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EVERYMAN: BE THE PEOPLE
by Steven and Dan Goldman and Joe Bucco
($6.00,
FWDbooks)
Review by Matt Dembicki
If you hate President Bush, are still fuming over the 2000 election, and have an idealistic ‘60s “love one another” approach to politics, this book may be for you. The 100-page-or-so graphic novella is about a corrupt U.S. president named Birch (a thinly veiled Bush) who plans to tinker with voting machines to win the November election. But an honest member of his staff overhears the scheme and teams with a newly formed political/social group called OneLove, which strives to reach out to the “everyman” electorate and restore their faith in government. The Goldman Brothers do a very admirable job weaving various storylines together, and they’ve obviously done their research about the facts they include in the book. The only drawback is that the text is often verbose and the dialogue a bit stiff, like it was lifted straight from a civics textbook. For example, when a TV video technician learns that OneLove wants to make a bid on the presidency and needs his help, he responds: “...So you guys can get your 5% of the vote and federal matching funds in 2008, like the Green Party tried to do?” In terms of art, Joe Bucco does a superb job. His realistic style fits perfectly with the story.
STYX TAXI: A LITTLE TWILIGHT MUSIC
by Steve and Dan Goldman, Elizabeth Genco, Leland Purvis, Rami Efal
($3.00,
FWDbooks)
Review by Matt Dembicki
This is the second issue of an innovative series about taxi drivers whose assignments are to pick up the recently departed. Of the three stories in the book, which has a theme of music, I particularly enjoyed Elizabeth Genco’s tale of a young, female violinist. All the stories are wonderfully illustrated and worth the price of the book alone. I especially like the whispy, jazzy feel captured on the cover by Leland Purvis and Dan Goldman. Look for a
Styx Taxi graphic novel in early 2005.
[ Link to this review ]
