Review by Booklist Review
A panoply of American cartoonists contributed to this anthology, whose proceeds will be given to the AIDS-education efforts of the San Francisco-based Shanti Project. Among the offerings are stories by comic book masters Frank Miller (Ronin) and Will Eisler (The Spirit), comic-strip stars Nicole Hollander (``Sylvia'') and G. B. Trudeau (``Doonesbury''), adult comics creators Harvey Pekar (American Splendor) and Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets), many sassy and incisive gay and lesbian cartoonists, the great political cartoonist Jules Feiffer, and many others. They provide an astonishing range of responses to AIDS, from blistering polemic through sober personal reflection to hilarious satire of ignorant fear of AIDS (which one artist calls the ``appalling epidemic . . . FRAIDS''). In that risky last category, nothing's better than Bob Boze Bell's ad-poster-like ``Mondo Monogamy'' (``A strange and ancient sexual practice comes back from the DEAD!!'') and ``Virgin Patrol'' (``We're looking for a few inexperienced men!''). Although some artists hit off the mark-- they don't seem quite ready to make a pertinent statement about AIDS-- most don't. A unique achievement, both as an AIDS book and a comic book. RO.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
