directorpurry's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Incest, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Racism
Minor: Abortion
lilybearillini3's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.75
American Cult features over 20 artists to tell stories of various cults in United States history. There were different approaches to narration and storytelling for each cult group. The first-person reflection/reminiscent POV through the eyes of a teen in the Sullivanians is really effective. While an all-knowing POV explained the complexities of the MOVE cult well. For me, the standouts were the stories on: Warren Jeffs, NXIVM, Westboro Baptist, and the Sullivanians. These are just a quick glimpse into the cults and only scratch the surface. There are plenty of books and other true crime media to delve into them deeper. There's definitely enough cults in our history for there to be a sequel book.
Any content warning you could think of is in this book so read with care.
Any content warning you could think of is in this book so read with care.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Xenophobia, and Bullying
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Addiction, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Torture, and Child death
Minor: Abortion and Trafficking
tami317's review against another edition
5.0
I am obsessed with books about cults. This one was an interesting one that I really liked. It had some of the cults most people are familiar with, but, then there were also several cults I had never heard of. It's fascinating to see how easily people can be brainwashed, especially in cults that are way out there with their beliefs. I liked reading it in graphic form, it added to the story of each cult. If you like reading about cults too, then this one is for you.
ac_anemon's review against another edition
5.0
Cults are a topic of interest in America at large. Most people have at least a surface level knowledge about Scientology, or the ‘Flying Spaghetti Monster’ or Jonestown. But there doesn’t seem to be much awareness of cult recruitment tactics, how susceptible everyone can be, or how pervasive cults are.
The anthology starts off with the editor laying out the parameters of what a cult is defined as for the book, emphasizing the importance and prevalence of an authoritarian in spiritual leadership.
I wasn’t raised in a cult, but I was raised around people trapped in oppressive environments that I’m still trying to process in my life and relationship with the religion I was raised within. I would recommend this book based off of the segment on the cultism of Orthodox Judaism. Small groups like Orthodox Judaism, the Amish, or the Bruderhoffen I think do not receive the scrutiny that they deserve, despite having the ability to be just as damaging and dangerous as ‘mainstream’ cults are.
I would also recommend the webcomic ‘Joe VS the Elan School’ for anyone who wants to hear a testimony on Synanon.
Anywhom, lots of thoughts on cults and how they have shaped and continue to shape American culture that is coming off a little rambling because I read this in one sitting between midnight and 3AM. Highly recommend
The anthology starts off with the editor laying out the parameters of what a cult is defined as for the book, emphasizing the importance and prevalence of an authoritarian in spiritual leadership.
I wasn’t raised in a cult, but I was raised around people trapped in oppressive environments that I’m still trying to process in my life and relationship with the religion I was raised within. I would recommend this book based off of the segment on the cultism of Orthodox Judaism. Small groups like Orthodox Judaism, the Amish, or the Bruderhoffen I think do not receive the scrutiny that they deserve, despite having the ability to be just as damaging and dangerous as ‘mainstream’ cults are.
I would also recommend the webcomic ‘Joe VS the Elan School’ for anyone who wants to hear a testimony on Synanon.
Anywhom, lots of thoughts on cults and how they have shaped and continue to shape American culture that is coming off a little rambling because I read this in one sitting between midnight and 3AM. Highly recommend
buckanan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.75
vex's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Cults are weaved into America itself, this graphic novel does a wonderful job highlighting the different ones and offer a different point of view.
motormouth95's review against another edition
2.0
When a nonfiction, biographical book doesn't contain a bibliography or a list of sources used that the authors gleaned the information presented from... I just have no adequate words to accurately describe how I feel regarding that. I had questions about one of the cults mentioned, and looked in the back for at least some "suggested reading or "for further reference/information" section, but there's zilch, just authors' bios. I had high hopes for this book, too, based off of the reviews I read. Granted, it is written/drawn by numerous authors and artists, and it is a graphic (in more ways than one) book, so it's not very "high brow." However, I feel that Wikipedia probably has better information about the cults covered than the short, (roughly 10 pages apiece) chapters in the book do, as they don't even make a dent, let alone scratch the surface of the cults. Some comics aren't even biographies, but are, instead, stories about the cult, which make no sense without any background information. I think that this book is definitely in my top 5 worst books I've had the (dis)pleasure of wasting my time on. I finished it, out of mostly spite for investing more than an hour I'll never get back on it on a Friday night. Art is subjective, so I'm not commenting on the vastly different art styles used, but it is hard to get a accustomed to one style before being catapulted into a totally contrasting one only a handful of pages later. A few of the entries were intriguing, but most ranged from "ok" to "meh" to "not a fan."
1.5 stars.
1.5 stars.
egeorjeana's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the concept of this book! I'm a true crime fan, but I knew that my knowledge of cults was lacking (namely of cults that were not directly or publicly associated with deaths and murders). I enjoyed that this book allowed me to learn a little bit about many different cults and to analyze how we define a cult and how ingrained they are in American culture. I found myself putting this book down a lot to get more information online, which I do think was the intention in a way. Some of the comics were definitely better than others (my biggest note is that some were kind of hard to follow), but overall I think this book gives you a glimpse of some much larger stories and encourages you to seek out more information and learn about these groups and their impacts yourself.