Fax from Sarajevo - Hardcover

Joe Kubert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1569711437 ISBN 13: 9781569711439

Publisher: Dark Horse Books, 1996

Synopsis

This graphic novel tells the true story of Ervin Rustemagic and his family, as they struggled to preserve their lives and dignity during the eighteen month seige of Sarajevo in 1992-93. The story is based on the faxes that Ervin sent, which provided him with a link with the outside world.

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Reviews

YA. Told through a combination of comic-book graphics and copies of the faxed communications sent back and forth between Sarajevo and the outside world, this dramatic account tells how the Rustemagic family survives the deadly siege of their homeland. The graphic novel format is ideally suited to bring the events to life in a compelling way. This portion of the book is followed by a condensed version of each chapter with photos of the actual people and places depicted in the narrative. The package was put together by Rustemagic's American friend and fellow comic artist, Joe Kubert. This is an important offering that will be read by graphic novel enthusiasts, as well as by students doing reports on these horrifying events.?Betsy Levine, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In March 1992 Ervin Rustemagic, a well-regarded European comics agent, faxed a message from his Dutch office to the New Jersey home of his American friend and client, distinguished comics artist Kubert (Sgt. Rock; The Green Berets), detailing his plans to return to his home in the Sarajevo suburb of Dobrinja. Once back, relentless Serb bombardment trapped Rustemagic and his family, destroying their home and possessions. The family took shelter in a ruined building. For the next two and a half years Rustemagic communicated with Kubert and supporters in Europe via sporadically functioning fax machines, recounting the city's destruction, the Serb brutality inadequate multinational peacekeeping force and the physical and spiritual deprivations of life in a war zone. Kubert has used Rustemagic's faxed messages to recreate the family's experiences?a heartstopping nighttime dash across Sarajevo airport under fire; the deadly gauntlet of Serb snipers on the route between Dobrinja and Sarajevo?in a black-and-white, book-length comics work that brilliantly documents a family's wartime survival and escape against unbelievable odds. Kubert's mainstream comics narrative style can at times be heavyhanded, but his signature graphic style?brisk, precisely rendered, emotionally charged linework in dramatically composed panels?marks him as one of mainstream comics' most talented and celebrated interpreters of the horrors of war.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Too few mainstream comics artists have taken advantage of the adult comics revolution to explore new subject matter. Kubert, best known for war comics, takes the plunge with this graphic novel recounting the struggles of a Bosnian friend, Ervin, to escape with his family. Trapped in Sarajevo as the city underwent Serbian bombardment, Ervin was able to contact the outside world only by fax. Kubert's highly effective work of agitprop is based on those faxes. His style is not exactly understated, and his occasionally ungainly dialogue demonstrates that he is an artist first, a writer second. His outrage shows on every page, and he makes genuine drama out of this story of war's effects on civilians, in which the briefest outdoor excursion is dangerous. Although lacking the complexity and nuances of Sacco's Palestine (Kubert's depiction of Serbian attackers is uncomfortably reminiscent of the hackneyed Nazis in his earlier war comics), Kubert's work, like Sacco's, renders political conflict understandable and with plenty of personal impact. Gordon Flagg

Edition details

• Publisher: Dark Horse Books
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1569711437
• ISBN 13: 9781569711439
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 117