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What Members Thought
Simply one of the best books I have read in a long time -- an example of how amazing graphic novels CAN be when they try. This is the story of Toland, a young white man coming of age in the deep South at the dawning of the civil rights movement -- and trying to come to terms with his homosexuality. All of the characters are vivid, complex and fully realized -- even the minor characters. I especially enjoyed Cruse's portrayal of Ginger -- Toland's girlfriend who is a folk singer and headstrong, s
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I loved this. I read the compilation of Cruse's Wendel comic strips, which was also wonderful, but this was simply amazing. At first I was a little worried that the characters seemed like stock, generic Civil Rights-era Southern figures, but as the story progresses Cruse fleshes them out and makes them unique. The story is nuanced and multi-layered, dealing with the protagonist's struggles with sexuality and the broader struggles around black civil rights, as well as the complicated relationship
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A fantastic graphic novel, well worth the re-read. The constant flow of events made me doubt it was even partly fictional. There are so many tiny moments and details packed into every corner that make it feel a little too disjointed to be made-up. In the acknowledgements, Cruse mentions it was heavily based on his own experiences growing up in Birmingham and the anecdotes of his peers, but even so, he did an amazing job knitting them into the kind of semi-cohesive but mostly one-damn-thing-after
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Stuck Rubber Baby was a welcome reprieve from my usual fare of superhero comics. It presents a solid yet unsettling exploration of race, sexuality, and revolution in the 1960s deep South. I don't imagine I have much to add that hasn't been said by another reviewer. It's simply a great book. Cruse's artistic style took me a while to get used to. His characters all seem a little wide-set and not very attractive. But a minor complaint at most.
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Sep 25, 2008
Phayvanh
marked it as to-read
Oct 21, 2008
Maddy
marked it as to-read
Nov 06, 2008
Eric Vincent
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review of another edition
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owned-paper-books,
read-graphic-novels
Jan 11, 2009
Julie
marked it as to-read
Feb 28, 2011
Kerry
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
2010-releases,
graphic-novels
Feb 12, 2012
Mark
marked it as to-read
Jun 28, 2013
Ma'Belle
marked it as to-read
Dec 09, 2021
Dinh
marked it as to-read
