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A review by otterno11
Johnny Appleseed: Green Dreamer of the American Frontier by Noah Van Sciver, Paul M. Buhle
2.0
Fascinating info about the historical figure John Chapman becoming the folk legend “Johnny Appleseed,” in particular the radical and pacifistic aspects of Chapman’s character and how they still resonate with activist causes, socialist, environmentalist, and anti-war alike. A collaboration between historian Paul Buhle and graphic novelist Noah van Sciver, Johnny Appleseed provides a brief overview of the outdoorsman, along with many other turn of the nineteenth century themes and movements. Along with van Sciver’s detailed and expressive art, evocative of the period, it was interesting to see the history of the American “frontier” presented through such a different viewpoint.
On the other hand, the narrative meandered to so many different topics related tangentially to Chapman’s life that the work seemed, in the end, unfocused. I was left unclear about much of Chapman’s life, what was historical and what folklore. Also, oftentimes these tangents (Swedenborgianism, Lincoln’s studies on the esoteric, the history of hard apple cider in American life, etc.) began and ended so abruptly I was left with more questions than answers. Worth checking out, if only for Van Sciver’s illustrations and some interesting ideas about the Johnny Appleseed story.
On the other hand, the narrative meandered to so many different topics related tangentially to Chapman’s life that the work seemed, in the end, unfocused. I was left unclear about much of Chapman’s life, what was historical and what folklore. Also, oftentimes these tangents (Swedenborgianism, Lincoln’s studies on the esoteric, the history of hard apple cider in American life, etc.) began and ended so abruptly I was left with more questions than answers. Worth checking out, if only for Van Sciver’s illustrations and some interesting ideas about the Johnny Appleseed story.