Living & Dying in America: A Daily Chronicle, 2020-2022

by Steve Brodner

Living Dying in America includes many lovingly drawn portraits of those who died in the pandemic and of those who displayed extraordinary strength, decency, courage, and endurance. But Brodner does not ignore those who perpetuated the pandemic in word or deed: he also etches in acid caricature those public servants and private entrepreneurs who preyed upon the public, spread lies, and aided the virus’ spread through their ignorance, incompetence, and malfeasance. Released via social media, the drawings range from quick, expertly realized sketches to elaborate paintings to carefully rendered mixed media, depending on how much time and stamina and inspiration he had left at the end of the day. Each spontaneously drawn or painted image is accompanied by a brief biography of those who died, or a short summary of the person’s conduct or the event depicted.
Taken as a whole, Living Dying in America is a chronicle of those who died and those who honorably served the living — as well as an indictment of those institutions and political figures who betrayed the public trust. It is a searing and essential moral document, written and drawn on a daily basis with feverish intensity by one of the great forces of American cartooning.

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Art, Biography, History, Comics, Health

487 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2022

About the author

Steve Brodner is a satirical illustrator, editorial cartoonist, and caricaturist working for publications in the US since the 1970s. He is accepted in the fields of journalism and the graphic arts as a master of the editorial idiom. Currently a regular contributor to GQ, The Nation, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, Brodner's art journalism has appeared in major magazines and newspapers in the United States, such as Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Esquire, Time, Playboy, Mother Jones, Harper's, and The Atlantic. His work, first widely seen exposing and attacking Reagan Era scandals, is credited with helping spearhead the 1980s revival of pointed and entertaining graphic commentary in the US. He is currently working on a book about the presidents of the United States. He posts to his blog, The Greater Quiet on Substack.

source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every day for two years acclaimed cartoonist Steve Brodner memorialized victims of the pandemic, castigated bad actors--denialists, conspiracy theorists, those who exacerbated the worst of the times, and honored the heroes. Brodner is a master caricaturist, and so each day there's a portrait and a very short statement/bio. It's a pretty awesome chronicle of a time we are in some ways very much still in.

The 446-page book concludes with a statement by Anthony Fauci; a powerful anti-fascist statement by Christopher Hitchens from 1995, warning us of extremist madness in 1995, and an artist statement explaining how it all came about, how various media outlets picked up what had initially for him been a pandemic social media project.

Don't have the time or energy or heart yet to read a pandemic history? Read and view this, or even just sample it.

Here you can see a few images from it in an article:

https://www.thenation.com/article/cul...

[The Book Eater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This one hit home.

Per my bio, I love devouring fiction. But news is my junk food. Truth, in these times, truly is stranger and more nefarious than fiction. A sobering achievement by award winning political cartoonist and illustrator, Steve Brodner, “Living & Dying in America” is a no-holds barred, visual chronicle of 2020-2022.

I’m Canadian. But the U.S. is our closest neighbour and ally, inextricably linked to us via shared family lineage, friendships, business relationships, trade, supply chains, information, entertainment, social media, and pop culture. By virtue of all we share, the content speaks to me.

In my life outside of Bookreads, I lead the charitable foundation of a community hospital. I’ve had the privilege of getting to know many of our local frontlines pre-pandemic, and the personal sacrifice and professional determination they have shown since March 2020 is both inspiring and sobering. A close friend of mine lost a 42 year old brother with no extenuating health issues to COVID. I held these individuals in my heart as I read Brodner’s accounts, memorials, and musings.

Within or without America, 2020-2022 marked cataclysmic upheaval everywhere. In fact, I’ll be interested in any societal studies in the coming decades attempting to track, explain, or quantify the global impact the pandemic has had on our shared psyche. Even as we attempt to move on, what have we left behind? What have we gained amidst so much loss?

The headlines, hardships, audacities, and unrest documented by Brodner’s cartoons provide an unflinching look at society during this moment in time, pointing a long finger at those whose actions deserved and in many cases eluded punishment.

Also held up to time’s mirror are those who were tragically lost, those whose acts of ordinary heroism deserve pause, those who should not be forgotten.

Sobering. Thoughtful. Difficult. Beautiful. Grateful for this gift.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine the WTF Just Happened Today blog set to daily one-panel comics. The artist is a master caricaturist and he has tackled the mess that has been Trump, the pandemic, and the Jan. 6 rioting with grief and dismay.

He memorializes so many lost to the virus and the effect is powerful. While responding to the pandemic emergency brought out the best in some individuals—in others, as we well know, it only seemed to agitate their hatred, paranoia, and selfishness.

COVID-19 brought out the worst in parts of the corporate arena, too. This book isn’t afraid to call them out—for example, the heartlessness the meat industry displayed toward its slaughter plant workers during the pandemic once again underscores that it is one of the most destructive industries on the planet. It's time to stop giving them a free pass, and kudos to Brodner for “going there” when too few are willing to even think about these tough issues.

Living & Dying in America ably captures a moment in time, and will be referenced in the future for the real-time history and commentary it provides.

[Taryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book was so moving & powerful with its illustrations of people lost to Covid. Around halfway through the drawings begin to be dominated by reflections on the political bad actors of the trump universe & other examples of social injustice in the US. While I am sympathetic to these themes & to the larger issues of the interconnections between various forms of injustice, I had picked up this book for its focus on Covid & memorializing some of those who have died. 400+ people are still dying every day, but no one talks about that & even this book that started out with a focus on the enormity of this loss couldn’t maintain that focus.

[Elizabeth A · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the pandemic years of 2020-2022 (are they over?), the artist created a portrait a day of people who died with a brief bio. It reads rather like a one page a day obit, and while that might sound morbid, the care taken and respect shine on these pages. The author also captures snapshots of politicians and institutions during these 2 years - some of these I liked better than others.

I dipped in and out over the course of a month. This is one I'd recommend if you are interested in a visual record of one artist's take of these years in America.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s no secret that we live, arguably, in an apocryphal age to our Founders. A tremendously flawed but noble pursuit for a democratic republic, they forged a document that was purposely amendable, based on civic rule of law, and crafted to promote the general welfare. Inevitably, the primary benefactors of our decrees and oaths have been privileged white men and their posterity. Little has changed in the big picture over the last two and a half centuries save for ideological political shifts which have culminated thus far in a chasm deeper than the Mariana Trench the last several years. On the heels of the Obama presidency, a disgruntled populace led a media fueled movement to elect a Constitutionally qualified but heinously overmatched candidate in Donald Trump who possessed neither the diplomacy nor the credibility for the position. In short, he was morally insolvent in both personal and political decision making. By the end of his term, the United States was in a tailspin economically, citizens were more distrustful of one another than they have ever been, social media was abused as a super spreader of gross disinformation, and the masses bought it. A pandemic, a predictable and preventable one, raged unchecked labeled a hoax by thousands while thousands more died. Enter Steve Brodner. A caricaturist by nature, Brodner chronicled roughly two years of America’s looming denouement with single panel political cartoons. Many are unabashedly critical of the most egregious purveyors of poor governance: Louis DeJoy, Steven Miller, Joe Manchin, Mitch McConnell, Kay Ivey, Kristi Noem, Josh Hawley, Mark Meadows, Steve Bannon, Greg Abbott, Ron Johnson, etc. The list is limitless but common to one ending—Trump. Allegiance to underfunding those in desperate need of help, downplaying a health crisis until it was too late, propagating ideologies through the same press they spend every waking moment discrediting and/or mocking. The profiles in cowardice are purposely sketched distastefully and eerily embedded among softer portraits of real Americans whose lives were cut short due to the pandemic. The contrast is enough to fuel a political fire in the belly of a dormant independent. I’ve often wondered what a compendium of all the transgressions of terrible leadership would read like. This is exactly what it would look like.

[n ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first half or so of this book was much more powerful and I wish the focus on the individual lives had been consistent throughout the book

[Michelle Tuite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading 2023
Book 8: Living Dying in America: A Daily Chronicle 2020-2022: A Daily Chronicle 2020-2022 by Steve Brodner

Another graphic novel that I found looking for nonfiction selections. This is a whopper of a book and part of my library haul before it closed for a few months.

Synopsis: Taken as a whole, Living Dying in America is a chronicle of those who died and those who honorably served the living — as well as an indictment of those institutions and political figures who betrayed the public trust. It is a searing and essential moral document, written and drawn on a daily basis with feverish intensity by one of the great forces of American cartooning.

Review: I really enjoyed the parts of this book that chronicled the lives of those lost during the pandemic. The art was amazing and each a unique portrait of those lives. What got a bit redundant and heavy handed was the political side of the book. At 400 pages, I only wanted to read a bit of the political parts. I think it is too close in time to when I had read and heard it all ad nauseum. Maybe in a few years I would be able to enjoy the whole book more. My rating for the art, and touching tributes to those lost 4⭐️.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living and Dying in America is a graphic journal of what was happening in the United States between 26 March 2020 until 14 January 2022 and there is a page for each day between those dates. The pages rotate between different subjects and topics. Of course, there are many obituaries similar to the stories that The PBS News Hour used to do on Fridays during this time frame. There are also pages that consist of short stories and quotes from medical personnel about what they and their patients were going through. Brodner included facts like there was only one voting location in Black neighborhoods in Louisville and how the governor of Iowa bragged about her state's Covid policy on the day that hundred's of Tyson workers were infected with the virus. A lot happened during this period that shouldn't be forgotten. This review was of a library book.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compiles two years of daily drawings by political cartoonist Brodner into a sobering and thought-provoking collection of illustrations that comment upon the COVID19 pandemic, race and class inequities, and American policy.

I found the text sometimes difficult to read. Many of the stories will be familiar to those who keep up with current events (profiles of people lost in the pandemic, climate change, repeal of Roe vs Wade, murder of George Floyd) but I occasionally found myself puzzled and wishing for additional context when my memory failed me or Brodner was commenting upon something unfamiliar to me.

Nevertheless, this was a vivid gut-punching read.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

Though this book covers a period of time that was only 1-3 years ago, so many of these events feel like they took place eons ago. Bronson’s finest quality is his incredibly diverse profile as an artist. When paying tribute to those who died in the COVID pandemic, his work is careful, thoughtful, and shaded tenderly. When he’s inculpating politicians and wealthy elites for their part in allowing this pandemic to reach the heights it did, and for descending America into fascism his work is crude, messy and damning. Watching the events of these two years unfold in real time on paper, was a surreal, and sad experience.

[David Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most depressing book I've read in ages. Each page is dedicated to a single person, with a description and a caricature. Most of it is devoted to people who died of Coronavirus, but there are a lot of innocent people who got shot by cops mixed in there too. The ones that aren't devoted to the dead are absolute bastards, frequently Republicans arguing against masking or defending the January 6th insurrection. It's just a lot to take in. It's 476 pages, but I finished it in two sittings.

[Lainey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok wow. I was a journalist in 2020 and most of 2021. I thought I remembered most of what happened during those years… this collection reminded me how much occurred and how much I have forgotten (intentionally or due to the sheer volume of “unprecedented” occurrences). This book is heavy, both literarily and figuratively, making it hard for me to get through it as quickly as I would have expected. It’s worth looking through, for sure.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful and heavy accounting of the losses of the pandemic, personal and jarring, memorializing and trying to hold to light the loss and grief we mostly saw in large numbers of the dead, the inequities it brought to light and the after effects that will be felt and are still felt for many years after such a historically unique and impactful event like a worldwide pandemic from a novel virus. This is an important document!

[Baylor Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very tough to get through. A daily chronicle of sketches through 2020-2022 that memorializes those lost to COVID, police brutality, climate change and the like while severely indicting those responsible (particularly Trump).

Reliving these years again was a painful reminder what an awful time we’ve lived through (some of us, that is).

[T.J. Gillespie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary achievement.
An illustrated chronicle of the COVID.
There are things I forgot and things I'll never forget, but to see it all unfold page after page has a profoundly accumulating effect.

One of the best of the year.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Matthew Noe]

Review for Booklist Pending

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every day for two years, a cartoon about the pandemic in America. The deaths, the death of democracy, the discoveries, the coverups. Amazing chronicle of a bizarre time.

[Dorthe Svendsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Konseptet er veldig bra. Mange gode poeng. Men den blir litt vel amerikansk for meg.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should be added to every American History curriculum. Except, you know…it won’t be.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A portrayal of hatred in America that hits the reader with every page.

[Diana Kullman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personalized stores with beautiful art

[Joe L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating, intense, historic, overwhelming and superb chronicle of one artist's daily observations about the crisis that is America.