Indie Comic Review: The Silence of Our Friends

The Silence of Our friends published by First Second, $16.99

I was just speaking wit ha friend the other day about what a frustrating time the 1960′s must have been.  Every time someone started to gain real traction to make some changes, they were assassinated.

Medgar Evers

John F. Kennedy

Malcolm X

Robert Kennedy

Martin Luther King Jr.

How could anyone keep the faith in these times?

First Second’s new release, The Silence of Our Friends tackles this head on, looking at the tense environment of Houston, Texas in 1968.

As the civil rights struggle heats up in Texas, two families—one white, one black—find common ground.

This semi-autobiographical tale is set in 1968 Texas, against the backdrop of the fight for civil rights. A white family from a notoriously racist neighborhood in the suburbs and a black family from its poorest ward cross Houston’s color line, overcoming humiliation, degradation, and violence to win the freedom of five black college students unjustly charged with the murder of a policeman.

Semi-fictionalized, this story has its roots solidly in very real events. 

That last line may be the key to this book.  There is very little that is actually fiction in this book.  While some of the names and relationships may be changed, the fact of the matter is that Mark Long’s father was a reporter who was tasked with documenting the tensions between Blacks and Whites in Houston’s Third Ward.  This close association with the real events depicted in the book make the much more than simply a re-telling.  It adds an emotional depth and connection to the story that comes from a desire to show love and affection for those involved.  There is no anger.  There is no finger pointing.  There is only a desire to show the human side of an inhuman situation.

The story splits its time between the grownups and the kids of two families (one white, one black).  For the adults, the situation is terrifying, frustrating, and full of tension.  Friendships are forged and broken simply by allowing a person of a different color in to your house.  Jobs are threatened by the “angle” one brings.  No one knows where to turn or how to act.

For the kids, it is an equally confusing time.  They are caught between trying to do what their parents say is right, and trying to fit in with the other kids.  Sometimes those two don’t line up so well.

Nate Powell was the perfect choice to bring this tense time to life.  His angular pencils and moody inks bring a sense of oppression and foreboding that permeates every panel.  He also brings an intensity to the facial expressions of the adults that is off-set by the innocence in the eyes of the children.   Few words are needed to cary this story.  The emotions and expressions tell the real tale.

This book should not just be read by adults, but it should also be in high school and middle school libraries so that students can have an opportunity to read about and gain entry to a period in our history that is confusing and convoluted.  While The Silence of Our Friends does not offer any answers, it provides an opportunity for people to ask more questions.  How did this happen?  Why did people act this way?  What happened next?  It is our responsibility, as adults, to be thereto provide them with the answers…or in the absence of answers, to show them the path to finding them  for themselves.  The Silence of Our Friends is a great place to start.