A review by graypeape
Lizard in a Zoot Suit by Marco Finnegan

4.0

An interesting blend of historical fiction and monster movie scifi. Taking place during the Zoot Suit Riots in 1943 Los Angeles, the story has two Latinx twin sisters, Flaca and Cuata, who find a lizard man of an unknown species who has been separated from his people by the actions of humans, and they decide to help him get back to his people and keep him from getting captured by the military. Chulit0 (as the girls call him) bears a strong resemblance to the Creature from the Black Lagoon, making him a handy symbol of the "other," and his people's displacement by humans represents the Mexican-American communities in Los Angeles being displaced by whites. An author's note gives a detailed history of the Zoot Suit Riots, which I hadn't heard about before; an ugly race-based event that had even the LA Times publishing an article about how to attack and de-suit a Zoot Suiter, stoking even more violence. The artwork has a minimalistic retro feel, and fits the story well. This is a quick, fun adventure story, and I learned an important bit of history too.

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