Comics Alternative

On this regular review episode of The Comics Alternative, the first of 2015, Andy and Derek discuss three very different titles. First, they look at the new graphic memoir from Nina Bunjevac, Fatherland: A Family History (Liveright). This is the story of the author’s life growing up with — or growing apart from — a father who becomes a staunch Serbian nationalist. Bunjevac provides a bit of history surrounding the Balkans, and does so through sophisticated storytelling, but one of the most outstanding aspects of Fatherland is her highly detailed, almost photographic art.  The guys got a little taste of Bunjevac’s work, particularly on the subject of her father, in their earlier discussion of Best American Comics of 2014. That collection included an excerpt from her previous book, Heartless, that had a similar feel. In her latest work, Bunjevac provides a more complete, and more complex, story that addresses the various facets of her father and his relationship with the family. Next the Two Guys look at two in