Stripburek: Comics from the Other Europeby Barb Lien-CooperReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk.
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Credits Grade: 7 The "other Europe" consists of the countries that helped make up the former Soviet bloc Iron Curtain countries. As such, the stories in this book are acts of bravery, acts of subversion, acts of rebellion, acts of dissent, acts of protest, and a cry of anger and anguish against the systematic betrayal of human rights by the various oppressors of these countries (mostly Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union). Pain screams through just about every comic here. For instance, the very sad story A Day at the Zoo shows us the remains of an all but empty zoo. After the Soviet Union broke up, the place received so little funding, the animals starved to death, had to be shot, or were shot for their furs. The betrayal of the animals, the very people that were supposed to tend to their needs becoming poachers after their skins, even the good zoo keepers rendered helpless — it's an interesting parallel to how the people themselves were betrayed by those ruling them.My favorite works in the book were an autobiographical piece about growing up in that war-worn region, a very funny riposte concerning Hitler, a very sad story about trying to escape the Nazis, and a fantastic story about trolls and elves. All the works were good, though. Surrealism certainly isn't dead in the "other Europe". Many of these stories were deeply surreal, imaginative, and twisted. A work that shows that art often can capture emotional truths and the meaning of history better than cold, simple facts. The reason: history is just facts and figures; art is makes you care about what happened. Written: April 23, 2002
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