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ajpellis1's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
2.0
A great idea. Very poorly executed
daines's review against another edition
2.0
This book is so painfully scattered. If you already know most of the history, you might grasp things as a series of highlights, but there is no clear narrative. It would be rather difficult to come away from this book having learned more than a few facts about Debs. If anything, it might inspire one to look up details elsewhere ... which is exactly what I don't expect from a graphic novel. Lots of name dropping, but then no follow up on who they are. The end of the book goes off on its own path to connect Debs to the DSA, not even bothering to mention when Debs died.
niloc21's review against another edition
2.5
At times the writing and structure felt like the Hamilton musical (not a compliment )
Also a better and more correct title would have been “Eugene V. Debs and the DSA”
Also a better and more correct title would have been “Eugene V. Debs and the DSA”
franklinroberts12's review against another edition
3.0
Good subject, bad execution. The flow of the comic sections was very strange, to the point that they felt wholly disconnected at points. Also it verges on anti-communism.
asaugustine's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
2.5
I wanted to like this so much more than I actually did, and I finished this text more confused about Eugene Debs and his impact than when I started. This book needed significantly more editing; the events highlighted in the text jumped around without connecting transitions, making me feel like I was always missing something. The graphic novel portions felt like an inadequate summary of the text at the beginning of each chapter. The only highlight was Chapter 4, which focused on only one event in Eugene Debs’ life, instead of trying to arbitrarily cover a wide swath of time. Ultimately this felt like a DSA passion project that needed much more attention before it was allowed to be sold in museum gift shops.
bibliothecarivs's review against another edition
4.0
Less a biography of Debs and more a history of American socialism which highlights Debs's story within it.
edowdle's review against another edition
4.0
A great little overview of Debs' life, work, and the socialist party in America
erictlee's review against another edition
1.0
The colourful Eugene V. Debs would make a wonderful subject for a graphic novel but unfortunately, this is not the book I'd recommend. A text-heavy graphic novel that cannot decide if it's "Debs for beginners" or something far more serious. It is filled with half-ideas, people and institutions that pop in for a moment, are never introduced, and who then disappear a moment later. (Will anyone reading it know who Daniel De Leon was? Or for that matter, William Winpisinger?) Much is done to show Debs as if he was a 21st century politician, far ahead of his time on issues like race and gender, though one wonders how true this is. (The party he led was hardly free of racism and sexism.) There are passing references, largely uncritical, about the Bolsheviks and their American supporters. A not insignificant part of the book focusses on American socialism post-Debs, showing Norman Thomas as a rather nice old man and Michael Harrington in a very critical light. The authors' political agenda is evident on every page, but the real Eugene Debs does not come alive here. A pity -- this was such a great idea for a book.