'Bohemians' sets out to give a history of primarily American Bohemians from around 1840 to the early 1960s. Using a variety of different artists to tell the stories of a variety of different artists and personalities. It works fairly well.
It covers a lot of ground over it's 240 pages. From early utopias centered around free love to Walt Whitman. Along the way there Jewish branches of Bohemianism and Oscar Wilde are covered. Modern art in America with Stieglitz and the Harlem Renaissance. Josephine Baker and Bebop jazz. My favorite was a 55 panel story of Woody Guthrie which featured one panel for every year of his life. It finishes with a look back by Harvey Pekar and Robert Crumb that seems to fit perfectly.
There are a variety of art styles and I liked some more than others. Most seemed suited for the stories they were telling. Some of the art in my review copy looked photocopied, and was hard to read, so I hope that got corrected in the final version. All in all a great way to tell the story of an interesting movement.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Verso Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
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