Bonnie and Clyde--The Beginning TPPublisher: McFarland
Release Date: October 2013
Price: $17.99
Creator: Gary Jeffrey (writer and illustrator)
Format: 224 pgs., B&W, Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4766-1429-8
Age Rating: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 3 Stars out of 5
This graphic retelling of the first year of this gangster couple is both grim and dry. Unlike some gangsters, there is nothing glamorous about Clyde Parker, especially in this portrayal. He's shown as a vicious killer with no redeeming qualities. Bonnie's apparent love for him leads her on the same trail of destruction, but Jeffrey never gets us inside her head to find out why she’s there. At least with Clyde, we see how desperate and broken he is.
Bonnie and Clyde had a very short criminal career together, only about two years, and this book covers the first half of that time, showing us why and how they became notorious as quickly as they did. The book also portrays the efforts of the police as being dangerously bumbling at times. This makes Bonnie and Clyde's initial success seem to be purely a matter of luck, rather than due to any great skill as criminals.
The depression-era setting is nicely crafted, with the background of prohibition and bank failures impacting their crimes and the work of the police. The artwork isn't pretty, but neither are the subjects or their actions, and thus it fits nicely. Cars, guns, people and death are all portrayed in a convincing way, but also in a grim, unexciting way. This makes the violence oddly dry and factual. You certainly don't come away rooting for Bonnie or Clyde.
For adults, due to graphic violence and some sex.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.
