The Puerto Rican War A graphic history

What do you know about Puerto Rico? Why are Puerto Ricans so dedicated to proudly displaying their flag? Mejias, in his introduction, guesses that you likely don't know, because this history is not well-known and is seldom taught. In this brief comic, he traces the history of the Puerto Rican struggle for independence, focusing primarily on the 1950s uprisings. Mejias brilliantly weaves his heavy, saturated, and stunningly beautiful woodblock method with common comics tropes, as in an entire narrow panel filled with firefight sound effects--"PEW TANG ZANG BANG PIM PLIP ZAP BUM ZOP." He even manages to play with time--a difficult task in his unusual style--by directing the reader to "read the next few pages at a very fast pace" when the plot ramps up to its fateful conclusion. (An interlude just prior to this conclusion will stick with readers long after they set the book down.) This edition of the text includes references and further reading, a time line of events, and an interview with Mejias, conducted by Alex Dueben, which will be of particular interest to those invested in the creative process. Librarians should be prepared to pair this comic with additional texts and encourage giving it a chance, as the woodblock style is likely unfamiliar to most modern readers.

Indie cartoonist Mejias's energetic trade debut, an Angoulême award winner, depicts 20th-century Puerto Rican history in striking woodcut panels. The bulk of the account takes place in 1950, as members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist movement launch an uprising against U.S. control of the island. After Griselio Torresola meets with revolutionary leader Pedro Albizu Campos, he travels to Washington, D.C., to assassinate President Truman but bungles the job. Back on Puerto Rico, several deadly conflicts occur, including a successful raid against a police station in the village of Utuado and a counterattack by the police. Mejias finds surreal moments of beauty amid the carnage. In one such scene, Griselio experiences a ghostly visitation from the unlikely duo of Gandhi and Irish revolutionary Michael Collins, who speak to him "in words he could understand." In another, a young boy picks mangoes in a grove. Mejias's painstakingly hand-carved woodblock art results in vibrant, detailed scenes that lend a poetic touch throughout. This impressive work of art brings history to full and fascinating life. (May)

Graphic narrative of an often-overlooked episode in the history of American empire. Seized by the U.S. after the war against Spain and turned into an unwilling economic colony, Puerto Rico spawned a liberation movement after World War II that was populated by intellectuals such as Pedro Albizu Campos, inspired by Gandhian nonviolent resistance as well as by guerrillas less reluctant to use force. Four of the latter traveled to Washington, D.C., in 1954 and attacked the Capitol, wounding five representatives. Visual artist Mejias tells this tale in a narrative punctuated by the voices of many of those actors. Counsels one revolutionary to a comrade traveling to the mainland, "My God, even the Library of Congress has a police force plus a new something they call Central Intelligence which goes around killing everybody. Trust no one." After the short-lived campaign on the mainland, the U.S. promulgated a law that made it illegal to own a Puerto Rican flag or to "speak or write of independence." The author recounts that his story was slow in the making, largely because he used the traditional medium of woodblock printmaking, about which he reasons, "Nobody is waiting around for this book, so it's going to take however long it's going to take." The woodblock method lends density and gravitas to the work that command attention; each centimeter of each panel is rich in visual detail, inviting readers to linger over the page. One panel is particularly memorable, plainly evoking Francisco Goya's famed painting The Third of May 1808. Reminiscent of the work of the pioneering graphic artist Lynd Ward, the hand-printed original of this excellent work now resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. A brilliant blend of graphic and literary narration and a lovely work of art in itself. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.