and creativity are on display in Kommix a gallery of comic covers for stories yet to be created. There are the travails of young love, encounters between humans and grossly mysterious creatures or attractive people in revealing sexualized positions (mostly well endowed women) to draw the viewers attention.

Unfortunately, that is about all there is. This gallery lacks the labels that exhibitions traditionally provide so the viewers have some understanding of the artwork. Kommix is just the pictures and whatever text Burns decided to include, though many of them are a language made up by him.

Certainly playful and creative, and some of the covers are in conversation with each other. For example, there are images featuring repeated characters on some sort of journey, the same creature in different settings/locations or a series under a shared title with similar emotional moments. Many of them are clearly inspired by the pulp era (horror, romance, science fiction or Archie like).

Something for the completest fan of Charles Burns who clearly enjoyed making the comics, but not recommended for most readers.

I'll say what most people will likely say about this book - what a weird little collection.
And, like everyone will very likely say as well - I wish some of these titles, hell all of them, were real. I'd read every single one of them.

Charles Burns is an amazing artist and storyteller, but this is for his top fans only. Faux comics covers from another world—many are hilarious, others are just gross and pointless. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to see this.

I really wanted to enjoy these, but they were actually too weird even for me. I loved the idea of all those comics that never got made. They were well drawn and some of them were even compelling; I really wanted to know what was happening in the stories. But for covers, there was too much nudity and focus on breasts. Although some people will like it more because of that.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me preview this

In principle this should have been an interesting experiment, but the artist does very little with it. Plus it really didn't need all the underage nudity.

A beautiful, wild, weird creative exercise. 80 covers of comic books that never were from straightforward romance to the furthest reaches of the bizarre.

Although an interesting concept, the execution was poor, if existent at all. There was barely anything interesting in these covers, nothing original, appealing, or unique. The art style is okay, but not visibly alluring as I expected coming from a book like this. One star for the concept, and the other for trying but not making it too long.

While these illustrations and mock comic book covers can be a quick and enjoyable flip through for a retro futurism fantatic, there isn’ anything particularly special about this collection. I enjoyed the illustrations, but found myself wanting more. This collection desperately needs context. A foreword, a short write up here or there, the inspiration behind the concepts, something. It needs something extra. Otherwise, it’s just 80 some pages of a niche art style and concept.

I was drawn in by the description of this book. Others have said that AI can equal and surpass this work and although that’s true, this hand drawn art is so unique. It tells the beginning of a story that has your mind and imagination fill in the rest. Give this a chance before you turn to AI, this doesn’t disappoint. Thanks to Fantagraphics Books, NetGalley and Charles Burns for the ARC. I received an advance review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Charles Burns is an artist I come back to again and again, respectful and often in awe of, but never moved by. Kommix is more of the same: powerful, evocative imagery, working through fascinations I share, but never really getting me to respond on any emotional level. I suspect this is my failing, and not his.

For people who love Burns, this should be right up there with Black Hole.

Beautiful art, a nice look through. I really enjoyed the covers. I would love to look at more by the artist. Thanks NetGalley!

I felt as if this book was too contrived. As a fan of Edward Gorey or Charles Addams who both successfully used the absurd and art so skillfully, this felt like a desperate and failed attempt. Personally, this book missed the mark and is not one I would recommend.

Kommix is a collection of covers. Each page is one cover evocating multiple possible stories to be told if the comic was ever written. The style is classic recognizable Burns and the theme is very evocative of pulp stories. Some covers have some surreal quasi weird elements, others are the classic sexual innuendo or nudity, there's a series of Tin Tin inspired issues and much more. If you are a Burns fan this is a great book, if you aren't a fan or particularly interested in this kind of art and period, the book won't do much for you.
I kept thinking I'd love for this to be a challenge to some other comic authors, each one following from one of the covers.
Lastly, one recommendation: do not pick this up on a hurry, or you'll just run through all the pages and the book will feel useless. Give yourself some time and let your imagination fly page by page and try to find connections between some of the stories and the experience is something else entirely.

This was really interesting. I wish I knew more than one language because I would have loved to know what some of the Titles were that were not in English. I liked the idea of having an entire book of Graphic Novel covers that were odd and weird and a little disturbing sometimes. Great artwork and imagination!

I just reviewed Kommix by Charles Burns. on NetGalley.

Tho this is an advance copy that is still missing a lot of content, the illustration style is an interesting mix of pop-art (think of Lichtenstein), the 60s, the 80s and nsfw images. I'm very curious to see what the stories associated with the art are going to tell!

I picked up this book because I loved the art style and thought that seeing 80 covers of comics from the 1950s and 60s (that never existed) would be a cool exploration of a comic style that’s fallen by the wayside. Art-wise, this book delivered some interesting visuals. I particularly enjoyed the surreal, Tin-Tin-esque covers that are set in an almost post-apocalyptic, somewhat Asian space setting. If nothing else, they do evoke a sense of mystery and the inking is exquisite.

In the covers featuring teen/younger women, there is an alarming amount of nudity and nipples. Part of me wonders if this is supposed to be commentary on the over-sexualization of young women and the propensity to pair them with older men within the romance genre. In general, most of the artwork is jarring in the same way that surrealist art is jarring.

I think that this book would be strengthened by providing samples of Burns’ influences: samples of the source material that he is drawing from to create his pastiches. As someone who only has a passing familiarity with the romance comics of the fifties and sixties and almost no exposure to the horror/sci-fi comics of the time, I think the additional context could help readers better understand how the artwork conforms to and/or subverts the original standard. Additionally, I would’ve loved a little more copy on the covers; part of what made the covers of old romance comics appealing was the inclusion of over-the-top, cheesy taglines or overdramatic dialogue. While I suppose this could limit the number of different interpretations the audience could have of the work, it seems like a missed opportunity for parody/cultural commentary. Including some source material or analysis would help add interest to it as a coffee table art book.

Fans of this artist and fans of surrealist art will most likely love this book. Personally, it would have to provide more historical context and cultural insight into the comics scene in the 50s and 60s to make me want to buy it.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

To rate this collection of imagined book or comics covers with three stars is not to say that each and every one of them isn't technically amazing, bizarre and entertaining, but just to situate it in the career, the oeuvre (!), of alt-comix great Charles Burns. This is a book of cover art for imagined works, spanning Burn's long time interests in sci-fi, horror and romance, principally associated with the pulpy comics of the fifties and sixties. The cover of th cover book reveals a woman watching floating octopi out of her kitchen window. Some of the cover titles are throwbacks to comics titles and some seem to be in some invented languages. Who today creates so surreally and joyfully in so many genres? And why? Just for fun, I'd guess, for the sheer joy of celebrating acts of imagination. Burns fans will want a copy for sure.

A collection of Burns' work riffing on 80s and earlier comics mixed with his own sensibilities and recurring characters. Is it good? Yes. Burns is very talented. But if you were champing at the bit for a new story, this isn't the one for you.

It’s an interesting look, I am now curious if those type of comics existed. That pictures are creative a bit horrifying and sexual. It’s def they for mature artist of graphic novel readers. More pictures than story but interesting none the less