Review: Che: A Graphic Biography

Spain Rodriguez is among the giants of underground cartooning, right behind R. Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, and Robert Williams. He has never made a secret of his socialist leanings. His first creation was Trashman, “a hero of the working classes and champion of the radical left causes.” Go to spainrodriguez.com and you are greeted by, “Fight the oppressor!”

Spain doing Che Guevara’s biography is a marriage made in Worker’s Paradise. As a narrative, Spain makes Che’s story gripping through his unique graphic style honed on Great Leap poster design, cycle mags, and Steve Canyon. Visually, Che is a pulp masterpiece offering page after page of Spain’s evocative, neo-noir art. His scenes of Havana and Caribbean ocean towns are just detailed enough to evoke a sense of place. (more…)