2012, originally published in 1996
I love Fantagraphics Books. They consistently publish high quality graphic novels and comics, along with other fine art/illustration books. I do not think I have come across anything they have put out that fall short of the mark. I wanted to talk about this graphic novel because to read it is to challenge yourself to appreciate something that can be at times rewarding to look at but whose subject matter can be hard to take in.
David Wojnarowicz was an artist and AIDS activist who passed away in 1992 from complications from AIDS. 7 Miles A Second is a gritty depiction of his life as a hustler in New York, his reflections on living with a terminal disease, and his anger at the health care system and a largely indifferent government. The illustration of the book is wonderfully horrific and dream-like, offering the viewer a world of highly saturated color, with beautiful watercolor in place of today's all too common computer generated illustration. The book reads like a poetic hallucination masquerading as a comic book, which asks the reader to respond differently. 7 Miles A Second invites us to respond emotionally to a period of time that is fading from our cultural memory. It is a work of art, a manifesto, something wholly personal, and still relevant today. Wojnarowicz refused to be silent about his homosexuality, his history, and his status as someone living with AIDS, and used his gifts as an artist to leave something behind.
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