2005 book 4

david b.'s epileptic
normally, for whatever reason, i don't count graphic novels toward my book total. however, this one was classed as literature at the bull's head and clocks in at 361 pages, so book 4 it is. anyway, it's a deeply personal story of how david's older brother's epilepsy affected their family--all the different treatments they tried, from massage to macrobiotics to psychotic-rage-inducing drugs--and especially how it affected david's own life and his relationship with his brother. apparently the french title (david is french) was "the rising of great evil," which better reflects the darkness and violence in the story. david, one of the founders of the l'association comic collective, uses his art to highlight the fear and imagination of a family burdened by an illness they can't cure. stylistically and topically, comparisons to art spiegelman are inevitable, but david doesn't come off the worse for such comparisons.