This little comic is a short preview of a forthcoming comic biography Ryan is doing about Abu Jamal. In this preview, Abu Jamal is pictured speaking out on issues while in his jail cell on death row. While Abu Jamal does lay out some truths about our society, his rhetorical style leaves me cold. This comic has the feel of a chick pamphlet, you know those little religious comics you get handed on the street. All the writing contained within speaks to the ‘unconverted’ as if they were brainwashed morons. I guess the left isn’t listening (and I paraphrase) when Naomi Klein suggests you talk to people at their level, and you don’t talk down to them. In his description of the project, it becomes quite clear that Ryan sees no grey in the Abu Jamal issue. He even concludes the description of the projected project with language that sounds like it is straight out of Evangelization 101: “People of all ages will be taken in by the powerful, hand drawn illustrations; and inspired by the strength and integrity of the characters they depict.” That’s a description I personally expect to see on the back of a Lives of the Saints – bland socialist realism coupled with evangelism. Yikes! Three steps forward, two steps back. (Jeffrey Mackie)
comic, words Mumia Abu Jamal, pictures Ryan James, c/o RPO Spadina West, PO.Box 67527, Toronto ON M5T 3B8