The Real Cost of Prisons Comix

The real cost of prisons comix #1-3

by Lois Ahrens, Kevin Pyle (Illustrator), Sabrina Jones (Illustrator)

One out of every hundred adults in the U.S. is in prison. This book provides a crash course in what drives mass incarceration, the human and community costs, and how to stop the numbers from going even higher. Collected in this volume are the three comic books published by the Real Cost of Prisons Project. The stories and statistical information in each comic book are thoroughly researched and documented. Prison Paying the Price tells the story of how the financing and site locations of prisons affects the people of rural communities in which prison are built. It also tells the story of how mass incarceration affects people of urban communities where the majority of incarcerated people come from. Prisoners of the War on Drugs includes the history of the war on drugs, mandatory minimums, how racism creates harsher sentences for people of color, stories of how the war on drugs works against women, three strikes laws, obstacles to coming home after incarceration, and how mass incarceration destabilizes neighborhoods. Prisoners of a Hard Women and Their Children includes stories about women trapped by mandatory sentencing and the “costs” of incarceration for women and their families. Also included are alternatives to the present system, a glossary, and footnotes. Over 125,000 copies of the comic books have been printed and more than 100,000 have been sent to people who are incarcerated, to their families, and to organizers and activists throughout the country. The book includes a chapter with descriptions of how the comix have been put to use in the work of organizers and activists in prison and in the “free world” by ESL teachers, high school teachers, college professors, students, and health care providers throughout the country. The demand for the comix is constant and the ways in which they are being used are inspiring.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Comics, Social Justice, Education, Graphic Novels Comics

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[ems]

required reading

[Aaron Esthelm]

This excellently highlights the governments complete lack of care for its people. We spend out the nose on our taxes so that our government can prop up its new form of slave labor. It's disgusting. The government maintains its systems of oppression but restricting opportunities for people once they are out of prison. Punishing the poor for just being poor. While at the same time keeping them poor. Make no mistake of it. America is rich and can afford to be nice. It actively chooses not to.

[Gina]

Normally with comics I prefer trades because of the bonus information. Here there is an introduction to the project and letters, and they are good, but the individual comics are so strong that I have this vision of how powerful coming across just the comic would be, and feel like it's a little deadened here. And yet, they are still powerful. Don't get stopped by the opening text.

Mainly, though, it is amazing to think of people coming across a comic and finding this important information written in an easily understandable way. That is power.

[Matt Sautman]

The comics that make up The Real Cost of Prisons are absolutely phenomenal. The readers’ reactions present in this collection do seem unnecessary though and feel like an advertisement for how great the comics are. I love what these do regarding the medium and feel that they can pair well with Stevenson’s Just Mercy and Alexander’s The New Jim Crow.

[Rob McMonigal]

The information is a little dated, but this collection of zines provides a lot of information on how Americans deny their involvement in the prison-industrial complex, from the vain hope that it will bring jobs to the community to the shameful sentencing differences to how many people are implicated without actually being a supplier.

It's a lot of information I already knew, but there's nothing wrong with a refresher course.

[Meepelous]

Top notch comics, I couldn't help but feel like this collected edition was a bit overly text-heavy. Well thought out message though, with a lot of excellent points that don't get nearly enough air time.

[Alyssa Thompson]

read this book toward the end of college. it was a quick read comic book so i liked feeling like i could finally complete or even read a book in school. but i liked the prospective it had, i think i skimmed through it but still learned a lot.

[Khepre]

Opens the readers eyes about the prison system in the United States of America. Very informative

[Michelle Cho]

I envision a world where "fast information" is transmitted in this manner. HOW MUCH IT WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD?! :)

[Elevate Difference]

As activists know all too well, crafting a political message and effectively mobilizing an audience is an elusive task. In The Real Cost Of Prisons, Lois Ahrens and her contributors beautifully stage a difficult dialogue—about mass incarceration, mandatory sentencing, and the “war on drugs”—with comics. Comics are an accessible, popular form of education, and most importantly, addictive, and hence become a subversive way to raise awareness. The Real Cost of Prisons Project has distributed 115,000 comics to the incarcerated, affected families, and social justice organizations free of charge. Comics are just one part of the organization’s mission to end mass incarceration; since Lois Ahrens founded organization in 2000 a coalition of artists, activists, and researchers has produced and distributed educational materials about the costs—material and affective—of the prison industrial complex and it’s devastating impact on family preservation, women’s reproductive rights, rural economies, and much more.

“What does it cost to lock up 2.3 million people each day in the world’s biggest prison system?” ask Ruth Wilson Gilmore and Craig Gilmore in the introduction to The Real Cost Of Prisons. In addition to the staggering economic costs (the U.S. spends $60 billion per year on prisons) that could otherwise be directed at health care, public education, and other social services, the human costs are immeasurable. In the comic “Prisoners of a Hard Life: Women and Their Children,” illustrated by Susan Willmarth, we learn about the cost of incarceration for women and their children:

*One out of every 109 women in American is incarcerated, on parole, or on probation.
*Half of all women in prison are incarcerated more than 100 miles from their families.
*Seven million children have a parent in prison, on probation, or on parole.
*Seventy-nine percent of all women in New York State’s prisons are Black or Hispanic.

The Real Cost Of Prisons documents the vital efforts of the movement to end mass incarceration, and is an exceptional resource for all activists seeking creative ways to build and sustain a political movement.

Review by Jeanne Vaccaro

[Amy]

A nice little piece of propaganda. I just attended an entire day about literacy, and graphic novels/comic books were mentioned as a good way to even get people interested in reading. This graphic novel addresses the issues with the "war on drugs", increased incarceration of women, and of course, the racism inherent in the justice system.

[K. Zen]

Awesome, awesome, awesome! Would be great teaching material for middle and high school students, and worksheets for activists in youth organizations. Defines terms and explains issues in a clear, simple, accessible way. Easy to relate to, and a great introduction to a more in-depth look at policies that rip apart communities and destroy lives.

[Maureen]

Oh, propaganda.

[Derek Fenner]

If a copy of this were in every school, juvenile justice program, and household we would only begin to uncover the horror that is the prison industrial complex.

[angelica marie aragones lim]

Accessible information and analysis on PIC and it's devastating effects on community and individual struggle.

[grace]

Shows the true face of mass incarceration. Who knew prisons were just as lucrative as oil or corn? Not me that's for sure.

[Laura]

An engaging accessible read that presents the prison industrial complex from a variety of angles in terms much easier to understand. This will definitely become a key text in my classroom.