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Robert Capa: Die Wahrheit ist das beste Bild
1954.
Robert Capa dresse le bilan d'une vie passée à couvrir les champs de bataille du monde entier. Loin de l'image de tête brûlée qui lui colle à la peau et qui a fait de lui une légende du photojournalisme, il se raconte sans fard et dévoile la blessure originelle qui a décidé de toute son existence...
Robert Capa dresse le bilan d'une vie passée à couvrir les champs de bataille du monde entier. Loin de l'image de tête brûlée qui lui colle à la peau et qui a fait de lui une légende du photojournalisme, il se raconte sans fard et dévoile la blessure originelle qui a décidé de toute son existence...
86 pages, Hardcover
Published July 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 28, 2022
I knew little about the life of photographer Robert Capa, beyond having seen some of his famous photographs, so this graphic biography was a good introduction. It seems like he was everywhere, with everyone, from shooting photos of the Spanish Civil War with pioneering female war photographer Gerta Taro to the D-Day invasion, to hanging out with Hemingway and Picasso and dating Ingrid Bergman. Also some macho womanizing, some drinking, much pointless losing of his hard-earned money in poker games. The illustrations were detailed and his life couldn't help but be interesting. The telling wasn't super-creative and was a bit superficial (with some poor translation and typos here and there, which is a shame), but I'd like to read more about the subject.
February 25, 2017
Çektiği ve neredeyse efsaneleşen fotoğraf kareleri yaşamının çok daha önüne geçmiş olan bir savaş fotoğrafçısı Capa. Öyle ki savaşın gerçek yüzünü, bütün çıplaklığı ile fotoğraf karelerine yansıtmayı başarmış. Bunu savaşın en ön cephesinde yağan kurşunların, seken şarapnellerin arasında fotoğraf çekmesine borçlu.
Capa'nın yaşam hikayesini anlatan Silloray'in grafik romanı güzel bir trik ile süslü: Capa'nın çektiği ve çok bilinen fotoğraf karelerini, Capa'yı o kareleri çekerken gösterecek şekilde, bizim bildiğimiz cephenin tam aksinden çizmiş. Böylece hem bizim iyi bildiğimiz o kareleri gözler önüne sermiş, hem de Capa'yı o fotoğrafı çekerken gösterebilmiş. Böylece iyi bir belgesel gibi olmuş kitap.
Kitabın orjinal boyutunu bilmiyorum ama metin ağırlıklı olduğu için Türkçe baskısı sanki biraz küçültülmüş gibi geldi bana. Belki de orjinali de öyledir, emin değilim. Ama her sayfası en az bir kitap sayfasına denk yazı içeren "yoğun" bir grafik roman olmuş. Türkçe çevirisi özenli, baskısı kaliteli. İçeriğinin etkileyiciliğini arttıran etkiler olarak bunları da saymak lazım.
Capa'nın yaşam hikayesini anlatan Silloray'in grafik romanı güzel bir trik ile süslü: Capa'nın çektiği ve çok bilinen fotoğraf karelerini, Capa'yı o kareleri çekerken gösterecek şekilde, bizim bildiğimiz cephenin tam aksinden çizmiş. Böylece hem bizim iyi bildiğimiz o kareleri gözler önüne sermiş, hem de Capa'yı o fotoğrafı çekerken gösterebilmiş. Böylece iyi bir belgesel gibi olmuş kitap.
Kitabın orjinal boyutunu bilmiyorum ama metin ağırlıklı olduğu için Türkçe baskısı sanki biraz küçültülmüş gibi geldi bana. Belki de orjinali de öyledir, emin değilim. Ama her sayfası en az bir kitap sayfasına denk yazı içeren "yoğun" bir grafik roman olmuş. Türkçe çevirisi özenli, baskısı kaliteli. İçeriğinin etkileyiciliğini arttıran etkiler olarak bunları da saymak lazım.
October 12, 2019
I borrowed “Capa. De vallende ster” by Florent Silloray from the library as I wanted to read it in Dutch but didn’t want to buy it. For everyone learning a foreign language I always recommend starting reading with comics or graphic novels as it’s easier than tackling a novel. One makes progress fast and it is motivating. After 6-10 months of studying a Western European language everyone should be able to read a graphic novel in that language without any problems (Slavic languages are more difficult and I have no idea how it works with Asian languages).
The figure of Robert Capa, Hungarian-American war photographer, has interested me for a long time. I admired his work and found his life fascinating. The graphic biography, written in the first person, presents the most important events from his life, both professional and private. It shows his emotions and the state of heart pretty well - the grief after the death of the love of his life, war photographer Gerda Taro, in the Spanish Civil War, the thrill of being able to document various conflicts and wars in Europe and Asia, the despair when after moving to Los Angeles to be with Ingrid Bergman he realised how shallow and pretentious the culture there is and how dumb he felt living there, as well as the excitement of establishing the Magnum, the cooperative photo agency whose member photographers could keep the rights to their work. It ends, predictably, with Capa’s death; he stepped on a landmine when photographing French soldiers in Indochina in 1954, a victim to his own belief: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough”, which many great photographers after him swore by as well. Overall, it’s a pretty decent book, relatively well told, and in my case ideal for practising Dutch (it is also published in many other languages).
The figure of Robert Capa, Hungarian-American war photographer, has interested me for a long time. I admired his work and found his life fascinating. The graphic biography, written in the first person, presents the most important events from his life, both professional and private. It shows his emotions and the state of heart pretty well - the grief after the death of the love of his life, war photographer Gerda Taro, in the Spanish Civil War, the thrill of being able to document various conflicts and wars in Europe and Asia, the despair when after moving to Los Angeles to be with Ingrid Bergman he realised how shallow and pretentious the culture there is and how dumb he felt living there, as well as the excitement of establishing the Magnum, the cooperative photo agency whose member photographers could keep the rights to their work. It ends, predictably, with Capa’s death; he stepped on a landmine when photographing French soldiers in Indochina in 1954, a victim to his own belief: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough”, which many great photographers after him swore by as well. Overall, it’s a pretty decent book, relatively well told, and in my case ideal for practising Dutch (it is also published in many other languages).
February 7, 2017
Fotoğrafseverler ve aslında herkes için magnum fotoğraf kurucularından Robert Capa nın hayatın ı anlatan harika bir çizgiroman... Sırtlan Kitapevi ne teşekkürler böylesine harika çalışmaları bize kazandırdığı için...
February 6, 2017
Bu çizgi roman, okunması için yazılmış. Bilgi ve detaylar o kadar çok ve karmaşık ki, çizimlerin, renklendirmelerin tadına varamıyor insan.
May 15, 2020
great visuals and moving story
October 9, 2017
It has been a long time since I've read a graphic novel, and this one did not disappoint. I have been on a roll, reading several novels about and around World War II, and I appreciated the change in presentation for this one. Ultimately, I was stunned and delighted by a several things in this book:
(1) Silloray's incredible artistry brought Capa's life and work into focus in a surprising and rich way: one visuals-based storyteller paying homage to another. Silloray's palette choices - a black-and-white color scheme on brown background - felt true to the time period in which the story (Capa's adult life through his untimely death) takes place - almost as if you picked up an old-timey newspaper to read his biography. That choice alone only hinted at the careful thought and consideration that clearly went into the creation of this book.
(2) While I'm familiar with Capa's work, I was stunned to see the intersection of some of the period's greatest artists - across the fine (painting: Matisse, Picasso), performing (Bergmann, Hitchcock), and written arts (Hemingway) - and how those relationships played out and criss-crossed so constantly throughout the Second World War. That is a perspective I had not sat down to really consider and review until now, and this book gave me pause to continue doing so. I will be looking into it further.
(3) There is an understated but rich character study that Silloray takes on with his graphic novel - I encourage any reader to consider it and unpack it. Capa's great loves - both interpersonal and professionally - often clashed. His seeming addictions - whether to adrenaline, poker, or the bottle - and his relationship with the causes, tensions, and outright war (and death) he so often documented are on full display, and I believe a second and third reading of this book would really bring to the fore some of Silloray's true artistry in conveying it all.
(4) Let's not forget the very real issue of photography - particularly photojournalism - as a business. There are parallels with the struggles today's journalists are facing, but there are also echoes of the very real challenges many photographers and photojournalists are now facing, and the commoditization of the images, and original works in general, here. To me, the depiction of LIFE's editors waiting for Capa's incredible D-Day photographs - hard- and miraculously won by Capa - plainly tell that story. The creation of Magnum was another great discovery in this book - and a good example of the issues of getting Capa's business "right" (if you can call it that).
I could go on, but the bottom line is this book is a serious - and seriously good - work, and well worth the read for anyone interested in getting a fresh perspective on the well-traversed road of WWII storytelling, and the incredible life of a legendary photo journalist.
(1) Silloray's incredible artistry brought Capa's life and work into focus in a surprising and rich way: one visuals-based storyteller paying homage to another. Silloray's palette choices - a black-and-white color scheme on brown background - felt true to the time period in which the story (Capa's adult life through his untimely death) takes place - almost as if you picked up an old-timey newspaper to read his biography. That choice alone only hinted at the careful thought and consideration that clearly went into the creation of this book.
(2) While I'm familiar with Capa's work, I was stunned to see the intersection of some of the period's greatest artists - across the fine (painting: Matisse, Picasso), performing (Bergmann, Hitchcock), and written arts (Hemingway) - and how those relationships played out and criss-crossed so constantly throughout the Second World War. That is a perspective I had not sat down to really consider and review until now, and this book gave me pause to continue doing so. I will be looking into it further.
(3) There is an understated but rich character study that Silloray takes on with his graphic novel - I encourage any reader to consider it and unpack it. Capa's great loves - both interpersonal and professionally - often clashed. His seeming addictions - whether to adrenaline, poker, or the bottle - and his relationship with the causes, tensions, and outright war (and death) he so often documented are on full display, and I believe a second and third reading of this book would really bring to the fore some of Silloray's true artistry in conveying it all.
(4) Let's not forget the very real issue of photography - particularly photojournalism - as a business. There are parallels with the struggles today's journalists are facing, but there are also echoes of the very real challenges many photographers and photojournalists are now facing, and the commoditization of the images, and original works in general, here. To me, the depiction of LIFE's editors waiting for Capa's incredible D-Day photographs - hard- and miraculously won by Capa - plainly tell that story. The creation of Magnum was another great discovery in this book - and a good example of the issues of getting Capa's business "right" (if you can call it that).
I could go on, but the bottom line is this book is a serious - and seriously good - work, and well worth the read for anyone interested in getting a fresh perspective on the well-traversed road of WWII storytelling, and the incredible life of a legendary photo journalist.
October 18, 2017
I loved this book. Although it is a graphic biography, that should not be taken to mean that it is a kids’ book. Silloray’s book is meant for anyone, teen and older, wanting to learn about the real-life adventurer, Robert Capa, but without being bogged down by several hundred pages of text. Silloray provides us with an in-depth character study of Capa in a format that reaches a wide audience, as it can be read to completion within an afternoon. While this may seem brief, the details of the man’s life are not glossed over. The combination of word and text are subtle and work together very well.
Silloray’s choice of using the medium of graphic biography allowed by to connect emotionally to the Capa. Using well thought out choice of words and beautiful artwork, Capa comes to life for the reader. He shares with us his tragedies, successes, and failure; all made more dramatic through the image of his face or what was occurring around him at the time.
I didn’t know who Capa was when I picked up this book. Now, I feel that I know the man and I am left impressed with all that he saw and did. He was a true adventurer, a witness to many of the great events and people from the time of the Spanish Civil War through the Indochina War.
If you have an interest in graphic biographies or the history of this time, this is a good read. One you will not regret.
Silloray’s choice of using the medium of graphic biography allowed by to connect emotionally to the Capa. Using well thought out choice of words and beautiful artwork, Capa comes to life for the reader. He shares with us his tragedies, successes, and failure; all made more dramatic through the image of his face or what was occurring around him at the time.
I didn’t know who Capa was when I picked up this book. Now, I feel that I know the man and I am left impressed with all that he saw and did. He was a true adventurer, a witness to many of the great events and people from the time of the Spanish Civil War through the Indochina War.
If you have an interest in graphic biographies or the history of this time, this is a good read. One you will not regret.
November 6, 2019
A short effective story. Capa’s death is moving. It’s cool how the artist placed Capa in the moments of some of his most famous photographes; showing the same instant from a second angle. They are mistranslating the Spanish nickname for Gerda, she is red headed.
What I learned: Capa dated Ingrid Bergman.
What I learned: Capa dated Ingrid Bergman.
October 2, 2017
What do Teddy Roosevelt, John Steinbeck, Alfred Hitchcock, Mrs. Chaing Kai-Shek, Ernest Hemmingway, Ingrid Bergman and John Huston all have in common? Their lives intersected with arguably the world's greatest wartime photograph, Robert Capa. The graphic biography of Mr. Capa by Florent Silloray provides a rich set of visual images of what was an extraordinary life of a Hungarian refugee who covered the Spanish Civil War, Chinese resistance to Japan, World War II, including photographing the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach, the creation of Israel as a state, and the First Indochina war where he died at the age of 40. The detail in the illustrations transports the reader to the time and place of each event. A great read about someone who risked it all on four continents and dealt with a host of challenges that would have stopped most of us. Highly recommended!
June 13, 2019
A Graphic Biography of Robert Capa was a brilliant portrayal of the career of the great war photographer who, at the time of his death in 1954, had only one wish which was to be an unemployed war photographer. The author of this book, Florent Silloray. Florent studied fine arts in Nantes. Florent went many places throughout his life and should publish books based on art throughout. Florent,s interest in art is a good reason on why she made this biography book on such a talent. This book discusses the career of Robert Capa with pictures and thought bubbles. I believe it was a great book to easily teach you the life of Robert Capa who’s real name was Endre Friedman but was mostly known as Robert Capa. The biography displays Robert’s braveness going out into war running from fascism along with Spain while making a living with photography. I have this book three and a half stars because of how great of a display it was for Robert Capa’s life but also because fo how boring it was for me to read through it considering my lack of interest in the subject fo photography and art. In conclusion Florent did a great job with this book showing who Robert Capa was with a graphic biography.
August 29, 2025
Before I read this ai didn’t know that much about Robert Capa beyond the fact that he was one of the great war photographers so I can’t say if it is accurate or not. It feels authentic and the bibliography at the end points to research having been done. That’s not always available in this sort of biographies.
Anyway, the story is quite interesting. Capa seems to have been everywhere this little time that he was here. He died on the battle field at the age of 40. Like I said I didn’t know much about him, so I didn’t know about things like his constant loosing streak in poker. Something that seems to have been influential part of his life. His relationship with Gerda Taro, another war photographers who died on the battle field, seems to have been very influential on what was to come. He led an interesting life, but one filled with conflicts. The art is pretty well done and this has an interesting build up so I’m glad I read it.
Anyway, the story is quite interesting. Capa seems to have been everywhere this little time that he was here. He died on the battle field at the age of 40. Like I said I didn’t know much about him, so I didn’t know about things like his constant loosing streak in poker. Something that seems to have been influential part of his life. His relationship with Gerda Taro, another war photographers who died on the battle field, seems to have been very influential on what was to come. He led an interesting life, but one filled with conflicts. The art is pretty well done and this has an interesting build up so I’m glad I read it.
July 20, 2019
A short biography (86 pg.) of perhaps the most famous war photographer ever in graphic novel form. Although born in Hungary, Endre Friedmann assumed the name Robert Capa in order to sound more American and get higher-paying jobs with the big magazines.
Always living on the edge of poverty because of persistent gambling and alcohol problems, he made his mark on the world with his photos of the Spanish Civil War, and the only, albeit blurry images of the D-Day invasion. Losing Gerda, the love of his life and fellow photographer, during the Spanish Civil war haunted him for the rest of his short but eventful life.
This is a good introduction to the famed photographer, but I intend to read a more thorough biography soon.
Always living on the edge of poverty because of persistent gambling and alcohol problems, he made his mark on the world with his photos of the Spanish Civil War, and the only, albeit blurry images of the D-Day invasion. Losing Gerda, the love of his life and fellow photographer, during the Spanish Civil war haunted him for the rest of his short but eventful life.
This is a good introduction to the famed photographer, but I intend to read a more thorough biography soon.
January 8, 2018
I was quite surprised to see a biography of the famed Hungarian photographer Robert Capa on the new release shelves at the library. Pleasantly surprised. The book covers many of his vagabond years as a war photographer. One conflict blends to the next and the art is quite muted throughout. The art is a bit too subdued for me. Too many images of Capa smoking though. I bet half the frames had a cigarette dangling from his lips. I guess he either smoked non-stop or the author is way into drawings of people smoking. I've seen a lot of these graphic biographies recently...curious who will get one next.
February 20, 2018
I am sort of not sure why this was made and really not sure why I read it... It is not like people were screaming for or wanting a graphic novel on Capa's life. I guess I got it because I read Kershaw's book and thought sure I will read it while I watch TV, which is what I did.
Basically no reason to read if you read one of his biographies. The graphics were in black and white in trying to capture the old times, which I think was done well and probably is better than if they tried to do it in color.
Basically no reason to read if you read one of his biographies. The graphics were in black and white in trying to capture the old times, which I think was done well and probably is better than if they tried to do it in color.
July 30, 2019
I bought this for my sister, to introduce her to one of the greatest photographers of all time. After she finished the book, I decided to give it a try, since her feedback was really positive. This turned out a great read - it covered a lot of important moments from Capa's life, both his successes and his personal problems. The ilustrations are nice and engaging. I recommend this book, no matter what the reader's age is. It can greatly accompany any photobook of Capa's work, so one can get sense both of his photographs and his life.
March 13, 2018
This is a fine biography of Robert Capa if you just want the facts. If you're interested in who he was as a person, look elsewhere. Florent Silloray doesn't exactly dig deep into his subject, merely relaying the details of his various trips abroad to photograph wars and lose money at poker. Robert Capa led a fascinating life, but if you only read about him in this graphic biography, you might find him kinda dull.
January 26, 2020
This first person style graphic biography attempts to offer the reader a concise overview of Robert Capa’s career as a war photographer which is definitely enough to whet your desire to pursue a more comprehensive biography. The artwork illustrations are great, but at times, I felt it read like a truncated edition where passages and panels must have been cut to meet a page limit. This results in a fragmented rhythm, even within episodic sections on the book. Definitely worth looking at.
October 6, 2024
Only my second graphic novel, except this one is a biography and not a novel. It's an interesting way to tell the story of a guy who's passion was to capture visuals. It sparked a curiosity in me to look up his work, some of which I had seen before but never realized he was the talent behind it. It was fascinating to learn about his connections to Hemingway, Steinbeck, Hitchcock, and other familiar names.
October 28, 2018
Silloray's art style is incredible, especially her limited use of color to draw in the reader's eye to important moments and details. Capa and Taro's story is such an important one. While I wish that more time had been spent on Taro's involvement in the evolution of photojournalism, I do realize that this biography is dedicated to Capa. I look forward to reading more works by Silloray.
November 19, 2019
Capa’nin hayati bir hayli ilgi cekici ama kurgu cok atlamali, boluk porcuk... Otobiyografik cizgi romanlarda daha detay, surukleyici kurgu bekliyorum ben. Capa’nin hayatindan Kirpik kirpik parcalar gosterdi yalnizca.
February 8, 2022
I really liked the drawings in this graphic biography - simple but evocative. My only disappointment was the it was more episodic and less narrative. I find Capa such a fascinating historical figure and wish there was more.
June 16, 2018
Good history of Capa.
June 2, 2019
Muy buen resumen de la vida de Robert Capa, buena edición, con dibujos monocromáticos.
December 31, 2019
He went everywhere!
December 30, 2021
No he sido capaz de terminarlo a tiempo. No me ha llamado nada la atención la historia y he preferido devolverlo a la biblioteca antes.
Supongo que esta temática no es para mí.
Supongo que esta temática no es para mí.
February 15, 2022
Excellent biography told evenly throughout many historic events.
June 23, 2022
A nice graphic novel about a great photographer. It tells the story of him and his muze throughout his life.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews