The Borden Tragedy

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

I remember this macabre nursery rhyme from when I was a child and apparently it is still in circulation. The Borden Tragedy, which is based on research gathered from a number of sources, lets us in on the facts of the case. Andrew Borden was a prosperous businessman in Fall River, Massachusetts who had two children by his first wife Sarah. After being widowed, he remarried, and his two daughters Emma and Lizzie never took to their new mother, Abby. During the hot, humid summer of 1892, Andrew and Abby were found in their home brutally butchered by an ax. Accusations and conjectures flew about, and eventually Lizzie was indicted and tried for the crime. In the end, she was acquitted, but she never left Fall River and remained a notorious figure her entire life (and beyond).

This incident seems like one in a long line of sensationalized murder tales that have entranced Americans. The facts in the story are detailed in this graphic novel in an expedient way that allows the reader to pick up on them as well as be swept into the narrative. It is also interesting to see the back matter that contains newspaper accounts of the day concerning the case. Rick Geary, a multiple award winning comics artist, does his usual top-notch job of rendering historical scenes with great accuracy and detail as well as catching readers up in a tight plot.

Reviews of this, as with many of Geary's books, are very positive. Seth T. Hahne wrote that "Geary’s talent as a comics creator is evident" and that this graphic novel "serves as a fantastic primer to a famous unsolved double murder." Kelly Grant found the book "a chilling, immensely readable summary of the facts of one of nineteenth-century America’s most infamous crime." Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review.

NBM, the book's publisher, provide a brief excerpt.

For those interested in Lizzie Borden, there is a recent new development about her. Some recently uncovered journals written by her lawyer have shed more light on her life.

The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti

During the 20th century, there were numerous cases dubbed the "trial of the century" but one that had international repercussions was the one involving Nicolo Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. These Italian immigrants were accused of murdering two men in 1920 in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Because of a strong anti-immigrant sentiment at the time, the two anarchists were quickly tried and found guilty, despite potential judicial prejudice, witness tampering, and mishandling of evidence. The duo ran out of appeals and were executed by electric chair in 1927. This verdict and outcome was seen as a travesty by many and inspired protests, boycotts, and riots in the US and abroad.

Inkpot Award recipient Rick Geary does his typical ace job of packing the facts of the case into a compelling narrative. Notably, he also does a great job of capturing the voices of the two defendants and Judge Webster Thayer, who presided over the trial and its many appeals. His meticulous art injects a sense of drama and intrigue into the proceedings. More about his work on this book can be found in this CBR article and this interview on the NBM Blog.

The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti was one of 2011's best reviewed graphic novels, appearing on numerous Best of lists. Bill Sherman wrote that Geary "does his usual superb job laying out both the facts of the case and the distinct world in which it all occurs" but remarked that he did not fully flesh out defense attorney Fred H. Moore. Jared Gardner was impressed by how Geary presented the story in a balanced manner "to remind us that while two innocent men may well have been executed that day in 1927, the case against them was not as thin as the history of the Left would have it." John Seven gushed that this book showed that "Geary is the foremost practitioner of graphic novel non-fiction" and remarked that the book created a lingering feeling that lasted long after the final page.

A preview is available from the book's publisher NBM.