Indie Street Reads #25 • 02/27/10
REICH: ISSUE 5
SPARKPLUG
Taking an accelerated pace and increasingly climactic period of time, this fifth issue of this series really shines. The arc is a docu-comic about Dr. Wilhelm Reich, a sex researcher and psychoanalyst. Though he is remembered as a protege of Freud, this issue shows the growing divide between the two scholars due to Reich’s more scandalous ideas. More radical and controversial than Freud, Reich becomes increasingly shut out from his fellow theorists, the communist party he identifies with, and even his family. This issue, in particular, finally gets away from dwelling too much on the childhood that shaped the man and into more of the cultural and political intensity of pre-war Europe. The style that Elijah Brubaker pursues is quite unique here. Overall, its quality is fleeting and its brevity makes the story that much more provocative. Snippets of conversations are filtered amongst “interviews” with characters, making it seem, at times, like the storyboard for a film. The series is well-researched and also contains plenty of references and “liner-notes” with extra tidbits of information for the, no doubt, curious reader. Overall, one of the best non-fiction comics I can recall reading.
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What To Listen To While Reading This Book
Mono – One Step More And You Die
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