Broken Frontier

Despite masterful artwork, Rick Geary’s treatment of one of the most notorious court cases of the 20th Century reads a little dry and pedantic in NBM’s latest ComicsLit offering.

The latest volume in his Treasury of XXth Century Murder series, The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti, represents something of a departure for Rick Geary in subject matter if not in style and quality. Although he spends much of the book clearly presenting all of the pertinent evidence in the murder case against the anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Geary spends just as much time depicting the socio-political repercussions of the case both locally and abroad.  The result is a workman-like investigation of the 20th Century’s most controversial court case that attempts to draw no conclusions but lacks the emotional tension necessary for the story to truly resonate.

Geary should be lauded for refraining from weighing in on one side or the other in this case. God knows, everybody else and their mothers have. There’s a little local wannabe socialist outfit close to my work with a “Sacco and Vanzetti Grocers” sign hanging in their window to show solidarity with their fellow downtrodden. This from a place so blatantly elitist you literally have to write a thesis on your political beliefs to even have a shot at working there – and too bad, so sad if your politics don’t match up. My point is Sacco and Vanzetti, thanks to their anarchist beliefs, have been adopted as the poster children for everyone who’s ever had a real or imagined beef with the Man. Geary does very well to steer clear of expressing his own beliefs on the matter.

Having said that, Geary’s documentary approach to the subject matter dilutes much of the inherent emotional tension from the court case with a plodding pace and humdrum narration. The audience may come to understand the political motivations of Sacco and Vanzetti due to the obvious relevance to the court proceedings but Geary treats their lives with the same dry efficiency as he does the evidence. It’s as if he’s purposefully held the principle players at arm’s length and in so doing forced the audience to do the same, to relate to his protagonists only as defendants and not as people.

Though educational and technically well-crafted, The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti falls a little short on emotional investment. Overflowing with facts but lacking in verve, you may find yourself snoozing through this documentary-style comic.