WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 51Review_FICTION
Comics
Bix
Scott Chantler. Gallery 13, $29.99 (256p)
ISBN 978-1-5011-9078-0
Chantler’s bracing look at the life of
jazz musician Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke
(1903–1931) frames musical genius as
both gift and burden. Born in Iowa and
distinguished as a child prodigy with a
piano, Bix grows up to be an absolute
failure at everything except jazz.
Chantler’s page layouts mimic the
genre’s irregularity: in miserable
periods, regular panels march across the
middle of the page in a repetitive line,
but when Bix discovers the family piano
and later the cornet, meets the woman
he loves, and thrills in musical collabo-
ration, panels joyfully pepper the page.
The narrative keeps a tight focus on
Bix’s per-
spective,
questionably
eliding some
reported
scandals, and
is nearly
wordless (only a few conversations are
recorded in text). The crisp, monochrome
visuals are reminiscent of midcentury
newspaper comics, as well as Seth’s Clyde
Fans. Throughout, Chantler returns to
mine the fault lines of Bix’s character,
such as a tendency to quit on promises
and relationships—everything except
the alcoholism that killed the musician
at age 28. Flasks, bottles, and glasses
undergird the story as regularly as a
drumbeat, their final toll exacted in a
melancholic, gorgeously orchestrated
ending sequence. This graphic biography
of an artistic innovator mimics the music
he loved: chaotic, creative, and open to
interpretation. (Apr.)
We Served the People
Emei Burell. Archaia, $24.99 (160p) ISBN 978-
1-68415-504-0
A daughter depicts her mother’s oral
history of life in China in the 1960s and
’70s in this educational and inspiring
portrait of perseverance. Yuan is 17
when she becomes a “rusticated
youth”—a student who is sent from
Beijing to the southern countryside
during Mao
Zedong’s
Cultural
Revolution. On
a Yunnan
rubber planta-
tion, Yuan’s
hard work and
canny handling
of her scheming
superiors earns
her an envied position as a tractor driver.
When she returns to work in Beijing
after 10 years, Yuan has to fight under-
mining managers to pursue her interrupted
education. As Yuan moves through life,
Burell’s straightforward drawings tran-
sition from solid black lines and flat
colors to softer pencil lines and a muted
palette. Perhaps most affecting is how
Yuan credits those who helped her—a
fellow driver whom she reconnects with
decades later, a friend who encourages
her to apply to university, a kindly offi-
cial who facilitates her education, her
uncle who helps her get a visa to Sweden.
With poignancy and completely free of
sentimentality, this illuminating personal
history shows how human connection can
flourish even in the most rigid of systems.
(Apr.)Art Life
Catherine Ocelot, trans. from the French by
Aleshia Jensen. Bdang, $20 trade paper
(208p) ISBN 978-1-77262-046-7
This sardonic, somewhat navel-gazing
volume fantastically illustrates conversa-
tions between a stand-in for the author—
a 43-year-old cartoonist and mother—
and a variety of comical characters.
Everyone is drawn as colorful half-birds,
with wings for arms, who stand upright
on human legs. The cock-eyed gaze is set
in the opening, as a university president
approaches Catherine, the author of Talk-
Show, a graphic novel, at a public pool.
First he invites her to participate on a
panel, only to disinvite her once he sees
her child and learns her age (he’s shocked
that she’s over 40). Catherine, struggling
to find inspiration for her next project,
then queries a series of fellow creatives
about their process. Her friend Natacha
makes work based on her world travels,
so Catherine decides she will make
observational drawings, but only of theinterior of her own apartment. The
whimsical bird-figures and layered
watercolors are reminiscent of Lisa
Hanawalt’s work—but without facial
expressions, Ocelet’s flock tends to blend
together. Though the looping hand-
written dialogues offer insights into
artistic friendships, they can also drag; it’s
possible some of the wit may have been
lost in translation. Quite lovely to look at,
but insular in focus, this autofiction will
be most meaningful to the niche of artists
also questioning the direction of their
voice. (Apr.)Everything Is Beautiful, and
I’m Not Afraid
Yao Xiao. Andrews McMeel, $14.99 (128p)
ISBN 978-1-5248-5245-0
Chinese-born cartoonist Yao blends
slice-of-life comics with surreal introspec-
tion in this remarkable debut collection.
Previously serialized on her webcomic
Baopu, each short piece draws from Yao’s
life, such as her family’s rocky path to
accepting the fact that she’s bisexual, as
she tries to grasp her future self. The ten-
sions between queer sexuality and tradi-
tional, conservative Chinese culture prove
fertile ground for literally extraterrestrial
explorations of self-worth and the weight
of family as Yao floats through the ether;
while stories such as “Amplified Voice”
take more piercing aim at the erasure
and racism the author faces, feeling
dissociated
from Western
LGBTQ catego-
rization. Yao’s
struggles to
attain and
maintain self-
acceptance and
self-love take
poignant shape
through her fluid cartooning—at turns
refined and intentionally childlike, with
blocky bright colors alongside subtle
shading. She also offers heartfelt advice for
those grappling with similar emotional
difficulties, such as in the viral comic “If
You Want to Say Thank You, Don’t Say
Sorry.” This heartfelt collection proves
that the most relevant and relatable art
comes from those who need it most them-
selves. (Mar.)