Raw (magazine) - Formats

Formats

The first eight issues of Raw (Volume 1), published by Mouly and co-edited by Mouly and Spiegelman, were printed in black-and-white in an enormous, doormat-sized magazine format with a stapled binding. These were usually hand-assembled by Mouly's and Spiegelman's friends, and often packaged very creatively. For example, one issue came with "City of Terror" trading cards and gum; another issue contained a flexi disc with a sound collage made from excerpts of Ronald Reagan's speeches; a third issue had a deliberately torn cover. In 1987 Pantheon Books published a book collection of pieces from the first three issues of the large-size Raw titled Read Yourself Raw.

The final three issues of Raw (Volume 2) were printed in a "digest" or "paperback" format with a mixture of full-color and black-and-white pages, some of which were printed on differing paper stock. They featured longer stories that focused more on narrative than bold graphic experiments. These issues were published by Penguin Books.

Several solo books by Raw contributors were published with the subtitle "A Raw One-Shot". Other solo books were labeled "A Raw Book".

In 2000 Mouly started a Raw Junior division and launched the Little Lit series. These hardcover anthologies of children's comics were published by HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler Books, and featured work by some of Raw's most famous contributors as well as established children's book artists such as Maurice Sendak and Ian Falconer.

In the spring of 2008, Mouly's Raw Junior division launched the first Toon Books. This new collection of 6×9 hardcover comics for children represents the first time anyone has published comics specifically for young children learning to read, and brings Mouly (together with Spiegelman, who is an advisor) full-circle back to her roots as a small publisher and confirms her as one of comics' most persistent groundbreakers.