Literally Graphic reviewed James Sturm's America by James Sturm
Review of "James Sturm's America" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A collection of short historical fiction stories dealing with different points in America's history. Very "politically incorrect" as the old fogies say the young ones would say. Everyone's so dark and gritty, conniving and selfish. Shit happens and the n-word is used!
Should the n-word have been used? At this point, I really don't know. I would say that it was Sturm's intention to use this hyper-awareness of race to really bring into focus the level of racism present in the time periods covered. I will leave it up to (and be looking into) what the opinion is of those who continue to have to live with these sorts of words and bigotry to this very day.
As I've already seen a few people mention, Sturm's style reminds me a lot of Chester Brown. Very referential of the historical prints that inspired these stories. His layouts are slightly more involved …
A collection of short historical fiction stories dealing with different points in America's history. Very "politically incorrect" as the old fogies say the young ones would say. Everyone's so dark and gritty, conniving and selfish. Shit happens and the n-word is used!
Should the n-word have been used? At this point, I really don't know. I would say that it was Sturm's intention to use this hyper-awareness of race to really bring into focus the level of racism present in the time periods covered. I will leave it up to (and be looking into) what the opinion is of those who continue to have to live with these sorts of words and bigotry to this very day.
As I've already seen a few people mention, Sturm's style reminds me a lot of Chester Brown. Very referential of the historical prints that inspired these stories. His layouts are slightly more involved than Chester's, but not a whole lot. That said, much like Chester, Sturm's style is strong enough to stand strong in the simplicity - plus it's fairly easy to follow for newbies! Much like Louis Riel, this collection felt really theatrical to me.
A great counter-narrative to the "good old days" we are forever hearing about. I suspect a lot of patriots might find this collection rather triggering.