Things have been very full-on at work recently, particularly as I have been redeployed to a covid vaccination team. But, to keep my sanity, I've done two things: come off Facebook and I always try to find time to read, either on breaks, or at home. The escapism this allows me is a welcome relief from the stresses surrounding us all right now.
My most recent read was the Derf Backderf book, Kent State, which tells the true story of the killing of four unarmed students, by National Guardsmen, at Kent State University, Ohio on May 4th 1970. You may think that would be the last thing you'd want to read about, in a comic book, at this time but bear with me and I'll try and explain (spoiler light) why this is a book that you should have on your bookshelf.
I'd originally heard about Kent State when listening to The Awesome Comics Podcast and the guys recommended it. That put the book on my to look into list, but when I heard the later interview with Derf, and the work he'd put into it, that's when Kent State became a must read.
For me it was one of those perfect books, within the first few pages I felt that I was in the 1970s Ohio that Derf had recreated. The opening chapter recounts the authors own recollections of driving with his mom, past ranks of National Guard soldiers as they held back Ohio truck drivers union members from attacking "scab" drivers who were breaking a strike. This is followed by seeing a young Derf watching TV with his parents while Nixon broadcast to the nation informing them of the scaling up of the Vietnam war. This announcement was the spark that led to a lot of protests on university campuses all over America as it would mean a greater amount of young men being drafted into the army.
Kent State University became a focal point for the paranoia of government and local law enforcement thinking that radical and "commie" students were rife within the university and its community. This led to the deployment of a very tired, nervous and highly strung National Guard Unit to the university. The rest of the book describes the following days leading up to the fateful day and introduces us to the soon to be victim's.
What Derf does here is build the tension beautifully and gives us an insight into the minds of both the students and the National Guardsmen. He has done a great amount of research and spoken with the relatives and friends of those involved. The book has no bias but just relays the facts of the awful event.
I'm always a sucker for black and white art as I feel it can convey so much more emotion than when colour is used, it draws me into the story every time. Derfs art certainly does that here with brilliant detail in every panel, even the dandelions in grass verges are faithfully recreated. I'm not normally a fan of info dumps or prose in my comic books but the style in which Derf presents the information needed here to keep the story concise is perfectly done so as not to lose the readers interest, or the flow of the book.
When it came to the day of the shootings I actually held off reading, as I had gotten so involved in the lives of the soon to be victims. But read on I did and it was horrible to see and read about the deaths of those caught in the path of the rounds fired by the National Guardsmen. But Derf handled the moments with both the reality and respect the killings deserved. The book ends with sources cited and more background information for each day covered in the book.
We are 50 years on from the events in Kent State and yet, in many ways it seems that nothing changes, there are still lessons to be learned from this awful event. This is simply one of the best graphic novels I've read, no supes, no caped crusaders just real and tragic events brilliantly brought to life. If this book doesn't win awards it'll be a travesty, a real must read!
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