A review by balletbookworm
The Forgotten Man Graphic Edition: A New History of the Great Depression by Chuck Dixon, Amity Shlaes, Paul Rivoche
4.0
Not having read the original Shlaes work of history, I decided to try out the GN edition to see if I could understand a non-fiction book without the benefit of all the words.
And it works. The author/illustrator chose to focus the period through the narrative of Wendell Wilkie, exec for a utilities company, who talks over the history of the Great Depression and it's economic impact with Irita van Doren, a literary editor and Wilkie's longtime companion. It "breaks the fourth wall" without actually breaking the fourth wall, which I liked. At times the narrative jumps around and gets disjointed, but that does emphasize how confusing and contradictory New Deal policies and their makers could be.
The art is really nice - all stark black and white for the history sections with interspersed sepia-toned modern-set (1940) sections. The style looks vintage, which suits the historical period. Have to call out a great rendering of Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" photograph which is featured in the book.
And it works. The author/illustrator chose to focus the period through the narrative of Wendell Wilkie, exec for a utilities company, who talks over the history of the Great Depression and it's economic impact with Irita van Doren, a literary editor and Wilkie's longtime companion. It "breaks the fourth wall" without actually breaking the fourth wall, which I liked. At times the narrative jumps around and gets disjointed, but that does emphasize how confusing and contradictory New Deal policies and their makers could be.
The art is really nice - all stark black and white for the history sections with interspersed sepia-toned modern-set (1940) sections. The style looks vintage, which suits the historical period. Have to call out a great rendering of Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" photograph which is featured in the book.