By: Joe Kubert Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 207 Publication Date: 1996-11 Reading Level: Young Adult Studio: Dark Horse Comics
Product Description: This graphic novel tells the true story of Ervin Rustemagic and his family, as they struggled to preserve their lives and dignity during the eighteen month seige of Sarajevo in 1992-93. The story is based on the faxes that Ervin sent, which provided him with a link with the outside world.
Good idea - poor execution ^ Joe Kubert is a terrifically talented artist. His graphic style is obvious. He renders Tarzan, Sgt Rock with the kind of rawness that is necessary for those characters.
His style does not work for documentary comics of this nature. This is a cartoony depiction to what were obviously real and tragic events that occurred during the last Balkans conflict. The narrative does not blend in with the pictures. There are obviously too many panels depicting too many action scenes that distract from the obvious storyline.
This comic is a complete disappointment.
Incorrect information and a one-sided story. What is this, Sgt Rock? ^ I read this one recently and was shocked by the content. Kubert makes this war in Bosnia into a one sided balck and white affair. The Serbs are evil killing machines bent on getting back Bosnia for the Serbs. Kubert even goes as far as blaming the destruction of the Mostar Bridge on the Serbs. They weren't even involved in that conflict!
This book reminded me of the comics from the 50's and 60's with the depiction of evil Japs and Krauts. Stay away from this one.
If you want a great comic about this horrible conflict check out Joe Sacco's work. He tells the story from soemone who has actually visited Bosnia.
A powerful tale, but not well executed ^ While reading this graphic novel, I continually found myself wishing it existed in a pure, written format, like a traditional novel. I have nothing against grahic novels, I collected comics for a number of years when I was younger and even today will occassionally pick up a comic or graphic novel I've heard of. But this one somehow manages to fall short of its obviously heart-felt attempt to be a great piece of story telling.
I became interested in "Fax" while speaking with a friend who spent a year in Kosovo and witnessed many of the same atrocities shown in "Fax." So I finally picked up a copy and read it.
My difficulty is not with the story so much as the art. Joe Kubert does have a knack for showing war, but his artwork is very inconsistent, particularly in his drawings of people. Throughout the book I had difficulty distinguishing some of the characters from one another. Kubert has a scratchy art style that just did not necessarily lend itself well to this story.
And because of the artistic inconsistencies, it made it difficult to follow the story in places. I'm considering re-reading it and perhaps the second time through, with a bit more familiarity with all that is going on, I'll be able to better appreciate it.
Its' clear Kubert poured himself into this book, the problem is his artistic style may not have the best one for relating this story.
Still, I do recommend it. It tells a frightening tale of a war that we in America still seem largely ignorant of, and it also functions as a cautionary tale against the atrocities precipitated by hate and violence.
Kubert's most relevant (anti-)war book yet. ^ Unlike Safe Area Goradze, this story isn't drawn by someone who was there. This book is Kubert's gift to a friend and colleague - yes it's done in the same artistic style as Kubert used in his superhero and war books, but this isn't Sgt Rock, or even Enemy Ace. Unlike some of the others who have reviewed this book, I found that the story works well as told in an American comic style. This is the story of the Rustemagic family, but it's also the story of the horror felt by their friends around the world once they realized what was happening. This is a book about Americans awakening to a horror happening halfway around the world, as well as a book about the horrors of ethnic cleansing and civil war.
a flawed novel... ^ I mistakenly picked this book up, thinking it was "Safe Area". I had heard about a graphic novel about the atrocities in Sarajevo, but wasn't sure of the title. The story is amazing, but many times I feel like I'm seeing the Hulk or Captain America in the role of the protagonist. There is a gaping lack of realism to the book, primarily in the way the characters are drawn. The subject is dark, but the characters look like they popped out of a Disney film. One reviewer compared this to Maus. This doesn't even come close. Maus is a masterpiece, while this book almost seems like hardly any work or research went into it.
First of all, Maus is in black and white, almost drawn in a woodcut style, to deepen the impact of the story. Art Spiegelman really researched the project, and it shows. He interwove his complicated relationship with his parents and mother's suicide with the Holocaust. He made us see how he was affected by the Holocaust. Kubert is in the States the whole time, reading faxes. He really didn't have any significant role in the story. So, what does this have to do with what happened in Sarajevo?
Then he admittedly took liberties with the dialogue and obviously embellished parts of the story. The admission by the author of improvised dialogue automatically lessens the impact of the story...This project should have been left to its protagonist, Mr. Rustemagic to write and realize. I will be checking out "Safe Area" instead.
I do give the book 2 stars because it, despite its flaws, serves as testimony to a horrifying chapter in world history. For that, the author definitely deserves kudos.
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