By: Anthony Mariano
Akira Hiramoto's "Me and The Devil Blues," tells us the story of an aspiring blues musician, Robert Johnson (RJ). After losing his wife and baby, RJ leaves his hometown and embarks on the journey of a lifetime. Along the way, he meets and befriends gangster Clyde Barrow. In the second part of the story, RJ is kidnapped and imprisoned. Meanwhile, Clyde is trying to save RJ, while staying at Stanley McDonald's mansion, who is the most powerful man in the town.
As the story progressed, there were some aspects of the novel I enjoyed and some parts that were not good. I was impressed that the plot got right to the the point of the story. When looking at the panels, the reader's ind is immediately introduced to what is being told by the story. I also enjoyed the historical time because it gives the reader a sense of how blacks were treated during a dark time in American history. Furthermore, I enjoyed the experience of reading a graphic novel for the first time because I could read the characters' minds, see what they are saying and identify their facial expressions. While reading, I had difficulty with the arrangement of the book, having to read from right to left, in contrast to a normal book where you read left to right. I was disturbed by the innocent baby dolls being killed. Stanley McDonald kills the real-life babies and is on the way killing another.
People think of gangsters as bad, cool, terrible people, and they do not want them to set an example for the younger generation. However, Clyde Barrow is the complete opposite. Clyde, is similar to RJ, in that he also lost his true love, Bonnie. Throughout the story, we see Clyde helping others. He tries to help RJ to fulfill his dreams as a blues musician and saves innocent toddler named Toby from getting murdered by Stanley McDonald. I was surprised to see that he refused to show his weakness, because he had to be independent, and if he needed any help, he was unable to ask for it.
The panels in the story maintained the same mood throughout. They were entirely coloured black and white, because the mood was set to be depressing. When Clyde saw the baby dolls that have been killed in the past, it created a spooky sensation and suspense about who will be the next to die. The artwork made me see the characters as if they were real people with faces and expressions. Furthermore, although the novel was depicted as fiction, the events and story-line seems realistic and based on a true story. Finally, although the panes are two-dimensional, I can imagine the movement in three-dimensions.
In general, I think that "Me and the Devil Blues," is good for first-time graphic novel readers. The things I enjoyed about it were the realistic feel of the story, the straightforward plot, and the historical time the story took place in. My only concern was about the poor innocent children murdered for no reason. In the end, the story is a success.
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