A Graphic HistoryA cool black-and-white history that exposes the failings and celebrates the accomplishments of the Beats.
Biographies of Kerouac, Ginzburg, and Burroughs take up the first half, drawn by Ed Piskor and written by Harvey Pekar (of American Splendor fame). Piskor's clean style is a good match for Pekar's treatment, which is gritty, unflinching, and packed with detail. Pekar himself appears in a few panels, directly addressing the reader.
The collaboration, though, is not perfect. Ginzburg, Burroughs, Cassidy, and others are easily recognizable, but Kerouac isn't, either as a handsome young man or a bloated wreck. In one panel he's shown writing with his left hand, in another with his right. And the thoughts and words of the characters are sometimes terribly banal.
Kerouac: This pie is terrific mom; what a gem you are.
Cassady (to Kerouac scaling a ladder): Take it easy, Jack, you might slip.
The last third of the book is the work of several artists and writers, and it is here the excitement of the Beats really comes through. The different styles and viewpoints are so invigorating I wanted to live in a pad and write poetry madly.
Beatnik Chicks, written by Joyce Brabner (Pekar's wife) and drawn by Summer McClinton, is one of the best pieces in the book. It's a potent refutation of the way Beats treated their women.
Other poets and artists covered: Slim Brundage, Gregory Corso, Robert Creeley, Jay deFeo, Diane di Palma, Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, LeRoi Jones, Tuli Kupferberg (of The Fugs), Philip Lamantia, d.a. Levy, Michael McClure, Kenneth Patchen, Kenneth Rexroth, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen.
There are also a few general pieces: Art Beats, City Lights Bookshop, Jazz Poetry, and the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance.
Artist Links
The Pekar Project, Ed Piskor's Wizziwig
Gary Dumm, Mary Fleener, Jay Kinney, Peter Kuper, Jeffrey Lewis, Summer McClinton, Trina Robbins, Nick Thorkelson, Anne Timmons, Lance Tooks
Reviews Good & Bad
Boing Boing, Graphic Novel Reporter, New York Times
San Francisco Chronicle, Suite 101, The Oregonian
