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geekwayne's review against another edition
3.0
'White Collar' by Giacomo Patri is a wordless story told in 128 linocuts. They tell the story of a worker who struggles and what happens to him. In a way, this book represents and early independent graphic novel.
The book starts with a couple introductions. The first is for this edition and is written by the artist's son and stepson. This one gives biographical and historical context to the work that follows. The second introduction is by painter Rockwell Kent and was written in 1940. The afterword is by illustrator Peter Kuper. The work is in between.
The illustrations are made by affixing linoleum to wood, then cutting the design you want printed out. Then you ink and print. The original linoleum blocks have long deteriorated, but these prints are reproductions and are quite good. The story is linear, but sometimes hard to follow. Without dialogue or descriptive plates, I was left to guess what was happening. The work is in support of the progressive labor movement. It's of interest for the art and the time it was printed in.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dover Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
The book starts with a couple introductions. The first is for this edition and is written by the artist's son and stepson. This one gives biographical and historical context to the work that follows. The second introduction is by painter Rockwell Kent and was written in 1940. The afterword is by illustrator Peter Kuper. The work is in between.
The illustrations are made by affixing linoleum to wood, then cutting the design you want printed out. Then you ink and print. The original linoleum blocks have long deteriorated, but these prints are reproductions and are quite good. The story is linear, but sometimes hard to follow. Without dialogue or descriptive plates, I was left to guess what was happening. The work is in support of the progressive labor movement. It's of interest for the art and the time it was printed in.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dover Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
indecisivespice's review
3.0
Fairly straight-forward. The design of the art is nice, but it's in single images/screens as opposed to panels, which I'm obviously not used to.
ljrinaldi's review against another edition
3.0
This is probably one of the great graphic novels of our time. It is probably the most important story ever told. It is probably of great historical importance. It is probably all these things, but it isn't for me.
It is a well done, wordless story of a man being pushed out of the white collar world by the Great Depression, and how he and his family suffers as he works to make a living. Life is unfair. Workers are not treated well. Greed is everywhere. The 1%s have it all. Hmm, sounds familiar.
So, while the story is well done, and well illustrated, and sad, it didn't engage me, other than to make me feel sorry for him, and for everyone who struggled, and still struggles.
Read it for the historical value. Read it because you want to see this graphic novel written before graphic novels became popular. Read it to see how the protagonist suffers.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
It is a well done, wordless story of a man being pushed out of the white collar world by the Great Depression, and how he and his family suffers as he works to make a living. Life is unfair. Workers are not treated well. Greed is everywhere. The 1%s have it all. Hmm, sounds familiar.
So, while the story is well done, and well illustrated, and sad, it didn't engage me, other than to make me feel sorry for him, and for everyone who struggled, and still struggles.
Read it for the historical value. Read it because you want to see this graphic novel written before graphic novels became popular. Read it to see how the protagonist suffers.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
bemused_writer's review against another edition
5.0
Very powerful stuff. Patri's message is still relevant to our time. His art captures the dire place many found themselves after the Great Depression and is quite expressive. I really enjoyed this piece and will have to take a look at more of his art.
brizreading's review
4.0
An angry, sad portrayal of one man's economic collapse during the Great Depression, told silently through a series of dramatic, chiaroscurissimi linocuts.
So I got this only because of the linocuts: wow! Over a hundred linocuts! A comix of linocuts! Wow, what a pain in the butt! Wow, what dedication! And, indeed, they are very very good. I liked them a lot. Very dramatic lighting, and a wonderful early 20th century modernist style.
I had no idea about the story before borrowing this book, and it's also an interesting historical slide. Giacomo Patri was an Italian-born San Franciscan illustrator who got very into the labor movement in the 1930s. This book is a passionate screed against the perils of capitalism. Wordlessly, we follow a middle-class illustrator (?) who loses his job at an advertising agency and proceeds to suffer various slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune. His humiliations and increasing horror are awful, and it reminded me a lot of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
So I got this only because of the linocuts: wow! Over a hundred linocuts! A comix of linocuts! Wow, what a pain in the butt! Wow, what dedication! And, indeed, they are very very good. I liked them a lot. Very dramatic lighting, and a wonderful early 20th century modernist style.
I had no idea about the story before borrowing this book, and it's also an interesting historical slide. Giacomo Patri was an Italian-born San Franciscan illustrator who got very into the labor movement in the 1930s. This book is a passionate screed against the perils of capitalism. Wordlessly, we follow a middle-class illustrator (?) who loses his job at an advertising agency and proceeds to suffer various slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune. His humiliations and increasing horror are awful, and it reminded me a lot of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
apolasky's review against another edition
4.0
Wordless, this classic graphic novel portrays an epoch by expressing a social message through art. In this case, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words—or more. Thank you Netgalley! Full review.
Muda, esta novela retrata una época y, al mismo tiempo, expresa un mensaje social a través del arte. En este caso es verdad que "una imagen dice más que mil palabras" (o incluso más). Reseña completa.
Muda, esta novela retrata una época y, al mismo tiempo, expresa un mensaje social a través del arte. En este caso es verdad que "una imagen dice más que mil palabras" (o incluso más). Reseña completa.
balancinghistorybooks's review against another edition
3.0
I have rarely read a novel told simply in pictures before (well, since putting down picture books at the age of around three, that is!). I found this an interesting story, but whilst the art style was nice and consistent, and I very much liked the use of black and white throughout, I feel it would have been far more dramatic with the addition of text. The storyline as it stands is a little predictable, but it is still an important book about the human condition.
apolasky's review against another edition
4.0
Wordless, this classic graphic novel portrays an epoch by expressing a social message through art. In this case, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words—or more. Thank you Netgalley! Full review.
Muda, esta novela retrata una época y, al mismo tiempo, expresa un mensaje social a través del arte. En este caso es verdad que "una imagen dice más que mil palabras" (o incluso más). Reseña completa.
Muda, esta novela retrata una época y, al mismo tiempo, expresa un mensaje social a través del arte. En este caso es verdad que "una imagen dice más que mil palabras" (o incluso más). Reseña completa.
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