Fall, 2002
Franz Masereel's Passionate Journey (1919) and Lynd Ward's God's Man (1929), wordless books of sequential woodcuts, are two of the earliest books described with the term graphic novel. Drooker is the modern heir to their style. His 1992 book, Flood!: A Novel in Pictures (reprinted by Dark Horse), won an American Book Award, and he collaborated with Allen Ginsberg on Illuminated Poems (Four Walls Eight Windows). This new wordless book illustrates the story of a young woman living in a peaceful tropical village. When that peace is shattered, she is forced on a dangerous journey in search of a new life, with her black dog as her only companion. Drooker's art is in black and white, with masterly blue shading and occasional full-color signals of life: a butterfly, a bird, blood. His engraved scratchboard drawings are marvelously framed, many in two-page spreads, panning out to take in an awesome vista, then zooming in to capture important moments. More optimistic and accessible than Flood!, this volume celebrates the perseverance of the human spirit in the face of repression. Highly recommended to older teens and adults.