District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, DC

by Matt Dembicki

Overview

District Comics is a graphic anthology featuring lesser-known stories about Washington, DC, from its earliest days as a rustic settlement along the swampy banks of the Potomac to the modern-day metropolis. Spanning 1794–2009, District Comics stops along the way for a duel, a drink in the Senate’s speakeasy, a look into the punk scene, and much more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781555917517
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/01/2012
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,120,868
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Matt Dembicki previously edited and contributed to the Eisner-nominated and Aesop Prize-winning Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection. He also served at the helm of District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, D.C., an Harvey Award-nominated anthology that was named as one of the best books of 2012 by the Washington Post.

Editorial Reviews

"Deputy editor Jason Dick shares the remarkable story of George Cassiday, bootlegger to Congress and one of the original October surprises. Featuring illustrations from District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, DC." —Roll Call

From the Publisher

All cities and neighborhoods have their hidden histories, fertile for storytelling. In rough chronological order, these 22 tales pick up on lesser-known moments and unique personalities from our nation's capital. Many are politics related, but the stories also touch on outsider art, baseball, a 1932 veterans demonstration, the bootlegger who supplied Congress during Prohibition, the early punk-rock scene, the Washington Metro, shoeshining, and police badges for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. VERDICT Dembicki (ed., Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection) offers here enjoyable and insightful reading for teens and adults, in and out of the District. His work may even inspire equivalent gatherings from other locales (e.g., Harvey Pekar's Cleveland). The color art is uniformly good and varied, generally much better overall than in many such collections. A few stories don't quite come through—for example, the otherwise excellent "Karat" seems unfinished. Another concern: no sources are given, although any sizeable nonfiction work should include at least brief source notes or bibliography. There's anthropological and civic relevance here, too. But please, add source documentation.—M.C.

Library Journal

Editor Dembicki's (Trickster, 2010) latest collection is an anthology of illustrated stories and vignettes from Washington D.C.'s colorful past. Spanning the birth of the capital to 2009, this collection unearths vivid moments from the District's history. These moments include anecdotes, such as one about James Hampton's religious art made from garbage in Andrew Cohen's "Dark Was the Night," as well as deeper looks at specific moments in history. One such can be found in Rebecca Goldfield and Paul W. Zdepski's "Taps," an in-depth look at the bugle player from John F. Kennedy's funeral and at the mourning of the nation. The storytelling and art styles vary greatly, with stand-out uses of the graphic form found in Michael Rhode and Kevin Rechin's comical and cartoonish take on the Army Medical Museum ("Not Such a Collection as the Timid Would Care to Visit at Midnight") and in Peter S. Conrad's spy drama "Karat." While there is the occasional misstep--stories with too much exposition or not enough context--weaker pieces are easily compensated for by the more successful, such as Grant Jeffrey Barrus and Jacob Warrenfeltz's "Rolling Thunder," a tribute to Vietnam veterans told in a past/present narrative with dual, monochromatic palettes and a huge emotional punch. This anthology is marked by style consistently well matched to substance in a vast range of topics. A well-rounded collection of stories with something for everyone, sure to inspire readers to research the full history of their favorites. (editor's note, contributors) (Graphic historical fiction. 10 & up)

Kirkus Reviews