Lizard in a Zoot Suit
Written and Illustrated by Marco Finnegan
Published by Graphic Universe
I had never heard of this book’s existence before seeing the review copy. This is not something that I would typically seek out. It has a title that normally would want to make me jump off a cliff.
But hey, you have to try new things!
I am glad I did as I ended up enjoying myself reading this graphic novel.
The book starts off showing a person being discovered on the side of the road, dying. The person eventually dies. A
lthough he never tells the authorities anything about his circumstances, 17 Mexican-American youths are arrested in relation to this. 12 of them are convicted and sentenced to San Quentin on charges of second degree murder.
We then head on over to Los Angeles in 1943.
It is the height of the zoot suit era! We are introduced to two sisters named Flaca and Cuata. They sense the tensions around them. They are in Los Angeles during the Zoot Suit Riots. They get into trouble. That is when a strange Lizard-like man creature helps them escape to safety.
The creature follows the two sisters home.
There they take of it, knowing that the lizard could be in serious trouble if it’s existence is known. The sisters worry that the Lizard is missing it’s family and if it is in trouble.
That is when they all go off on an adventure!
There is a lot going on in this book. All of it is amazing. On top of the adventure, it has themes of colonialism, family, and racism. Yet, it is not heavy handed at all. It is entertaining throughout and strangely real.
Marco Finnegan does an amazing job on both the writing and art with this book. Great work.
RATING: A
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