History Comics

Apparently, the fine folks at First Second have found a lot of success in their Science Comics series and have branched out into other areas. That series has been of overall high quality, and I have high expectations for whatever they publish. Their first other series is Maker Comics, which is sort of a practical extension of the SC series, with titles about fixing cars, baking, and building robots. I reviewed one title here, and I was pretty impressed with it. More recently, they also branched out with a series aimed at social studies topics, History Comics. They have two titles out so far, and I review them below.

The first book I read was The Great Chicago Fire: Rising from the Ashes, which is about the huge 1871 blaze that destroyed a huge section of The Windy City. This book makes the events here very personal, following a couple of siblings Franny and J.P. who live nearby where the fire started and have to traverse the city in order to avoid the flames. They are great point-of-view characters who both narrate historical/geographic information and also put a human face on the goings-on.

This book gets into all sorts of issues, including the prejudice against immigrants and how the legend was created that blamed Mrs. O'Leary (and her cow) as the cause of the fire. Attention is also paid to the urban planning (or lack thereof) at the time and how the city was rebuilt in the aftermath of the fire, with the advent of skyscrapers and other technological innovations. All of these were showcased 22 years later at the 1893 World's Colombian Exposition.

The end of the book is rounded out with some nifty features, like a timeline of events, a list of facts about the Chicago Fire, and a map of relevant historical sites to visit today. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I feel it's a good, highly accessible introduction to the series.

It was written by Kate Hannigan, a former journalist who has written a number of middle grades and picture books, including the multiple award-winning The Detective's Assistant. It was illustrated by Alexandra Gaudins, who also drew The Brain entry of Science Comics as well as a number of digital and webcomics.

All the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Esther Keller wrote, "The fast-paced read is highlighted with superb artwork that evokes the time period and gives readers the feeling of chaos that ensued in Chicago." Kirkus Reviews concluded, "A fictive plotline adds a strong “you are there” feel to this informative account."

The second book I read was The Roanoke Colony: America's First Mystery, which is about the first attempts of the British to establish a permanent colony in North America. It is narrated by Wanchese and Manteo, two indigenous leaders that the English encountered. They offer a good contrast with their viewpoints, as in reality Wanchese was more weary of the British and their intentions. Both also traveled to England, and Manteo was the first Native American to be baptized into the Church of England. 

This book is more packed with information, and it gives a broad context to the times and geography. It tells of the various indigenous nations that were active in the area, along with their political structures, homes, and tools. It sheds extensive light on the British politics of the day, with particular attention to Queen Elizabeth I (who brushed her teeth with honey-!!!), "debonair hot boy" Sir Walter Raleigh, and pilot/pirate Simon Fernandes. It chronicles conflicts with rival European nations and also pirates. The failure of this colony lie in a great number of factors, including colonial cluelessness, skirmishes with local peoples, lack of supplies, improper training of colonists, needlessly cruel leadership, and privileging capitalist interests over people's general safety. I was impressed by how much nuance and detail is packed into this book with it still being so accessible and engaging.

This book does not have the same features that concluded The Great Chicago Fire, but I also feel that it covers lot more content in terms of historical context and complexity. Instead it ends with possible solutions to the mystery of what happened to this "lost colony" that was left to its own devices for months. These final pages offer a number of possibilities, starting with the evidence that they literally left a note on a tree that they had gone to the island of Croatoan (where Manteo was from) but storms complicated any search efforts. Among these possible endings are that the colonists may have been slaughtered by any number of factions, including natives or the Spanish, abducted by aliens(!), or assimilated into local nations. Reading this book, it is easy to see why this mystery is still so compelling, especially when presented in such a well-researched manner.

The creator behind this book is Chris Schweizer, who also made the volume of Maker Comics I just reviewed. Like I wrote then, he is a comics Renaissance man who has created a few series like the Crogan's Adventures and The Creeps. He has a bent toward historical works and is one of the best artists working right now, IMHO.

I have not found as many reviews of this book online, but the ones I have read have been full of praise. Carin Siegfried wrote that it "was a lot of fun, really informative, and I especially liked how the story was told from the perspectives of the Native Americans." As of this writing, it has a 4.14 (out of 5) star rating at Goodreads.

Both of these volumes of History Comics were published by First Second, and they offer more info about them and future volumes in the series here.

A Fire Story

On Monday, October 9, 2017, Brian Fies and his wife Karen grabbed some things and got in their car for what they thought were precautionary measures because of wildfires. Hours later, they were homeless. 

The fires they escaped were some of the most destructive this country has ever seen, and they ravage Northern California. This book is an intimate look at lives forever changed, how people deal with large-scale destruction in terms of emotional reactions and the practical matters of dealing with relief agencies and other institutional entities. One of the parts that sticks most in my head is Fies dealing with the utilities company, whose representative keeps asking inane questions about whether workers would have clear access to the meter. "Unlimited access," he deadpanned, "but there's no gas meter there anymore." 

The wide array of emotions and somewhat surreal situations that accompany such loss make this book memorable. The personal tale packs a wallop, especially when it is accompanied by several other text pieces told from the perspective of others that the fires affected. As a whole, this book is a wonderfully detailed mosaic of the resilience of the survivors and how some begin to rebuild their lives. This book is moving and informative, giving great insight into how people cope with and survive a natural disaster.

This book's author, Brian Fies began this story as a 18-page comic he published on his blog, adapted it into a Emmy Award-winning animated short, and then expanded it into this graphic novel version. He speaks of the entire process in this video. He also speaks about sharing his story as a graphic novel in this interview. Fies is an Eisner Award winning creator who has created a couple of other graphic novels, the autobiographical Mom's Cancer and the nonfiction long-form essay Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? I also had the honor of being on a panel with him at the 2019 Denver Pop Culture Con.

I was very moved and impressed by this book, but some of the reviews I have read have been more critical. Caitlin Rosberg opined, "It’s a heartfelt, emotional read that has just as much historical and social worth as it does personal value, and a reminder of the best and worst parts of what people can be." Alex Hoffman wrote, "The full book feels scattered, unable to hold the weight of Fies’ trauma." Josh Kramer thought that perhaps the book was rushed and called it "good memoir and inadequate journalism."

A Fire Story was published by Abrams, and they offer a preview and more about it here.

Frank

I get a bunch of books from various creators and publishers for the Comics Alternative podcast, and we don't get the chance to speak about them all on the show. The book I am writing about today, Frank, falls into that category, and I think it's a unique and compelling book well worth checking out. It walks the fine line between being entertaining and informative, and it both moved me and taught me about Canadian history. This tale is set in 1903 in the town of Frank, which was a coal mining town next to Turtle Mountain in Alberta. The protagonist is a troubled woman named Eve Lee, who finds herself frequently in the local drunk tank. One day, her old flame Oscar mysteriously disappears and she suspects something shady has happened to him, so she starts an investigation. What she discovers (without spoiling so much) is that something is not quite right with the records of the local mining company.

As you might guess, at least two murders are uncovered, and much of this book is involved with Eve trying to get to the bottom of matters while facing various roadblocks. All the while there are slight tremors and disturbances in the mine, and the latter parts of the book occur simultaneously with the Frank Slide, the most deadly rock-slide in Canadian history, when 90 million tons of limestone came loose from Turtle Mountain and decimated the town of Frank.

In the end, I felt that this book was a great blend of fact and fiction, with interesting characters and a complex plot that kept me intrigued throughout. It was the debut graphic novel of Ben Rankel, an illustrator who has had work in a number of indie comics anthologies. He speaks about his work on this book in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read remark positively on the book. Kevin Skinner wrote, "FRANK is both faithful to a profound moment in Canadian history while still creating something new and exciting to engage comic fans who may not even care about Canadian history. " The reviewer at 49th Shelf called Rankel "a gifted graphic novelist, soon to be amongst the most highly regarded." Insha Fitzpatrick summed up, "Frank presents a historical event with a creator that knows how to honor it but also expand it, creating a story that’s heartbreaking yet filled with world building and characters that are intense and riveting."

Frank was published by Renegade Arts Entertainment, and they offer more info about it here.

A review copy was provided by the publisher.

A.D. New Orleans: After the Deluge

The ensuing disaster that followed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina cast much light on life in the US. It questioned the reliability and judgment of FEMA and raised questions about continued class and racial disparity, culminating in what then-President George W. Bush called the "worst moment of his presidency," getting called out on national television by Kanye West. In all of this fallout and confusion, what seems to get lost are the stories of the people who lived in and through the storm. This graphic novel tells their stories.

A.D. New Orleans began as a webcomic but is here expanded and developed into a longer narrative. It begins on August 22, 2005, one week before Katrina hit, and focuses on five stories: Denise's family has lived in New Orleans for generations, and she and her family try to weather the storm in a hospital and then, when that becomes untenable, the Convention Center. Leo and Michelle are a Bohemian, urban couple who decide to take off to shelter but return quickly to survey the aftermath. Abbas is an Iranian-born businessman who decides to weather the storm with his fishing buddy Darnell so that they can protect his shop and also have a good story about experiencing a "real hurricane." Kwame is the son of a pastor whose family flees the storm but then returns to facilitate assistance to those in need. Finally, The Doctor stays in the French Quarter and throws a hurricane party, secure in the fact that this high point of the city will take little damage. He also takes an active part in helping people once the weather passes and the horrible damage caused by massive floods takes its toll.

This graphic novel portrays the destruction but mostly focuses on the human stories, showing what it was like to be there, trapped on a roof. Or what it was like to come back to find all your possessions ruined. Or what it was like to see your home be portrayed like some foreign battle site on the nightly news. It also shows what life was like for people who were trapped and who were neglected for days before help came. Finally, rumors about looting and roaming bands of thugs are also addressed. It is necessarily, but not gratuitously, graphic with its portrayal of stark conditions and people's language in extreme situations.

Josh Neufeld is a comics journalist who worked at the time as a Red Cross volunteer and was deployed to Biloxi, Mississippi to help hurricane victims there. That experience moved him to write this story from those most affected by the storm, so for this book he interviewed actual people and portrayed their accounts as accurately as he could. He specializes in non-fiction work and was along-time contributor to Harvey Pekar's American Splendor. His work has been recognized with a Xeric Foundation Grant for his travelogue A Few Perfect Hours, and he was also nominated for Harvey and Eisner Awards for this book.

Along with these nominations, A.D. New Orleans has received much praise. Wired Magazine's Todd Jatras called it "a sterling example of comics with a social consciousness." It has also received substantive write-ups in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. Reviewer Sean Kleefeld comments that the book is worth buying, even if the web version can be read for free.

Extended excerpts, chapters from the webcomic, discussion postings, related videos, reviews, and many other helpful and interesting links can be found on the book's official page.