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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2013)
street roots 10 ***. July 5, 2013 Tough times and tougher politics set the backdrop for a new graphic novel about survival during the Great Depression TH£ WPA PEPERAI THEATRE PROJECT TRAVEDA CIRCUS OFFERS you BY JA M E S V A N C E A N D D A N BURR BY MIKE WOLD communications about a union strike planned at Republic Steel in Chicago, in ight years into the Great Depression, hopes thugs working for the steel bosses people were wondering if there was can’t intercept the missives. In doing so, ever going to be any way out. The Roosevelt administration had improved he’s put his head in a noose: The thugs are on his trail. things somewhat — but a lot of people were Don’t worry if this is sounding too much still out of work and the country was in the like leftist, proletarian fiction. Interwoven midst of monumental struggles between with the noir plot is what amounts to a unions and giant corporations to determine whether the American Dream was still alive. meditation on cynicism, idealism and naivete. Fred, only 17, embodies the last The central metaphor in “On the Ropes” two: He’s the only “red” in the circus, and at is escape. Escape artist Gordon Carey puts one point Eileen, who is sweet on him, says, his head in a noose on a gallows twice a day, “Mary and Joseph, do you swap your brains his hands locked in manacles behind his for those little red cards?” The author must back; Fred Bloch, his assistant, opens the have more than a passing acquaintance with trap door on the count of five; Gordon drops leftist groups, and he deftly displays the and has his hands freed fast enough to grab competition, divisions and elitism that show the rope and keep the noose from closing. up in the small group known as the Workers James Vance’s graphic novel, set in a WPA- Brigade. sponsored circus, makes an explicit As the book’s creator, Vance seems to connection between Gordon’s act and what’s lean toward the cynical, though not to the going on across the country: “You came extent of his character Virgil, the anti-union here to see the real thing. Real, like thug who lost his ideals when the Bonus livestock slaughtered and rotting in the Army, a veteran’s movement petitioning fields, because the price of feed couldn’t be Congress for aid, was smashed by U.S. found. Watching your children sleep at troops. Virgil vowed he’d never be on the night, holding your breath so hard ... like losing side again. Vance also shows how the slightest breeze could blow your family cynicism has corroded the life of Barbara a p a rt... praying, God, don’t let us end up Woodruff, a writer who is digging into like those people down the street. Don’t let Gordon’s past. She agrees to look at Fred’s the bank turn us out. Don’t let our babies memoir of his childhood in return for dirt starve. Don’t let this world kill us.” And on his boss and mentor. As she puts it, every time, Gordon escapes. “Most of us don’t want a better world, But the real person escaping is Fred, kiddo. We just want the old one back.” who’s had too many close shaves in his life, She convinces Fred to cut all the politics including losing a leg while hopping a out of his book in a passage that, although freight train. voiced by Fred, may reflect the author’s In this story, a sequel to Vance’s own struggle to balance outrage and acclaimed graphic novel, “Kings in cynicism: “The more I sliced, the more that Disguise,” Fred is on a secret mission for a it took on a newer, sleeker, shape, I found myself hating it a little less... but it wasn’t radical group: He’s passing along C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R E On the Ropes by James Vance and Dan E. Burr really mine anymore.” However, Barbara’s outrage cuts through her cynicism and spurs her to action when she and Fred improbably witness a police massacre of striking workers and the subsequent cover up. That’s just the narrative part of this novel, which, without the graphics by Dan Burr, would be like listening to the audio of a movie. Some of Burr’s scenes will stick with the reader even more than the narrative, from a near-collision between a truck and a train, to Gordon’s repeated escapes on the gallows, to the violent climax at the end. Burr is equally creative with sedate scenes, showing a good eye for composition and a knack for memorable faces and expressions. The format works well for Vance’s theme, though graphic novels have their weaknesses. One is that there aren’t enough words for all the internal process. Motivations mostly conveyed by facial expressions and reactions, such as Fred’s decision to betray Gordon’s secrets, don’t always seem convincing. The use of extensive flashbacks sometimes feels clumsy, especially when they come so close to the end that they interfere with the drama of the climax. These are minor points, however; the story is compelling enough to carry the reader through. Vance frames the narrative in a way that suggests there may be more Fred Bloch novels on the way. He says he knows the rest of Fred’s life story, but can’t say if he will ever write another piece of it. Let’s hope he does. Reprinted from, Real Change Newspaper, Seattle, Wash. Where senior and disabled adults receive the care and respect they deserve. Call us for more information (503)223-2144 Tfa frwndfM' store, in Rnoti 1337 S.W. Washington, Portland, OR 97205 w w w.taft home.org EASY & FUN TO SHOP • LO CALLY OW NED W W W .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t . c o m & OPERATED
