Roberto Clemente was the first Latino player inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame. He was a record breaking batter who played outfield for the
Pittsburgh Pirates. Over his career he won two World Series, amassed 3000 hits, and had a rifle of an arm, but most importantly he became involved with many humanitarian efforts and gave much to those in need from other countries. He died in 1972 in a plane crash while in the process of delivering supplies for disaster relief following an earthquake in Nicaragua. Major League Baseball honored him by naming an
award after him, "given annually to a player who demonstrates the values Clemente
displayed in his commitment to community and understanding the value of
helping others."
Those are
the facts of Clemente's life, and this book
"21" takes them and breathes life and energy into them. Working with a limited palate of color, the art is full of personality, verve, and emotion. Below you can see a scene from Roberto's childhood when his love for baseball was kindled.
I got a good sense of four major periods of his life: his childhood coming from little means, his frustrating minor league years (drafted by the Dodgers, he was not called up, perhaps because they did not want too many "dark" players on the club), his impactful major league career, and his humanitarianism. There is great storytelling throughout this book, but where it really shines is in the baseball sequences. Here, Santiago cuts loose with imagery, line, and design, creating some scenes of beauty and wonder.
Of course there had to be some editing of his life and some areas were not given as much space. Santiago journalistically shows some of what Clemente had to deal with, including announcers Anglicizing his name to "Bob" (which he hated) and yelling "Arriba! Arriba!" (a la
Speedy Gonzalez) when he made a big play, but he does not really comment on how these things may have affected the ball player. I also saw much reverence in his depiction of Clemente, but not so much about how much he impacted baseball as a player who drew many more Latino players into MLB with his huge presence. However, Santiago more than makes up for these absences with his rich portrait of Puerto Rico's history and culture intertwined with Clemente's life. I learned quite a bit more history of the island than I expected to, and that context enlivens everything. Even with the limited color palate, this story is vibrant and rich.
Wilfred Santiago, like Clemente a native of
Puerto Rico, put much love, craft, and detail into this book. He is a graphic artist currently living in Chicago and is at work on a biography of another titanic sports figure,
Michael Jordan, called
Bull on Parade. Santiago speaks about his art and career in
this interview. Much more information about Santiago's work on this book can be found in
this article.
"21" has received much positive attention and praise. It was named one of the
Library Journal's Best Books, a
YALSA Great Graphic Novel, and one of
Booklist's Top 10 Graphic Novels. Comic Alliance's
David Brothers called the book "a treat," and added, "its 200 pages fly by, the visuals are great, and the dialogue dead-on."
Spitball's
Mark W. Schraf summed it up as "captivating, revealing, and dramatic." Offering a contrary opinion,
Jeffrey O. Gustafson wrote that this book is an excellent comic but a poor biography full of "cardboard cutouts moved around at the service of the plot."
An excerpt and more information is available from the book's publisher
Fantagraphics here.
