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allisonmeyette's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
3.5
chloekg's review against another edition
2.0
Not good history, not good storytelling, well-rendered but uninspired art. It's an unethical historical revision of putting words into real people's mouths as if they were characters.
sprocketthecat's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Murder, Addiction, Mental illness, Alcohol, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Antisemitism, and Infidelity
duparker's review against another edition
4.0
Cool history of the beats told in an off beat manner. I knew Kerouac and to a degree Burrows, having read them. I wasn't so aware of Ginsburg's own work (outside of Howl). It was fascinating to learn about the manners and modes by which these men became famous. The section on City Lights might have been the best, though.
audenspence's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars but I rounded down
I really wanted to like this book. I didn’t know much about the Beat poets and was hoping that this book would show me why they were so significant and revolutionary. It didn’t entirely accomplish that aim. The first half was not very inspired, more of a set of biographies with pictures. Anything that was actually interesting about these guys (and they were all white guys in this section of the book) was glossed over to talk about how great they were. I understand that they happened to come from similar backgrounds and share similar addictions etc but after a while the information felt rote.
The second half of the book I did enjoy. There were different art styles in this half of the book which made it more engaging. These also covered the women and people of color who were part of the Beat movement so again more interesting content for me. I’m sure someone who is really into the Beats would enjoy this more than I did, but I was hoping that this book would spark an interest in me to pursue these poems, novels, and short story collections. It didn’t. But if you like Kerouac and Ginsberg maybe check this out.
I really wanted to like this book. I didn’t know much about the Beat poets and was hoping that this book would show me why they were so significant and revolutionary. It didn’t entirely accomplish that aim. The first half was not very inspired, more of a set of biographies with pictures. Anything that was actually interesting about these guys (and they were all white guys in this section of the book) was glossed over to talk about how great they were. I understand that they happened to come from similar backgrounds and share similar addictions etc but after a while the information felt rote.
The second half of the book I did enjoy. There were different art styles in this half of the book which made it more engaging. These also covered the women and people of color who were part of the Beat movement so again more interesting content for me. I’m sure someone who is really into the Beats would enjoy this more than I did, but I was hoping that this book would spark an interest in me to pursue these poems, novels, and short story collections. It didn’t. But if you like Kerouac and Ginsberg maybe check this out.
karnakjr's review
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.25
It’s been a minute since I’ve read Pekar, and his voice emerges instantly in this book. Piskor’s figures and faces are pretty cracking. The mania and energy of these dudes is on full display.
The book picks up on major beats in the lives of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs. There’s some fun parts of this. Petty crime always warms my heart just a little, so the involvement in theft and fencing is fun. The down side is that this book is frank, and no bull shit is spilled to preserve someone’s heroes.
I think basically everyone covered is less cool than when I started. I knew misogyny ran deep for some beats, but the extent is pretty disheartening. Maybe worse is the unmitigated pederasty of the big 3. It’s also weird that Kerouac and Burroughs both wound up so right wing. Some of the closely associated figures seem to be real scumbags too. Neal Cassady, for example, seems like a real asshole.
The backups are a predictably mixed bag. I love Corso’s writing, so I got a little thrill outta his 2 pager, but wished there was more (but do I? Would I just have found out a bunch of horrible shit?). Brabner and McClinton fucking own their piece, “Beatnik Chicks”, which could have gotten 3 times as many pages and still felt brief. Lewis’s closing pages on Tupi Kupferberg and the Fugs is pretty fun.
When I was. A teenager and read The Dharma Bums, I wanted to live it. I was planning how to hitchhike from Alaska to Mexico. I’d figure the rest out when I got there. The English teacher that loaned me the book then told me how Kerouac wound up. I hated my alcoholic parents, so that really reigned me in. This book, 20+ years later, might be the final nail in any lingering idol worship.
The book picks up on major beats in the lives of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs. There’s some fun parts of this. Petty crime always warms my heart just a little, so the involvement in theft and fencing is fun. The down side is that this book is frank, and no bull shit is spilled to preserve someone’s heroes.
I think basically everyone covered is less cool than when I started. I knew misogyny ran deep for some beats, but the extent is pretty disheartening. Maybe worse is the unmitigated pederasty of the big 3. It’s also weird that Kerouac and Burroughs both wound up so right wing. Some of the closely associated figures seem to be real scumbags too. Neal Cassady, for example, seems like a real asshole.
The backups are a predictably mixed bag. I love Corso’s writing, so I got a little thrill outta his 2 pager, but wished there was more (but do I? Would I just have found out a bunch of horrible shit?). Brabner and McClinton fucking own their piece, “Beatnik Chicks”, which could have gotten 3 times as many pages and still felt brief. Lewis’s closing pages on Tupi Kupferberg and the Fugs is pretty fun.
When I was. A teenager and read The Dharma Bums, I wanted to live it. I was planning how to hitchhike from Alaska to Mexico. I’d figure the rest out when I got there. The English teacher that loaned me the book then told me how Kerouac wound up. I hated my alcoholic parents, so that really reigned me in. This book, 20+ years later, might be the final nail in any lingering idol worship.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
2.0
I should have REALLY liked this. The Beats were a movement that I identify with the counterculture of the sixties. I liked [b:On the Road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573]. Pekar is supposed to be one of the greats of the comic world. I LOVE graphic novels. But it fell flat for me. Pekar has a distinct style - matter-of-fact, not glossing over any of the ugliness, ungraceful. And that's how this book felt. I didn't identify with any of the primary movers and shakers of the movement - they came off as assholes. The only portions I enjoyed (I even skipped some of it) were the sections on the Beat Chicks. But that portion made me that much more mad at the guys. I think I like my gns a little more smooth.
clfairey's review against another edition
3.0
The Beats: A Graphic History is a graphic novel that chronicles the life of the three main players of the Beat Generation (Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg) as well as other lesser-known players. It's drawn in the style of American Splendour graphic novels and is cool in the same way. I always enjoy reading novels and it's especially effective with the beats in capturing their wayward style and jazzy conventions.
The main three dudes lives are teased out, starting with a details of Jack as a kid til death, then Allen from Howl through his activism to death, and William's life kinda jumping all over the place (it skips all his former years and details of his junky-ism which I guess you can read in Junky anyway...). It's obvious the authors favour Jack and his life style and it makes sense because he was the most quintessentially beat - he travelled often, bummed out at his mothers often, drank often and eventually became a bit of a dickhead - but hey, that's Jack for ya.
The most interesting part is all the other players they give detail to. Some only get four pages while others are illustrated and written by guests. Players include Kenneth Roxroth, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, Gary Snyder, Robinson Jeffers, Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, LeRoi Jones/Amiri Bakara, Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, City Lights Books, Kenneth Patchen, Philip Lamantia, Diane di Prima, "Beatnik Chicks" (Hettie Jones, Joan Kerouac, Joyce Johnson and Carolyn Cassady), Jay Defoe, d. a. levy, and Tuli Kupferberg. (Sorry for the extensive list, it's more for my sake than anyone elses, if you're interested in the subject I'm sure googling any of these people would come up with interesting results).
As you might have been able to tell by scanning that list, there are very few women. Thank god for the chapter of "Beatnik Chicks" or I would have probably hated this book. The chapter talks about the misogyny of the era and with the men even though it was, in parts, during the Hippie movement. It a little bit freaks me out that "free love" was such a huge thing when it's clear women weren't being respected like they should but, whatever, moving on...
This is a super great book for anyone interested in the beat movement as a whole. There's so much information available and it's great that Harvey and Ed have highlighted people who might not otherwise get much exposure in the mainstream. This book made me realise that poetry (most of the beats were "poets") can really be anything and I'm keen to check out some of the poets interested in nature like Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, Robinson Jefferson and Diane di Prima.
I also put this review on my blog: http://boredanais.blogspot.com.au/
The main three dudes lives are teased out, starting with a details of Jack as a kid til death, then Allen from Howl through his activism to death, and William's life kinda jumping all over the place (it skips all his former years and details of his junky-ism which I guess you can read in Junky anyway...). It's obvious the authors favour Jack and his life style and it makes sense because he was the most quintessentially beat - he travelled often, bummed out at his mothers often, drank often and eventually became a bit of a dickhead - but hey, that's Jack for ya.
The most interesting part is all the other players they give detail to. Some only get four pages while others are illustrated and written by guests. Players include Kenneth Roxroth, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, Gary Snyder, Robinson Jeffers, Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, LeRoi Jones/Amiri Bakara, Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, City Lights Books, Kenneth Patchen, Philip Lamantia, Diane di Prima, "Beatnik Chicks" (Hettie Jones, Joan Kerouac, Joyce Johnson and Carolyn Cassady), Jay Defoe, d. a. levy, and Tuli Kupferberg. (Sorry for the extensive list, it's more for my sake than anyone elses, if you're interested in the subject I'm sure googling any of these people would come up with interesting results).
As you might have been able to tell by scanning that list, there are very few women. Thank god for the chapter of "Beatnik Chicks" or I would have probably hated this book. The chapter talks about the misogyny of the era and with the men even though it was, in parts, during the Hippie movement. It a little bit freaks me out that "free love" was such a huge thing when it's clear women weren't being respected like they should but, whatever, moving on...
This is a super great book for anyone interested in the beat movement as a whole. There's so much information available and it's great that Harvey and Ed have highlighted people who might not otherwise get much exposure in the mainstream. This book made me realise that poetry (most of the beats were "poets") can really be anything and I'm keen to check out some of the poets interested in nature like Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, Robinson Jefferson and Diane di Prima.
I also put this review on my blog: http://boredanais.blogspot.com.au/
mvancamp's review against another edition
2.0
This superficial history reads like a brief, uncritical encyclopedia article on the Beats that a variety of artists decided to illustrate. The one exception is Joyce Brabner's piece about "Beatnik Chicks" that highlights the sexism of the movement, which is often conveniently overlooked. No fan of the Beats, I found nothing in here to change my mind or inspire me to read more by them.
wildgurl's review against another edition
4.0
The Beats:A Graphic History🍒🍒🍒
2009
Hill & Wang/ Farrar,Straus & Giroux
This was a fun, simple overview of The Beat writers and their influence on other writers and artists. Focussing mainly on SF and NY, the obvious choices, I was glad to see Chicago mentioned as well.
The bios are brief and look at their lives at large, the graphics are fantastic. My favorites are the first three: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. Diana DiPalma and Michael Mc Clure were good also.
The Beat movement was an interesting and intriguing group of thinkers, unfortunately most were cruel to women and abused drugs. The stories they tell fascinate and horrify.
Recommended.
2009
Hill & Wang/ Farrar,Straus & Giroux
This was a fun, simple overview of The Beat writers and their influence on other writers and artists. Focussing mainly on SF and NY, the obvious choices, I was glad to see Chicago mentioned as well.
The bios are brief and look at their lives at large, the graphics are fantastic. My favorites are the first three: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. Diana DiPalma and Michael Mc Clure were good also.
The Beat movement was an interesting and intriguing group of thinkers, unfortunately most were cruel to women and abused drugs. The stories they tell fascinate and horrify.
Recommended.