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Bayou Vol. 1 (2009)

by Jeremy Love(Favorite Author)

3.94 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1401223826 (ISBN13: 9781401223823)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Zuda

series

Bayou

review 1: Lee, a young black girl in 1933 Mississippi, sees her white playmate, Lily, snatched by a monster in the bayou. When Lee's father is arrested on suspicion of Lily's abduction, she must go on a mission to find Lily before her father gets lynched. Brave young Lee navigates an eerie, magical backwoods world haunted by the violence of the past, peopled by monsters helpful and harmful, determined to somehow set her world to rights again. Interesting setting and atmosphere to explore, with believable characters and cleverly-integrated references to some old racist concepts like Jim Crow or Blackface. Warning: some swearing and images of violence. Not a children's fairy-tale.
review 2: In 1955 a 14 year-old black teenager from Chicago, Emmett Till, was murdered in Mis... moresissippi while visiting relatives. His body was discovered at the bottom of the Tallahatchie river weighted down with a piece of cotton-gin equipment that was secured around his neck with barbed wire. The offense that apparently warranted such punishment was that the boy had whistled at, or attempted to flirt with, a 21-year old woman. The woman's husband and friends of his were acquitted at trial, where the defence's argument consisted of such ludicrous statements as that the body could not be identified as Emmett's and that Emmett was likely back in Chicago hidden away by his family. As crazy as this story sounds, it is historical fact.A version of this story is the opener for Bayou, where our young heroine Lee Wagstaff, dives down into the Bayou to help recover the body. It sets the tone for the race relations that are the central concern of this beautifully drawn story. Lee's white friend, Lily, goes missing and her father stands accused. In a race against time our little heroine must find a way to prove her father's innocence before the lynch mob breaks him out of the jail cell to string him up. This is pretty grim stuff.The bayou, where Lily disappeared, is a mythical place, filled with fantastical beings both friendly and frightening. Many will be familiar to anyone who knows a bit about African American folklore. What makes Love's graphic novel so fantastic is how he mixes the horrors of the historical reality with the wonders and wisdom of the folkloric fantasy. Brilliant.My only gripe is that the story is cut up, in typical comic book fashion, into volumes. There must have been some editorial mix up or something because volume 1 feels like we only got partway into the first act, leaving the reader with too many questions and not nearly enough answers. less

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