Monday, December 31, 2012

Quick Comic Review - Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me

"Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me" by Harvey Pekar and JT Waldman -- I was a little late to Harvey Pekar's work but I quickly fell in love with his American Splendor once I checked it out. Some of his other work hasn't connected quite as well with me but it's usually an interesting read. This book was very interesting to me. The subject matter is obviously a very delicate matter with a lot of complexity to it but Harvey boils it down to how he sees things. He's an avid reader and definitely knows more than many on the subject but perhaps not as much as we all should. But it's how sees things and that's what Harvey Pekar is all about. It's not meant to be a complete history, it's just his views. So perhaps you could argue some points but what I find interesting is that the negative reviews of this book tend to fall right in with what Harvey describes in his book. Just speaking his mind is met with so much hostility. But I'll avoid going in to a rant on that. If you want to look into the history and everything else, go elsewhere but be prepared for doing a lot of research. And be prepared to have to go through much misinformation for some very grey answers, not everything is black and white. But if you're interested in actually listening to Harvey Pekar's view then read this book. And I think it's worth at least listening to him with an open mind.

And as for JT Waldman, his art is sensational in this book. The varying styles, the details, the layouts, and the flow are all really well done.

Then there's the epilogue written by Harvey's wife, Joyce Brabner. It's a very touching piece that does tie in with the book in its own way. The day Harvey Pekar left us was truly a very sad day for comics.

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