Charles Johnson was awarded the National Book Award for his 1990 novel about slavery, The Middle Passage. This is the first time I had heard of him; hCharles Johnson was awarded the National Book Award for his 1990 novel about slavery, The Middle Passage. This is the first time I had heard of him; he wrote fiction. It was not until I had moved to Chicago and was collecting Chicago coming-of-age stories for the book I and my co-editors published, Growing up Chicago (Northwestern UP, 2022) that he submitted a story he had written about growing up in Chicago, or Evanston, technically.
The story, "My Father's Pillow Talk," was about the nightly talks Johnson had with his father before going to bed. The heart of the story was a time in which the teenaged Charles told his father that what he wanted to do when he grew up was to become a cartoonist, a notion that his father discouraged. But become a cartoonist was exactly what he did, beginning with his high school newspaper, moving to his college newspaper and on to community writing, beginning in the Chicago area. He went on to publish book collections of his cartoons.
This book collects his 1965-75 cartoons, including the work from his books, most of them political humor work focused on racism, raising issues as people did in the sixties about the possibility of a (black) revolution in the light of the years of civil unrest regarding racial inequities. I lived two hours from Chicago, and I am white, so I would not have read much if any of black political cartooning out of the radical left, because I didn't have access to the south side black newspapers, so it is great to have this beautiful hard cover collection of his work, with his commentary and an afterword. It's a kind of revelation, a gift, to black Chicago, but to Chicago and black history....more
I read this weeks ago thanks to Net Galley, because I had read Nora Krug’s Belonging, a graphic memoir examining her own family's involvement in the aI read this weeks ago thanks to Net Galley, because I had read Nora Krug’s Belonging, a graphic memoir examining her own family's involvement in the atrocities of Nazi Germany. I thought it was well done, a brave exploration, and honest. I had also read her illustration work in an edition of Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny. So we all need to know more about the Ukraine invasion, something I just know Krug is opposed to. She’s anti-dictator, anti-tyranny, and seeks to understand.
Krug knew two people she relied on to get perspective on the war, a Ukrainian and a Russian, both friends, as she wanted to get a couple different perspectives on everything. I get that. She didn’t want to shut down her Russian friend’s perspective; she didn’t want to judge, regardless of whether she agreed or not. The point was to listen, to try to understand, which was a move consistent with her work on her family. When you are in a divisive situation, as we are in in this country, it is hard to listen, but she does.
My reading of the book without really delving into other reviews was that the Russian didn’t quite seem to get the implications of their passivity. It felt like they were more irritated and annoyed than condemnatory. I know that Putin can jail detractors from his policy, but then don’t speak if you can’t be honest, and if you are Krug, make clear the difference between passive disagreement with his country’s policies and a condemnation of Russian policies.
So I wasn’t even going to review this book as I began to see the scathing reviews on Goodreads, principally from Ukrainians. I finished the book, but felt it was sort of tepid. Then I decided to read the reviews, and found that Krug’s informants were actually K, a Russian-born journalist now with Ukrainian citizenship and D, a Russian. Two Russians, neither of them very harsh about one of the greatest injustices of our time. The Russian/Ukrainian journalist had even published pro-Russian articles.
I still wasn’t going to review this book, but I have recently read (Sardinian) Igort’s online comics journalism, How War Begins (or Journal of an Invasion) (to be published in March 2024), informed by his many years of in-person research including his Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks (2010), all far superior work to Krug’s, of much greater depth, and one that clearly names the perpetrators as wrong.
Then I pulled out my copies of Ilya Kaminsky’s amazing poetry Dancing in Odessa and Deaf Republic, after also reading Canadian Michael Cherkas’s story of Stalin’s “terror famine” in 1930’s Ukraine, Red Harvest. All superior work to Krug's.
I am sure this book was conceived with the best of intentions, but it seems to me ill-conceived and ill-advised. The invasion there needs the perspectives of Ukrainians who are suffering, period. It doesn’t need a “point-counterpoint,” let’s-look-at-all-sides-of-this-issue approach. The future of the planet is at stake. Tyranny and dictatorships from Hitler and Stalin through Putin need to hear from the victims so we can act on their behalf....more
I picked this up from the library because I saw it was Chinese, and I have read very few Chinese comics. Wang Ning is the author of the book, and he cI picked this up from the library because I saw it was Chinese, and I have read very few Chinese comics. Wang Ning is the author of the book, and he chose four premier Chinese artists to illustrate the stories, based on his research into a kind of specific issue: China instituted a "One Chid, One Family" policy to address their population explosion in 1979, and enforced it for 35 years, until 2021. But what happened if you lost your only child, to disease, accidents, or whatever?
Ning joined internet support groups/chat rooms to explore this question, and he discovered that as many as 79,000 children died during any given year! He found that at one point families that had lost a child could apply to have another child, but obstacles arose for many families. In one family, a child disappeared, probably kidnapped. The mother had a dream that he was trying to get home, so they would no t admit he was dead, and they also refused to move to another home, waiting the rest of their lives for him to return.
All four of the stories are heart-breaking, maybe especially for readers who are parents, not sure. I can say I cried more than once while reading it. The art work varied, and the translation was rough in places. I wavered between 3 and 4 stars for this collection, but because I am still wiping my eyes and I'm sentimental, I gave it four stars. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the One Child Policy and Chinese culture....more
"We didn't cross the border. The border crossed us"--Latinx saying.
A very short collection of comics journalism--just two brief stories--by cartoonis"We didn't cross the border. The border crossed us"--Latinx saying.
A very short collection of comics journalism--just two brief stories--by cartoonist Andrea Ferraris with documentary film director Renato Chiocca who traveled to Nogales in In the summer of 2017 to witness and document what they saw and heard about US-Mexico border firsthand. They interviewed volunteers on both sides, including folks from No More Deaths and other humanitarian organizations there.
Nogales is a city split in two, half on the Arizona side, one on the Sonora side, with a policed wall between.
One lowlight/highlight is the story of the killing, in October 2102 of 16 year old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez....more
This past week I read The Arab of the Future, volume 3 of Riad Sattouf's memoir about growing up in (mostly) Syria and France, set in the eighties, anThis past week I read The Arab of the Future, volume 3 of Riad Sattouf's memoir about growing up in (mostly) Syria and France, set in the eighties, an amusing tale of an economic and political system in chaos. I also read Don Brown's YA-oriented Unwanted, stories focused on 21st century Syrian refugees, a continuing tragedy. Freedom Hospital is graphic fiction, historical fiction, set in 2012. 40, 000 people have already at this point died at this point in what was known as the Syrian Arab Spring, what people had hoped (and still hope) was the beginning of a revolution against a brutal regime that has had international nightmarish implications.
The story focuses on various young people working toward the revolution out of a small clandestine hospital. The effect isn't so much historical as "literary" which is to say it gives the feel of what it might have been for young hopeful people living in political chaos, with people dead and dying all around. It feels in story and artwork "poetic" which is to say all the connections to historical events or plot or character are less detailed, more intimated. It's scratch-off black and white artwork, sort of blotchy, which makes me think it is consistent with the diy nature of the hospital. There's a 12 character list at the opening to help you follow, maybe too many characters for a short book. My attraction to it is my third way of presenting connections to an international political disaster largely ignored by the international community. What can journalists and other writers do to bear witness? This would not be useful were it the only thing you read about Syria today, but it is useful as part of the puzzle....more
A collaborative, multi-media project about attempted suicide, focused on interviewers with for suicide attempt survivors. This version of it features A collaborative, multi-media project about attempted suicide, focused on interviewers with for suicide attempt survivors. This version of it features the comics illustration of John Porcellino. Spare, respectful, subdued, honest, sections are separated by scenes of outdoors with increasing cloudiness and rain. The point of the title is to ask the question, what about the next day? The stories are told in sections, focused on common themes, early experiences, mental illness, substance abuse, family support (or not), and so on. It's not that helpful with respect to actual solutions, but is insightful about each of these individuals and their experiences.
I read it because there was the mention of a suicide attempt in If I Was Your Girl by Michelle Russo, and I was wondering how I might help students deal with the issue of suicide. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher (the book, which I also reviewed a couple years ago, but also the series, which are done somewhat differently) is right now a popular (and or reviled) source for dealing with teen suicide. It's also banned in some schools because of the fears of copy cat suicide attempts, which is a real concern, extending at least as far back as Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther, which initially and for several years set off a response of many teen suicides.
My view is that it is better, in general, to talk about a problem than not talk about it. Books and projects like this help to get serious issues out in the open and maybe get more people to open up about the problems that lead to suicide, so that professionals can be involved.
Here's the link to the interactive audio/film, illustrated also by Porcellino.
Over the course of five months, in 2015-2016, British artist and activist Evans (who also wrote Red Rosa) volunteered with her husband at the refugee Over the course of five months, in 2015-2016, British artist and activist Evans (who also wrote Red Rosa) volunteered with her husband at the refugee camp, “The Jungle,” in the French port city of Calais, where thousands (still) fleeing violence and other hopeless situations in Africa and the Middle East hope to get to England. This book is comics journalism, with names changed to protect her informants, but as she said, “everything in this book actually happened.” She recounts life in the camps, shares heartbreaking stories about deaths and disappearances and gets to know several people, including the Kurd Hoshyar, who is a great cook but can’t get to England though his brother lives there legally. Evans posts actual anti-immigrant text messages from angry British, underscoring the tragedy. To be fair, Evans isn’t focusing on the solution to the problem, though she finally does share her views on what needs to happen, which she and an increasing number of people in the international community agree will have to eventually happen: Open borders.
Evans is not neutral; she’s angry, she’s sad, and she uses her art and commitments to help make the people in these camps come to life, focusing on "The Jungle," a makeshift camp in Calais. Her artwork is loose, sketchy, with some splashes of color, drawn fast in the places she is interviewing people and working with them. The artwork isn't always easy to read in part because of content, in part because of style and the packed pages. But regardless of what your political perspective on these issues might be, I’ll urge you to read this, as it puts a human face on the continuing tragedy, which can only get worse with the effects of climate change and diminishing resources. Is her point of view heavy-handed? Yes; she was there; she is not trying to be “fair and balanced.” In my opinion her agenda is an important one. ...more
This functions as a kind of sequel to Sacco's more substantial Safe Area Goradze, which is a detailed account of journalistic interviews with Muslim sThis functions as a kind of sequel to Sacco's more substantial Safe Area Goradze, which is a detailed account of journalistic interviews with Muslim survivors there. War's End shares two stories that are sort of snapshots of the last year of the war, "Soba" and "Christmas with Karadzic". The former is about an artist and musician and Serbian soldier, Soba, the son of a Serb and Muslim parents. Sacco rents an apt from a Serbian woman in Sarajevo while he tries to get a sense of the scene, and it comes through in a series of images, or tableaux, parties, bars, women. Crazy lurching back to "normal" after genocide.
"Christmas with Karadzic" is an almost comic glimpse of a group of three journalists, including Sacco, who manage to attend church with and interview the war criminal Karadzic. One figures how to sell the tape, make a living from it. All of them owe getting the interview to a young woman who they find attractive and discuss more than the political situation. It sort of humanizes them and shows the very tenuous and compromised and complicated situation for journalists, and Sacco in particular. In both stories there is a stance numbness after all the slaughter, a kind of just "going on" that Sacco captures for himself and Soba and others.
The art is great as always from Sacco. There's images on the cover and throughout, unexplained, of hungry wild dogs that sort of underscores the psychic threat people were still experiencing then. ...more
I think Sacco's longer works are better, but the large range of places represented in this text gives you a broader and deeper feel for the insanity oI think Sacco's longer works are better, but the large range of places represented in this text gives you a broader and deeper feel for the insanity of the world and all its atrocities. Sacco was there, and he isn't "objective" (what's that?) and I don't care. I want journalism committed to the powerless (or at least the least powerful). Does he paint the world too black and white? I don't think so. It's nuanced, because it focuses on the people he meets... and he's IN the stories, meeting these people, and he admits his limitations, and tells you what the limitations are of his own stories. He's critically reflective. Oh, and a great artist trying to be clear and honest about what he sees. Really important journalistic cartooning (he calls it)....more
I reread this masterpiece of comics journalism by Joe Sacco, based on his early-nineties investigative work in Palestine, in Gaza. I have too much to I reread this masterpiece of comics journalism by Joe Sacco, based on his early-nineties investigative work in Palestine, in Gaza. I have too much to say about this book during a time and situation that continually divides us and leads to more and more hatred and violence. Politically I do take a "side" in this conflict, but I think for now I will just say this is a great book, full of insight and compassion.
This is top-level comics based on a couple months in 1991-92 in which outsider and cartoonist Joe Sacco talked with dozens of people. His goal? To find out--at the ground level, the level of every day experience--what it was/is like to live there. And the short answer looks very much like the answer you'd get today: Misery and desperation and love and humor and despair. We get historical renditions of the decades long conflict from multiple perspectives as part of the tale, interspersed throughout.
In his telling, Sacco is not separate from what he sees and hears in Palestine. He makes it clear he is part of the process of reporting, just trying to figure it all out, or better yet, he just wants to listen to people. This is what Sacco does, in Safe Area-Gorazde, in Paying the Land and in so much of the stellar comics journalism he has done for decades. Ultimately you know what political side he tends to be on, but he comes across as vulnerable, a good listener, not perfect but humane. He cares about suffering wherever he finds it.
This particular edition features a prefatory tribute to Sacco by the esteemed Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said, and it is wonderfully insightful about Sacco, comics, comics journalism, and empathy and justice....more
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