We are in a moment of social upheaval. I don’t know what the result will be; no one really does. It’s been a long time coming, and one can only hope we are strong enough as a nation to make lasting changes.

More Than Just Comics

I thought APB: Artists Against Police Brutality (Rosarium, 2015) would be a collection of stories told in the comics medium, but it is so much more. It’s an anthology of comics, fictional prose, remembrances, and essays all focused around police brutality and, in most of them, being Black in America.

This anthology does not shy away from the fact that race and violence are inextricably linked in the United States.

Anthologies can be uneven. They contain works from different writers and artists, each of whom has a different style. Stories can be of varying lengths, there’s different types of content, and quality isn’t always uniform. The transition from one story to another can be jarring. But the same things that can be weaknesses in an anthology are also its greatest strengths, because in a great one, that variability means there’s something for everyone.

The works in this anthology really spoke to me, partly because of how current the content is and partly because how each work in the volume explores an issue that most comics have historically ignored or glossed over.

The Two Stories That Stuck With Me

from: “Heroes and Monsters” by Sean “Smack!” Mack

“The Problematic White Liberal” by Aaron Rand Freeman and J. Andrew World

This story is, sadly, evergreen. It is a reminder to allies that it isn’t always our place to take up arms but, rather, to listen and hear what the people we care about are saying. Taking a look at one’s self isn’t always comfortable but it is necessary.

“Caught in the Lover’s War: James Baldwin and the Legacy of Queer Art-Making in the Anti-Police Brutality Movement” by Joshua Plencer

This one was an essay rather than a comic. It asks questions about the place, and the need, for art in politics.

Tragically Eternal

The most effective part of my foray, though, came from rereading the introduction and remembering that this collection was first published five years ago – written to highlight another series of tragedies after which everyone thought things would get better.

Good stories stay with you and inform what you do going forward, which makes APB a good anthology. Not only is it a showcase for what can be done in the medium, but you’ll be thinking about it for a long time after you put down.

Edited by Bill Campbell, Jason Rodriguez, and John Jennings, APB: Artists against Police Brutality is available on Bookshop or directly from the publisher, Rosarium Publishing. The proceeds go to the Innocence Project.