Summer McClinton

"There is a hidden history in the US. It is the history of ordinary people standing up to fight the injustice of a capitalist system that is willing to use extraordinary violence to protect profits."

Coal miners who wanted to unionize in West Virginia in the first two decades of the 20th century did so in the face of aggressive strong-arm tactics. Mine owners leveraged evictions from company housing, scabs, and gun-toting security forces to keep the people down and broken. The back and forth show more resulted in several gun battles, including one large uprising that was put down by the military under order of President Harding.

This dramatization of events is fairly compelling, though it feels frustratingly rushed and vague in places.

While the art is pretty good, it did include a distracting element. Throughout the book, Summer McClinton frequently casts real actors for the historical figures who may not have much photo-reference available. Labor organizer Frank Keeney's image is very obviously based on Jimmy Stewart, mostly from It's a Wonderful Life. Stewart's co-star Lionel Barrymore even pops in for a scene as the banker Henry Potter morphs into an uncooperative union official. I also spotted Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner, Henry Winkler, and Benicio del Toro playing supporting roles. At a certain point, I almost became more interested in spotting celebrities than learning about this neglected period in history.

https://imgur.com/a/UlBhDdu

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Foreword / Gordon Simmons -- In Matewan, a Museum from Below / Shaun Slifer -- Chapter 1. The Struggle Begins, Mother Jones and Frank Keeney -- Chapter 2. The Paint Creek & Cabin Creek Strikes -- Chapter 3. The Matewan Massacre -- Chapter 4. The Battle of Blair Mountain -- Afterword / Paul Buhle-- About the Contributors -- About PM Press show less

Huntington, West Virginia On the Fly by Harvey Pekar is a collection of four short memoirs presented in a graphic novel format. Pekar is best known for his American Splendor series, but I haven't read it.

These stories are conversations and interviews Pekar did with people he met on his tours after American Splendor was adapted for film. All of these vignettes are illustrated by Summer McClinton.

The first story begins in his home town with Hollywood Bob, his favorite limo driver. The vignette show more outlines how Bob went from small time hood to successful livery owner. He explains the ups and downs of driving people around town and how no one ever wants a blue limo.

The last story works as a matching bookend for Hollywood Bob. Pekar has reached his destination, Huntington, West Virginia and a small book convention. While he can't get his promised per diem, he does get a chance to cameo in a small indie film.

Although others have said this book will only appeal to those who have read American Splendor, I disagree. Certainly, that familiarity would be a lure, but the book stands alone just fine. It's a quick, compelling and entertaining read. show less

Not the greatest Pekar I've read. While there were some good slice-of-life moments, the redundancy tended to eclipse it. Summer McClinton is also not my favorite Pekar artist. Still, this reminded me it's been too long since I last read any Pekar. Gotta fix that.

Pekar's voice and presence melds with his subject in each story, and the perfectly ordinary events of regular life become a little more interesting through his eyes. This collection is beautifully illustrated by Summer McClinton. Definitely recommended for Pekar fans, and if you aren't a Pekar fan, then what have you been doing with your life?

[full review here: http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2011/07/huntington-west-virginia-on-fly-by.html ]