Bluffton: My summers with Buster

Bluffton: My summers with Buster by Matt Phelan, 223 pages

A graphic novel, told from the point of view of Henry, a young boy who lives in Bluffton year round, this is about the performers who come to stay during the off season. Specifically, the story of Henry’s growing friendship with Buster Keaton, vaudeville star. The pictures in the book really are what move the story as there are actually very few words. Henry clearly longs for more excitement and wishes he had the talent that Buster or some of the other performers do. Buster is more interested in doing things that a regular kid would be doing, like playing baseball. I’m not a big fan of graphic novels but this was pretty good. Based in fact, since the performers really did spend the off seasons in Bluffton for many years, Henry and his family are fictional, but those characters bring the story to life.