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The Iron Heel
Inspired by Jack London's 1908 novella of socialist revolution and the Gilded Age, it's Sunset Boulevard meets The Matrix in The Iron Heel. From the death of capitalism to the birth of full-sensory entertainment, from climate collapse to the flowering of the socialist project, The Iron Heel offers a sophisticated, cautionary tale wrapped in a taut action-adventure. In this noir, science-fiction drama set 700 years in the future, Anthony Meredith—lovelorn, burnt-out, cynical—finds his life upended when rebel Malcontents steal an encoded document containing secrets that threaten to bring down the existing world order, a 400 year old socialist project--the Brotherhood of man--now decadent and rotten at the core. Meredith is drawn into the rebellion when the Malcontents sink a barge at an election party packed with the elite and privileged. After a narrow escape, he's taken to an underground city where neo-capitalism reigns and where the rich and powerful live in luxury. Under a hail of bullets, Meredith and the rebels escape aboard a high-speed train bound for a workers' paradise and a broadcast center where the report can be transmitted to the world. With opposing forces both ahead and behind, The Iron Heel races toward an unforgettable and unsettling ending.
174 pages, Paperback
Published December 20, 2018
3 people want to read
About the author
Bix Santana
3 books2 followersBix Santana was born as a pseudonym during summer yoga retreats in Bristol, NY in the mid-2000s, a punning derivative of bhikshatana—an unusual manifestation of the Hindu god, Siva, who figures prominently in a cycle of ancient myths revolving around a band of Pine Forest Sages.
Bhikshatana in Sanskrit translates as 'beggar's body'. Bix was born literally in Greenville, SC in 1953. He spent his early life as a 'military brat' and lived widely throughout the US and for bits in Europe. He has a BA from Arizona State University; and a MA from the University of Nevada-Reno; and has spent a decade and a small fortune in the study of the wisdom and liberation teachings of South Asia collectively known as 'yoga'. His other self-published title is, The Iron Heel—A Graphic Novel.
His third book to be released by summer 2020 is a collection of poetry, quips and essays titled, In Search of Lost Time. Bix lives with a goddess and a spirit animal on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in a prime western location.
Bhikshatana in Sanskrit translates as 'beggar's body'. Bix was born literally in Greenville, SC in 1953. He spent his early life as a 'military brat' and lived widely throughout the US and for bits in Europe. He has a BA from Arizona State University; and a MA from the University of Nevada-Reno; and has spent a decade and a small fortune in the study of the wisdom and liberation teachings of South Asia collectively known as 'yoga'. His other self-published title is, The Iron Heel—A Graphic Novel.
His third book to be released by summer 2020 is a collection of poetry, quips and essays titled, In Search of Lost Time. Bix lives with a goddess and a spirit animal on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in a prime western location.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 7, 2019
A gripping story -- of a futuristic Socialist rebellion against an overbearing Oligarchic machine -- splattered luxuriously across the pages by Bix Santana's crisp writing and Ryan Gutierrez's lush palette and jarring visual layout.
Visually, the pages are shattered stained glass artworks, fitting for a dystopian romp through a world half-controlled by the powers that be, and yet more than half reliant on the powers they can't muster: labor to support their excesses, and the mindcraft and imagination of the "readers" who interpret texts to be transformed into full sensory immersion entertainment.
Textually, Santana -- clearly aware of the power of story tellers -- spins terse allegorical fiction of a time 700 years in our future, based on a Jack London novel 110 years in our past, to save us from ourselves in the here and now. Literary and religious allusions abound. I cannot say how much understanding the message hinges on having read London's work, though I occasionally felt I might benefit from the background.
In its stronger scenes (and overall) this graphic novel stands with no apologies along with the likes of "Logicomix" and "Watchmen." I lean in favor of text, so with that caveat I say that in a few places the paperback relied too heavily for my tastes on what amount to storyboards of extended action/fight scenes.
A solid debut for a clearly talented writer (Santana), and art director (Gutierrez).
Visually, the pages are shattered stained glass artworks, fitting for a dystopian romp through a world half-controlled by the powers that be, and yet more than half reliant on the powers they can't muster: labor to support their excesses, and the mindcraft and imagination of the "readers" who interpret texts to be transformed into full sensory immersion entertainment.
Textually, Santana -- clearly aware of the power of story tellers -- spins terse allegorical fiction of a time 700 years in our future, based on a Jack London novel 110 years in our past, to save us from ourselves in the here and now. Literary and religious allusions abound. I cannot say how much understanding the message hinges on having read London's work, though I occasionally felt I might benefit from the background.
In its stronger scenes (and overall) this graphic novel stands with no apologies along with the likes of "Logicomix" and "Watchmen." I lean in favor of text, so with that caveat I say that in a few places the paperback relied too heavily for my tastes on what amount to storyboards of extended action/fight scenes.
A solid debut for a clearly talented writer (Santana), and art director (Gutierrez).
Displaying 1 of 1 review